After sweeping the 100 and 200 meter race at the 2022 World Athletic Championships, the U.S. men were set for dominance in the 4×100 meter relay.
Earlier that week, Fred Kerley edged out fellow Americans Marvin Bracy-Williams and Trayvon Bromell for gold, winning the 100 meter World title. The Americans placed first, second, and third, leading to the first sweep at Worlds in the event since 1991.
Although Fred Kerley, the 100 meter gold medalist was injured in the 200 meter preliminary heats, the U.S. relay still featured four of the ten fastest men in the world this year, making them the obvious favorites leading up to the race.
Trsitan Colenman, the 100 meter World Champion in 2019, was leading off. Noah Lyles, the blistering fast 200 meter World Champion, and American record holder in that event, was responsible for the second leg. Elijah Hall was running the third leg and Marvin Bracy-Williams, the 100 meter silver-medalist, was running the last leg, also known as the anchor leg.
In the preliminary round of the relay, the U.S. ran with the same team. The quartet performed extremely well, so the coaches decided to keep the relay the exact same.
The race was progressing smoothly until the final handoff. Hall struggled to pass the baton to the anchor leg Bracy, costing the team precious time that Canada capitalized on to pull ahead of the U.S. team.
With the home crowd on their feet, Marvin Bracy from the U.S. and Andre De Grasse from Canada sprinted down the final stretch of the race. Grasse barely beat Bracy in a nail-biter finish, leaving the U.S. with silver. Hands in the air, De Grasse and his team celebrated the major upset while the U.S. team was in shock.
“It’s bittersweet,” Bracy said. “When you sweep the 100 and the 200, you expect to come out here and perform better.”
After the race, Elijah Hall, who fell after the rough handoff, said he would need to “look at the film” to decipher exactly what went wrong.
The U.S. relay has been highly maligned in recent years for errors at big competitions, and the disappointing finish drew criticisms from many. Carl Lewis, one of the most decorated American track and field athletes in history, tweeted “the USA team did everything wrong in the men’s relay,” after the race.
Sources: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658689501263x566932084594871100/American%20Men%20Win%20the%20Silver%20in%20the%204×100-Meter%20Relay.%20-%20The%20New%20York%20Times.pdf
Earlier that week, Fred Kerley edged out fellow Americans Marvin Bracy-Williams and Trayvon Bromell for gold, winning the 100 meter World title. The Americans placed first, second, and third, leading to the first sweep at Worlds in the event since 1991.
Although Fred Kerley, the 100 meter gold medalist was injured in the 200 meter preliminary heats, the U.S. relay still featured four of the ten fastest men in the world this year, making them the obvious favorites leading up to the race.
Trsitan Colenman, the 100 meter World Champion in 2019, was leading off. Noah Lyles, the blistering fast 200 meter World Champion, and American record holder in that event, was responsible for the second leg. Elijah Hall was running the third leg and Marvin Bracy-Williams, the 100 meter silver-medalist, was running the last leg, also known as the anchor leg.
In the preliminary round of the relay, the U.S. ran with the same team. The quartet performed extremely well, so the coaches decided to keep the relay the exact same.
The race was progressing smoothly until the final handoff. Hall struggled to pass the baton to the anchor leg Bracy, costing the team precious time that Canada capitalized on to pull ahead of the U.S. team.
With the home crowd on their feet, Marvin Bracy from the U.S. and Andre De Grasse from Canada sprinted down the final stretch of the race. Grasse barely beat Bracy in a nail-biter finish, leaving the U.S. with silver. Hands in the air, De Grasse and his team celebrated the major upset while the U.S. team was in shock.
“It’s bittersweet,” Bracy said. “When you sweep the 100 and the 200, you expect to come out here and perform better.”
After the race, Elijah Hall, who fell after the rough handoff, said he would need to “look at the film” to decipher exactly what went wrong.
The U.S. relay has been highly maligned in recent years for errors at big competitions, and the disappointing finish drew criticisms from many. Carl Lewis, one of the most decorated American track and field athletes in history, tweeted “the USA team did everything wrong in the men’s relay,” after the race.
Sources: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658689501263x566932084594871100/American%20Men%20Win%20the%20Silver%20in%20the%204×100-Meter%20Relay.%20-%20The%20New%20York%20Times.pdf
