Beijing - Team USA men's head coach Bubba Thornton will be suffering from an overdose of Jamaica Land We Love instead of hearing the Star Spangled Banner each night at the Beijing Olympics.

The trainer had refused to give a medal prediction ahead of the athletics events, simply saying he hoped "to hear the anthem once every night before I leave."

However, not even Thornton could have imagined the disaster which befell the US on track and field in the Bird's Nest as all that remains now is damage limitation to avoid a worst ever showing in the sport at the Beijing Olympics.

The US ran, jumped and threw to 14 gold medals at the last worlds 2007 in Osaka. A double-digit gold rush was expected again but the proud athletics nation has just four gold medals after seven days heading into the final two days of action.

The US Olympic worst is six golds from 1972 and 1976.

A host of American athletes have underperformed, led by the sprinters whose woes culminated in dropping the baton in the heats of the men's and women's relay on Thursday night.

"One message to take from baton blunders: U.S. track has hit rock bottom," was the verdict of the website of broadcasters ESPN.

"They gagged at a particularly inopportune time. Jamaica already had reduced America to ashes in the dashes."

Inspired by by the golden 100m and 200m world record runs from Usain Bolt, the Jamaicans ran away with all men's and women's sprint races and were expected to dominate the 4x100m relays as well to better a gold medal tally which already stands at six.

"This was our revenge. We were going to go to the finals and win. It's very heartbreaking," said former 100m world champion Torri Edwards after the baton disaster.

"The whole Games haven't gone quite as planned for Team USA in track and field," said teammate Lauryn Williams.

The shot putters failed to deliver the desired gold in the very first medal event last Friday, three-time 2007 world champion Tyson Gay didn't even make the 100m final and 1,500m world champion Bernard Lagat crashed out in the semis as well.

There was no American at all in the final of men's long, triple and high jump.

And even the men's 400m and 400m hurdles sweeps could not gloss over the damage done.

Some say the US is suffering the aftershocks of the Balco doping scandal while Jamaica still has no proper anti-doping system which has given room for speculation despite the absence of positive tests.

But athletics is also a far more popular sport in Jamaica than in the US where it is a niche sport which only appears on national television at the Olympics. Bolt and others are important role models in the country of 2.8 million.

"We are the sprint factory of the world," said Sports Minister, Olivia Grange.

What the sudden surge of Jamaica, which had just one gold in Osaka, will mean in the future remains to be seen.

But Michael Johnson, who lost his 200m world record to Bolt but still owns the 400m mark, was not overly concerned despite naming the US showing "disastrous."

"These things are cyclical. From 1992-1997 the sprints were dominated by Linford Christie (Britain) and Donovan Bailey (Canada). These things happen," said Johnson.