A few hours ago, the legend Carl Lewis spoke up. The consistent failure of the Team USA track and field relay teams on big occasions was a disappointment for the 9x Olympic Champ. In Paris, the women’s 4x100m relay squad brought the gold home, riding on the individual brilliance of Sha’Carri Richardson at the anchor leg. However, the star-studded men’s squad fell miserably. Despite Christian Coleman’s lightning speed in his split, they fell behind because of the handoff error between the former and Kenny Bednarek.

However, in just two weeks’ gap, the issue continued, as in the World Athletics U20 Championships, the American sprinters’ 4x100m relay squad had a similar off-footing, this time in the semifinals. At the first leg, the juniors blundered in handing off the baton, and the result was disqualification. Taking a cue from that, Carl Lewis vented his emotion. 

On August 30, the track and field veteran wrote on X, “I’ve been watching the @WorldAthletics U20 Championships in Peru. We will not be in the men’s 4×100 final. I guess we’ve accepted the fact that @usatf teams can not finish a relay race. It is so sad that these young junior athletes also have to suffer from their incompetence.” Hardly had he known that his pain would be extended in just a few hours. 

In the women’s 4x100m final in Lima, Team USA’s women’s team committed the same error. After maintaining a thorough lead and surging ahead of every competitor, the team had to stumble into the anchor position while exchanging the baton. The result remained the same—a defeat. But this time, the archrival Jamaican squad took the advantage, taking the winner’s crown. The disappointment touched such a height that track and field raconteur Kemal could post, “If the United States never baffled the exchange, they would have won.” Meanwhile, the netizens could not keep calm about this behavior of Team USA. 

Taking an attack on the issue, one such fan commented on X, “What’s wrong with the USA relay teams and baton exchanges?” The rage could be justified, but it might not belittle the Jamaican sprinters’ effort on the track.

On the anchor leg, Alana Reid made no mistake while taking the baton from compatriot Briana Campbell, while in the adjacent lane, Taylor Snaer and Avery Lewis huddled between each other, exchanging the baton. That almost resurrected the Paris Olympics memory when Kenny Bednarek and Christian Coleman had the same scene. 

Ultimately, Alana Reid helped the Jamaican track and field squad finish up the relay in the season-best 43.39 seconds. The Swiss team followed as they crossed the line in 44.06 seconds. However, the LED leaderboard brought in a lot of grief, as despite having the fastest reaction time (0.144) among all other competitors, the Stars and Stripes were not among the top three.

As one brings another, in Lima, the men’s 4x100m relay final was also won by the Jamaicans, keeping the scoreline 2-0 against the high-flying opponent. Meanwhile, the turn of events felt like a pinch of salt on the bruise as the American track and field communities failed to stay mum. 

The track and field fans blame the American squad for having a meltdown, Ghana’s soccer analogy surfaces

The fans came down all guns blazing at Team USA for growing an embarrassing habit on the global track and field stages. Notably, the men’s 4x100m squad of Stars and Stripes has not seen any Olympic medals since 2004. The individual Gold in men’s 100m had also been out of reach, but this time, Noah Lyles broke the jinx in Paris. Yet, the relay medal has been far away from the scene. In the meantime, several fans targeted the coaching issue with the team. 

One such comment has come out, “Oh USA is it the same coach that was with star athletics group Courtney Lindsey and kyree King, keny bednarek and Coleman.” At the Paris Olympics, the aforementioned featured in the prelims that claimed the ticket for the relay final. However, in the final, Fred Kerley was included, replacing Courtney Lindsey. Yet the reins were in the hands of the same coach. So the fan’s comment took a jibe at the overall coaching.

Meanwhile, a fan reminded everyone of the actual issue, “What is wrong with the USA? Like why are they moving off before time? It’s not even that difficult to pass and collect a baton.” Above all, it feels like a chronic disease that has no cure!

In the meantime, a netizen compared it with Ghana’s habit at the FIFA World Cups. In both the 2010 edition, the African soccer team failed to move past the quarter-finals after Luis Suarez’s disgraceful goal-saving handball in extra-time that forced the game to penalties, that Ghana failed to nail. That cost them the chance to advance further, despite having all the spice to come out as the dark horse in the tournament. Team USA is having a similar fate.

So the comment gives an eerie vibe, “USA and the curse of relay is like Ghana and penalties bruh.” According to a fan, the situation feels like “USA having a meltdown at worlds.” Nonetheless, whatever the reason behind the failure, the situation needs a concerted approach to break the strangle of failure. The ardent fans are unequivocal about that necessity. Are you one of them?