On July 23, the U.S. men won silver in the World Athletics Championship 4×100-meter relay after finishing in 37.55 seconds, just behind Canada. Shortly before, the U.S. women won gold in the 4×100-meter relay, finishing with the third-fastest time ever, 41.14 seconds.
The men’s team, consisting of Christian Coleman, Noah Lyles, Elijah Hall, and Marvin Bracy, fumbled with the baton during the final handoff, allowing Canada to overtake them and win the gold. Hall stumbled while passing the baton to Bracy and fell over after the pass.
“It’s bittersweet,” said Bracy. “When you sweep the 100 and the 200, you expect to come out here and perform better.”
On the other hand, the women’s team, including Melissa Jefferson, Abby Steiner, Jenna Prandini, and Twanisha Terry were able to complete the race without any problems and shocked the crowd by winning gold. Jamaica was expected to come first, as they had won gold in the women’s 100 meter in 2021. However, a failed first handoff gave the U.S. team a large lead that allowed them to secure first place.
Terry, the anchor leg, said, “You could have the four fastest women, but if you don’t have chemistry and the baton doesn’t move through the exchange zone, then what are you doing?”
The U.S. men haven’t won a gold medal in the 4×100-meter relay since 2000, acquiring only two silver medals in recent years. In the last Olympics, the U.S. men’s team was severely embarrassed after being eliminated in the preliminary heats of the event. After a slow start from Trayvon Bromell, a handoff error occurred between second leg Fred Kerley and third leg Ronnie Baker. Finally, Cravon Gillespie was unable to maintain his third place position. The team finished in sixth place.
Many critics were disappointed with the result , including Carl Lewis, a famous track and field athlete, who tweeted about the Olympic race: “The USA team did everything wrong in the men’s relay.”
Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/24/sports/american-men-relay.html
https://www.worldathletics.org/results/world-athletics-championships/2022/world-athletics-championships-oregon-2022-7137279/women/4×100-metres-relay/final/result
The men’s team, consisting of Christian Coleman, Noah Lyles, Elijah Hall, and Marvin Bracy, fumbled with the baton during the final handoff, allowing Canada to overtake them and win the gold. Hall stumbled while passing the baton to Bracy and fell over after the pass.
“It’s bittersweet,” said Bracy. “When you sweep the 100 and the 200, you expect to come out here and perform better.”
On the other hand, the women’s team, including Melissa Jefferson, Abby Steiner, Jenna Prandini, and Twanisha Terry were able to complete the race without any problems and shocked the crowd by winning gold. Jamaica was expected to come first, as they had won gold in the women’s 100 meter in 2021. However, a failed first handoff gave the U.S. team a large lead that allowed them to secure first place.
Terry, the anchor leg, said, “You could have the four fastest women, but if you don’t have chemistry and the baton doesn’t move through the exchange zone, then what are you doing?”
The U.S. men haven’t won a gold medal in the 4×100-meter relay since 2000, acquiring only two silver medals in recent years. In the last Olympics, the U.S. men’s team was severely embarrassed after being eliminated in the preliminary heats of the event. After a slow start from Trayvon Bromell, a handoff error occurred between second leg Fred Kerley and third leg Ronnie Baker. Finally, Cravon Gillespie was unable to maintain his third place position. The team finished in sixth place.
Many critics were disappointed with the result , including Carl Lewis, a famous track and field athlete, who tweeted about the Olympic race: “The USA team did everything wrong in the men’s relay.”
Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/24/sports/american-men-relay.html
https://www.worldathletics.org/results/world-athletics-championships/2022/world-athletics-championships-oregon-2022-7137279/women/4×100-metres-relay/final/result
