Track and field enthusiasts from the USA had their hopes pinned on August 9. Well, why not? 8 of their sprinting phenoms were set to stomp down the purple tracks for the men’s and women’s 4x100m relay finals. However, the ending was bittersweet. After a series of fumbles, it was the USA women led by Sha’Carri Richardson as the anchor who managed to clinch gold in 41.78 seconds, while the men were knocked out of contention. But what were the jumbles about?

In the men’s 4x100m, Team USA was off to a bumpy start. The passing of the baton between the first and second runners, Christian Coleman and Kenny Bednarek was indeed a messy one. The two seemingly clashed due to their differing speeds, and the hitch during the unclean pass caused a time lapse. And the momentum that was broken, could not be regained thereafter. Eventually, the side was disqualified given rule TR24.7, as the final passage was beyond the mark. Surprisingly, another gaffe was set to happen during the Gabby Thomas’s pass to Richardson, however, the latter prevented it.

Apparently, Gabby’s pass to Richardson was slightly delayed, which had the latter turning back while grabbing the baton. However, Sha’Carri Richardson’s strong strides during the final 100m were enough for the side to have won. But fans have nearly gasped at how close that was. And now, they are commenting on how Richardson marginally prevented another grave error. One of them wrote, “Whew Richardson saved the day!!! Because that gabby to Shacarri handoff was bad, cuz Shacarri had to look back.”

While none of the two panicked, Thomas seemed very confident of Richardson’s skills. Post being titled the new champions, she mentioned how special it was to pass the baton to Sha’Carri. The 200m Olympic champion also praised Richardson by saying, “She is so fast, you know we’re in good hands when she gets her hand on the baton.” But the internet fans seem a bit agitated by how things transpired today.

Sha’Carri Richardson gets hailed, while Thomas gets called out

The spectators of the 4x100m women’s relay seemed annoyed at how the USA’s winning plans could have derailed. And they pinpointed Thomas’ error. One of them wrote, “Gabby Thomas handoff was some bullsh*t too… but ima let it go.” At the end of the day, it seemed that the 41.78 second victory seemed enough compensation for the fan.

While, another one was certain that Richardson was the savior. They wrote, “Shacarri Richardson just saved the USA from losing the 4×100 TALK YO SH*T SHACARRI” Even in the heats round, Richardson’s final 100m was where the gears shifted. While Germany’s Rebekka Hasse was already in lead, the 100m Olympic silver medalist charged ahead, outpacing the German rival. Ultimately, Team USA clocked 41.94 to qualify the fastest. And a similar scenario occurred today, leading a fan to chime in ““A bad exchange for Thomas and she still made up enough ground”

The USA women’s squad had finished top of the podium in Rio Olympics, but had slipped to the silver place in Tokyo. Interestingly, Thomas was the anchor for the silver winning side 3 years back. Also, at the 2022 World Championships, the same squad as today, just with Tamari Davis in place of Melissa Jefferson had won a gold in 41.03 seconds. But, despite substantial experience, fans were quick to point how Thomas wasn’t at a 100 percent today.

Thus, one of spectators wrote, “The issue here for the women was they subbed in Gabby Thomas, who’s fast as sh*t but has horrible handoffs. And probably had zero reps with TeeTee and Sha’Carri before the semifinals.”  They speculated if she had enough practice with the team. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.