It is one thing to lose a competition after giving it your best shot. However, not getting to compete without any fault of your own is devastating, and that’s exactly what a talented pool of athletes had to face at the Lima 2024 World U20 Championships. Team USA’s 4x400m mixed relay team missed out on their opportunity despite qualifying and attending the world championships.

Josie Donelson, Isabella Kneeshaw, Lakely Doht-Barron, and Olivia Harris, alongside James Bauman and Alexander Rhodes, never got to perform. Why? Because the USATF made a clerical error in entering six athletes for the event. However, the announcement didn’t come well ahead of the race, raising some confusion among track and field fans.

Netizens on social media asked why the US 4x400m mixed relay team wasn’t present on the list of Lima 2024 participants. The USATF later announced that it “explored every potential solution possible with World Athletics to resolve the situation, however, the team were unable to run,” the USATF announced in their statement as per The Oregon Live.

“We apologize for this oversight,” the USATF added. Unfortunately, fans and the athletes involved in the incident had to settle for an apology as the heats had wrapped up. It’s especially tragic because, just like the senior team at the Olympics, Team USA U20 dominated the 4x400m mixed relay. Team USA was the reigning U20 world champion, coming into Lima 2024.

In 2022, Team USA’s U20 4×400 mixed relay team won the world title after a blistering 3-min, 17.69-sec sprint. It was also a world record run that stands to this day and isn’t too far off from the 3-min, 07.41-sec world record Team USA’s senior team set in Paris in 2024. Besides the error that cost Team USA a potential spot at the podium, fans also felt disappointed with the poor turnout.

“The crowd is literally NON-EXISTENT,” an individual pointed out on X. Fortunately, no such errors will hamper the men’s and women’s 4x400m relays scheduled for Friday. It’s not possible to say if the turnout will improve. However, it’s alarming that USATF’s error was the third of its kind this month across international competitions!

The Lima 2024 error is far more common than you’d think

While fans were shocked how the USATF could make such an error, it’s become common. At least two athletes suffered severe career blows thanks to similar errors at the Olympics. Jamaican Hammer Throw star Nayoka Clunis couldn’t make it to the Olympics despite qualifying for Paris 2024. The reason? The JAAA didn’t include her name on the list of athletes representing Jamaica.

Unfortunately, Clunis couldn’t find relief despite taking the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sports. JAAA also tried its best after discovering the error but couldn’t remedy the situation. Favour Ofili was next in line for a snub. Just like the athletes participating in Lima 20204, Ofili discovered she couldn’t run in the 100m event in Paris 2024 during the Games.

Yet again, it was an error, as you may have already guessed. “The Athletics Federation of Nigeria & NOC failed to enter her name for the event…” Track & Field Gazette on X reported the news. By the time the news surfaced, it was already too late to help Olifi compete in the event. While such errors may be nothing more than honest mistakes, they severely impact athletes’ careers. What are your views? Tell us in the comments.