Carl Lewis certainly does not feel like singing the national anthem again after what he saw from the U.S. team in the men’s 4×100 race on Friday.
Team USA was disqualified from the 4×100 relay at the Paris Olympics thanks to an ugly snafu in which sprinters Christian Coleman and Kenny Bednarek botched the baton pass between the first and second legs. The two teammates embarrassingly ran into each other during the handoff, resulting in the U.S. crossing the finish line seventh (which ultimately did not matter anyway because the baton disaster meant an automatic disqualification).
You can see the video of the massive blunder here.
Lewis, the legendary U.S. sprinter who won nine Olympic gold medals, went off on social media after the race.
“It is time to blow up the system,” wrote Lewis on X. “This continues to be completely unacceptable. It is clear that EVERYONE at [USA Track & Field] is more concerned with relationships than winning. No athlete should step on the track and run another relay until this program is changed from top to bottom.”
It is time to blow up the system. This continues to be completely unacceptable. It is clear that EVERYONE at @usatf is more concerned with relationships than winning. No athlete should step on the track and run another relay until this program is changed from top to bottom. https://t.co/Re6THj8QTm
— Carl Lewis (@Carl_Lewis) August 9, 2024
It is easy to see where the 63-year-old Lewis, who won two Olympic golds as well as three World Championship golds in the 4×100 relay, is coming from. The United States men’s team has now been unable to medal in the 4×100 relay for five consecutive Olympics, and it seems that they are the only major nation that continues to have these issues.
All of this sounds awfully familiar too since the U.S. men’s team failed to qualify for the 4×100 relay final at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics due to another botched baton pass. After that blunder, Lewis also issued a similarly critical message to social media.
