Olympics: Carl Lewis blasts officials for botched 4×100 relay

Nine-time gold medalist Carl Lewis blasted U.S. track and field officials after the Americans once again fumbled their way through the 400-meter relay in the Olympic spotlight.

The U.S. botched two handoffs during the relay Friday, adding to its long history of handoff mishaps. The team of Christian Coleman, Kenny Bednarek, Kyree King and Fred Kerley crossed the finish line in seventh place but was disqualified because of mishaps.

Coleman crashed into Bednarek on the first handoff, with Bednarek appearing to leave his spot too soon before slowing down and set up the collision. On the final leg, Kerley was slow and gave up ground the sprinters had gained before the first and last exchange.

Canada won gold in 37.50 seconds. South Africa took silver (37.57), while Britain took bronze (37.61).

The Americans have not won an Olympic 400-meter relay medal since 2004 despite success in various sprint races.

Fastest man alive Noah Lyles was expected to run the third leg, but he withdrew after getting COVID.

NBC reported Lewis, a frequent critic of the Americans’ poor performance in the 400-meter relay, was furious about the United States’ difficulty executing fundamentals during the relay. NBC reported Lewis said it was a mistake to reshuffle the order of the relay team once Lyles dropped out rather than just replacing him at his intended spot in the relay.

The U.S. draws from a larger pool of sprinters than other countries for its relay teams, leading to the lineup changing more frequently as new top sprinters emerge and limiting the group’s practice time.

Lewis, a two-time gold medalist in the 400-meter relay, posted on X: “It is time to blow up the system. This continues to be completely unacceptable. It is clear that EVERYONE at [U.S. track and 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.”