They learnt from the seniors" "It's comical"- Fans react to Team USA fail to qualify for men's 4x100m relay final at World U20 Championships

Team USA failed to qualify for the men's 4x100m relay final at the World Athletics U20 Junior Championships after mishandling the baton. Their failure to qualify after an unintended mishap has garnered a lot of opinions from the fans.

The World Athletics Junior U20 Championships commenced on August 27, and the 4x100m relay heats race took place on day 4 of the event. Team USA faced an unfortunate fate as they couldn't execute the passing of the baton in the very first lap, which led to the team's disqualification from the finals of the championships.

NBC's Travis Miller announced the news on X, sharing a picture of the moment that led to the team's disqualification:

"Team USA men's 4x100m will not compete in the U20 final. Fail to complete the first handoff in qualifying."

A fan compared the incident to the senior men's team mishap in the 4x100m trials at the Paris Olympics:

"Oh well, they learnt from the seniors."

Another follower commented:

"It's comical at this point."

Unimpressed with the performance, a user said:

"Ridiculous!"

Another fan expressed disappointment:

"Oh, no! That's so unfortunate."

Along similar lines, another follower commented:

"USA track 4x100 is cursed at all levels."

Why was the junior team's performance compared to Team USA at the Paris Olympics in the 4x100m relay?

The junior USA men's team's performance at the World Athletics U20 Junior Championships was compared to that of the senior USA men's 4x100m relay team because of their disqualification from the Paris Olympics finals. The senior team included Christian Coleman, Fred Kerley, Kenneth Bednarek, and Kyree King, who were disqualified on account of passing the baton outside the passing zone.

The first exchange that took place between Coleman and Bednarek was faulty, which eventually affected the final passage, and it took place outside of the marked zone. Bednarek, who was placed on the second leg, was supposed to start after Coleman, who was the lead. However, the former commenced his run early, which led to the handoff taking place outside the zone.

Following this mishap, Canada cruised to victory by clocking 37.5, and South Africa and Great Britain followed with 37.57 and 37.61 to claim second and third place.

The USA men's team has not nabbed a medal at the 4x100m relay since their silver at the 2004 Athens Games. Since 1995, they have faced disqualifications or dropped the baton 11 times in the Olympics and the World Championships.