Another day, another gold medal and yet another world record for flying Jamaican Usain Bolt.

With Bolt running an astonishing back bend and Asafa Powell turning on the after-burners in the final straight, Jamaica won the men's 4x100m relay in 37.10 seconds, stripping a full three-tenths of a second off the 16-year-old record set by the US outfit anchored by Carl Lewis at the Barcelona Games.

The victory enhanced Bolt's status as the shining star of the Games, having previously beaten the individual 100m and 200m world records.

And for Powell - who held the 100m record before Bolt - it was a first Olympic medal of any colour.

The team also included Nesta Carter and Michael Frater.

Bolt - who turned 22 yesterday - followed Powell down the final straight, ensuring he was on hand immediately to join in the raucous celebrations.

Trinidad and Tobago were a distant second in 38.06 and Japan were a surprise third in 38.15.

The United States were absent from an event they have long dominated, having been disqualified in yesterday's semi-finals.

Until tonight, the 4x100m world record had been in American hands since 1968, apart from a one-year period in the early 1990s when France held the fastest time ever.

Jamaica's domination of the sprints in Beijing was finally broken in the women's 4x100m final courtesy of a dropped baton.

With the United States disqualified in the semis, all Jamaica had to do to claim gold was to get the baton around the track.

But that task proved beyond them as Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart botched the second change, gifting the gold medal to Russia (42.31).

It was reminiscent of the disaster that struck Australia at the 1952 Helsinki Games, when then world record holder Marjorie Jackson had the baton knocked from her hand by the knee of previous runner Winsome Cripps with the gold medal at their mercy.

The women's 5000m was a near-repeat of the 10,000m, with Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba (15:41.40) holding off Elvan Abeylegesse of Turkey for the gold medal.

Dibaba is also a two-time 5000m world champion.

Maurren Higa Maggi of Brazil won a thrilling women's long jump.

Maggi led throughout the competition after jumping 7.04m, only for defending champion Tatyana Lebedeva to almost steal it at the death with a 7.03m effort in the final round.

Blessing Okagbare of Nigeria (6.91m) was a surprise bronze medallist after only earning a place in the final when Ukraine's Lyudmila Blonska was banned after testing positive to steroids after finishing second in the heptathlon.

The United States are set to win yet another men's 4x400m relay title after cruising through the semis in 2:59.98, even with individual gold and silver medallists LaShawn Merritt and Jeremy Wariner watching from the stands.

Australia also advanced to the final in 3:00.68 in the event where they won a shock silver medal in Athens four years ago.