200 m at the 2004 US Olympic Trials, he was nominated as the substitute for the 4×100 m relay at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Patton helped the American team ease through the heats, recording a time of 38.02 seconds. He was substituted for the newly crowned 100 m Olympic champion Justin Gatlin for the final race, but the move backfired for the team as they finished a little slower (38.08) and had to settle for the silver medal behind Great Britain – who they had easily beaten in the heats. Patton's 2005 and 2006 seasons were wrecked by significant groin and hip injuries and he only returned to major competitions in 2007. Return from injury Patton returned to action and focused on the shorter sprint distance that year. He finished eighth in the 100 m final at the 2007 US Championships and withdrew from the 200 m competition. Based on his performance, he was selected to represent the United States at the 2007 Pan American Games. He finished second in the 100 m behind Churandy Martina and anchored the relay team to a bronze medal. He was chosen as part of the relay team for the 2007 World Championships and this time made the final after qualifying. The American team (with Wallace Spearmon, Tyson Gay, and Leroy Dixon) became the world champions in a world-leading time of 37.78 seconds, fending off the Jamaican challengers who set a national record. At the 2008 United States Olympic Trials, Patton achieved his lifetime best performance in the 100 m, running 9.89 seconds in the quarter-finals. He went even quicker in the wind-assisted (+3.1 m/s) final, clocking 9.84 seconds, and came in third place behind Tyson Gay and Walter Dix. He broke the 10-second barrier legally for the second time at the Herculis meet in Monaco, placing second behind Asafa Powell in 9.98 seconds. During the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing he was the slowest qualifier for the 100 m final. In the final itself he ran 10.03 seconds and was again the slowest and thus the eighth placed athlete. Together with Rodney Martin, Travis Padgett and Tyson Gay he also competed at the 4 × 100 m relay, but they did not finish due to a mistake in the baton exchange between Patton and Gay and they were eliminated. The following year Patton came second to Michael Rodgers in a close 100 m