They just never learn! It has been over eight months since Team USA embarrassed themselves at a global stage during the 2024 Paris Olympics when a sloppy baton exchange between Christian Coleman and Kenny Bednarek led them to disqualification. Not to forget that Team USA made the same mistake in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as well. Fast forward to May 9, 2025, Team USA has made the same blunder, this time in the Chinese city, Guangzhou, in a first-of-its-kind format that goes woman-woman-man-man. In the aftermath of the debacle, one of the team members has finally broken their silence, shedding light on what really went down.

This new format offered a chance of redemption for Team USA, Kennedy Blackmon, Jada Mowatt, Kendal Williams, and Pjai Austin turned this opportunity into another nightmare. A team filled with superstars, things fell apart in Heat 1 during the woman-to-man handoff — specifically, the second exchange from Mowatt to Williams. The baton didn’t just fumble — it hit the rain-soaked track, and by the time Williams recovered, Team USA was out of it. They trailed by over 25 seconds and crossed the line in a stunning 1:05.77. That’s not a typo. From gold medal favorites to fourth place and disqualified — just like that.

This exit feels even more disheartening considering Team USA’s historic dominance at the World Athletics Relays, where they’ve consistently emerged as the squad with the most gold medals. Meanwhile, the rest of the world handled business. Italy won the heat in 41.15 seconds, France came second with 41.28, and Switzerland secured the third spot with 41.92. Team USA? Nowhere near. The result left fans confused and stunned at the World Relays. After the race, Kendal Williams stepped up and tried to explain, or at least make sense of it, as shared by Flo Track on Facebook.

“What happened… I saw it, I really can’t tell you to be honest,” Kendal Williams admitted. “I just saw the mark I was supposed to. We’re hoping everything lines up how it does in practice, but sometimes that’s not always the case. You take the good with the bad. You learn and fight another day. It’s our first time doing something like that — a lot of trial and error involved.” Trial and error, for sure — but this one was hard to swallow.

The baton fumble between Mowatt and Williams didn’t just cost them the race — it handed Team USA one of its most shocking relay exits in recent memory. The mixed 4x100m might be new, but for the Americans, the lesson was old: in relays, one bad pass is all it takes to go from favorites to finish-line heartbreak. But this wasn’t the only blow for Team USA.

Another blow for Team USA as men’s 4x400m relay falls short of world relays

May 9 turned into a nightmare for Team USA at the World Relays in Guangzhou. In the men’s 4x400m relay, the U.S. team—Jevon O’Bryant, Lance Lang, Kennedy Lightner, and Elija Godwin—was expected to qualify for the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo. But things didn’t go as planned. Lining up in Heat 4, the Americans ran a season-best time of 3:01.23, but it wasn’t enough. Only the top two teams in each heat, plus the next two fastest times overall, earned spots in Tokyo. USA finished third, just outside automatic qualification, leaving the team stunned and their championship hopes hanging in the balance.

France stole the show in that heat, winning in 3:00.30 with Muhammad Abdallah Kounta, Loïc Prévot, David Sombe, and Adrien Coulibaly. Kenya took second in 3:00.88, thanks to Zablon Ekhal Ekwam, Boniface Ontuga Mweresa, Brian Onyari Tinega, and Kevin Kipkorir.

Team USA’s splits were solid: O’Bryant ran 45.72, Lang followed with 45.57, Lightner kept it close at 45.49, and Godwin anchored with an impressive 44.45. Still, it wasn’t enough. Poland came in fourth with 3:02.69, but it’s the U.S. being left out that’s the real shocker. For a country that usually dominates the 4x400m, this was a major letdown in the World Relays.