The US Men's 4x100m team suffered a disqualification in the Paris Olympics finals after they failed to pass on the relay baton in the first lap of the race. The first baton passage between Christian Coleman and Kenny Bednarek was deemed unlawful, following which the quartet of Fred Kerley, Coleman, Bednarek, and Kyree King were disqualified under the TR24.7 rule.
The team was looking to put an end to a long wait for a medal in the event (the US last won a silver medal in the event in 2004) and boasted a strong team, even without the reigning Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles to steer them home successfully.
However, the technical mistake cost the American contingent yet another opportunity for the podium, and will have to wait another four years till 2028 for their next shot.
In their absence, the Canadian side, anchored by Andre De Grasse, clinched the gold medal with a run time of 37.50 seconds. The South African team also produced a solid performance, as they produced a new African record by clocking a run time of 37.57 seconds and clinching the silver medal.
The Great Britain team, led by youngsters such as Jeremiah Azu and Louie Hinchcliffe, finished in the bronze medal position with a run time of 37.61 seconds.
Following this disappointing performance from the US Men's 4x100m team, fans on social media shared their reactions criticizing the team. One of the fans wrote on X:
"The US men’s get to the relay and embarrass themselves"
"Every single damn time. It’s embarrassing at this point," wrote another.
"How embarrassing. What a bunch of scrubs man," one fan wrote.
Here are a few other reactions to the disappointing display by the US men's relay team:
"Shouldn’t laugh at how bad USA men are at 4x100m relays really but it’s hard not to..think by now they would do some training on the handovers," wrote a fan.
"Again. I've lost count of the amount of times they've fumbled a gold bc they couldn't get the baton round. It's Athletic long read worthy," wrote another.
"Noah Lyles is now happy he got covid. His pride couldn't handle that embarrassment," stated another.
US Men's 4x100m team made a dominant start to their campaign at the Paris Olympics
The US Men's 4x100m team had made a dominating start to their Paris Olympics campaign, scripting victory in Round 1 of the event. The quartet consisting of Christian Coleman, Kyree King, Fred Kerley, and Courtney Lindsey finished in the first position in the race with a run time of 37.47 seconds.
Lindsey anchored the run superbly with a run time of 8.88 in his individual lap. Following the US relay team was the South African and Great Britain quartet, who finished in the second and third position with run times of 37.94 seconds and 38.04 seconds.