LONDON: American runner Manteo Mitchell ran the last 200 meters of the opening lap of the Olympic 4x400-meter relay preliminaries Thursday with a broken leg.

Mitchell told The Associated Press he had about half a lap to go when he felt a popping in his left leg.

He finished the lap in 46.1 seconds and helped the Americans to a tie for first with the Bahamas in 2 minutes, 58.87 seconds. A few hours later, doctors told him he had a broken left fibula.

The relay final is set for Friday. The Americans have won the last eight long relays they've entered at the Olympics.

Mitchell says "I figured it's what almost any person would've done in that situation."