For the first time in decades, Team USA's men's relay team failed to proceed to the finals. The team made up of Trayvon Bromell, Fred Kerley, Ronnie Baker and Cravon Gillespie finished sixth in its preliminary heat of men's 4x100 competition with a time of 38.10, behind China, Canada, Italy, Germany and Ghana. What seemed to be the primary cause of the disappointing performance was mainly centered on one thing; a poor handoff on the second exchange, as Kerley passed the baton to Baker.
"Honestly just trying to time that up perfectly with a couple practices is a little difficult, but it is what it is." Said Kerley. U.S. sprinting legend Carl Lewis, who was part of 4x100 teams that won gold in 1984 and 1992, called the performance "a total embarrassment" on social media. "The relay program has been a disaster for years because there’s no leadership and no system. When I said everything is wrong, it is. If you break it down, people were in the wrong legs, obviously they were not taught how to pass the baton in those legs. Just simple things like that." Said Lewis.
After dominating the event for decades, winning at a remarkable 15 of the 18 Olympics they entered from 1920 to 2000, a succession of disqualifications and setbacks have contributed to the U.S. failing to win gold since. China emerged as the surprise heat winners in 37.92.
Canada, brought home by 200m champion Andre de Grasse, were second. Italy, helped by newly-crowned individual 100m champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs, posted a national record 37.95 to also advance. Germany (38.06) and Ghana (38.08) also finished ahead of the Americans (38.10) to take the two fastest losers' slots in Friday's final. Jamaica, Britain and Japan also proceeded to the finals after impressive performances in their respective heats
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