You keep the line-up as consistent as possible, if the anchor is out and the others are still available, replace the anchor, don't change the whole line-up! They had the fastest qualifying time, it was just stupid to change the whole order, anyone could run the anchor.
A lot of consideration goes into picking the line-up for a relay. It's not as easy as just slotting in a replacement into a vacant spot. You have to consider if the replacement is a decent bend runner or if they are more of a starter or if they have a top end speed fast enough to go in 2 or 4 which is where you usually put your fastest runners then you have to consider if someone is a decent baton handler where they can give and receive and then there's chemistry between the athletes, height differences etc. All of these things and more are taken into consideration when picking a relay line-up.
@@geeunit831 you just proved his point. Kenny is the second fastest person without Noah. He should have been placed on the 4th leg. The first 3 legs from the semifinals should have been left where they were for consistency purposes. They had already proved that the first 3 legs would work.
@@willp1958 Not necessarily. Kenny is also a 200m specialist and can run a bend better than anyone else in that team. Cases can be made for him to run 2, 3 or 4. Personlly I think he should’ve run 3rd leg but apparently he wanted to run 2. He's also a long time training partner of Coleman so I'm guessing the coach thought it would make sense to have Kenny run 2 since they know each other and have that bond already. In hindsight this wasn't a good idea.
And, Jamaica didn’t qualify for the final which helped and USA got disqualified which helped also! Look at their times @ qualifying USA they dominated the qualifying coming in as #1 team So with that being said, with the top 2 teams out sure it was anyone’s game! 🇺🇸♥️🤍💙🇺🇸♥️🤍💙🇺🇸
As a high school track coach for 17 years, even my worst 4x100 team had better hand-off technique than my beloved Team USA. These are 15-18 year olds! 😂 But we also spend the last 15 to 20ish minutes of EVERY practice doing hand-off drills. If you mess a baton pass up, then the entire team (distance runners included) does push-ups. It may sound harsh to some, but it works. I also have a military background, so that's why I've implemented push-ups as a corrective action (AKA Punishment). We haven't had a botched hand-off in a track meet in nine years. 😂😂😂
@dc7236 I don't make them do push-ups to muscle failure. I give them a short break (after a botched hand-off) then only 5 to 10 push-ups max. Everyone is on board, all smiles while doing the push-ups. But they'd really rather not do push-ups, so they almost always get the hand-off right. Worked when I was a Drill Sergeant. Works with high school track athletes.
What happened to the US men’s 4x1? The same thing that happened in 2021, 2016, 2012, 2008, and 2004. They couldn’t bring home the gold medal once again. A 24 year drought is CRAZY. The fact that no changes have been made regarding how USATF approaches the relay logistics on the men’s side shows gross incompetence.
Kenny stuffed that up big time. I totally agree that they should've left Coleman and Kerley as 1 and 2. The Olympic final was not the time for these types of change ups. The curse continues 😭 Shout out to the US women even though they didn't run the best race but they got the gold and that's what matters.
If you’ve had the fastest team for 24 years and not won a medal and f_cked up every baton pass, then you’re either not practicing enough or you’re practicing the wrong technique. I’ve never understood why we abandoned the low palm down exchange. It always seemed more efficient and less prone to error.
@@johnberger5539 the US mens 4x100 relay team is cursed lol. It's not their technique or lack of practice coz we've seen them do well in international competitions throughout the years and we know the US relay teams train hard but when it comes to the Olympics they choke badly.
Lyles isn't arrogant. He has been deliberate and strategic about playing up rivalries and strategically "talking trash" simply to lift the public visibility of track and field. That's his goal. Muhammad Ali did the same for boxing.
@@charlottesphie7037 Ur basically picking & choosing who gets 2 talk trash. Ali became a goat. He didn't come n as a goat. I'm not a fan of Noah, but he makes track interesting 2 watch...like him or not. Every1 didn't like Ali. Marketing made him more likeable 2 the public.
Not another freebie. The race is 4x1 where the rules say get the baton across the line the fastest. Canada did that. The USA didn't. No need for disrespect. The USA clearly have the talent and depth. Believe it or not, the same team (runners) should continue for the next 4 years. Think about the benefits from being consistent. Don't mess up in 2028!
@@M4Lyfe Weak coping mechanism. Must be tough to accept Canada won. Nice try with the freebie talk. Canada is the Olympic 4x100 Men’s Gold Medal Champs. Cry.
@@M4Lyfe Such a weak response. Instead of giving Canada props you make a weak attempt at being disrespectful. USA has great individual runners. I actually bet on USA to win. I also give props to the USA 4x100 women. They were amazing. Difference is I am mature. You’re a weak minded person. We will enjoy our 4x100 gold medal. 🇨🇦🫡
I really wished they had stuck with the team they had at World Relays and that Noah was healthy to compete. Because I honestly felt that the dynamics there was much more solid and consistent than what we saw here at these Olympics. I'm honestly baffled and I do believe the coaching of the relays must be changed immediately. 🤦🏾♂️
@@abhishekm6703yes he came there with his hater energy. He should have kept his bitter self of the team. He was mad at getting lane 8 even if you were in Noah’s lane you don’t have what it takes to win gold! No grit just hate towards Noah. SMH
@@michellerowe-smith5803It was unfair to Kenny that we was assigned lane 4 even though he won his semi-finals round. That's why he protested. Kenny doesn't hate Noah. I would say he had a bad Olympics or he didn't execute his races properly when it mattered.
I remember people fighting back hard earlier this year when I said they should stick with the world relays team so they can win. “They won’t just win, but break the world record, if they put the fastest guys on the team”. This team never needed more speed, just more chemistry. It’s always been that way.
Carl Lewis said that it was the coaches 's mishaps: and change needs to happen!!; I believe that the coaches should have kept the same sprinters who got them in the final and leave out Kunfu Kenny because he was not 🚭🚫 ready as the coaches had done with the ladies and the mixed, or replace the anchors if necessary for the 4×100m dash for the men, but if wasn't necessary for Kunfu Kenny at all: it was poor strategy on the couches there. And the sad thing, the coaches abandoned the athletes to take the blame, so I agree 💯 percent with Carl Lewis!!! Noah said that the team was really ready to compete, and he had confidence in them, but rearranged them were foolish and that stupidity paid off a disqualification and a lost and an embarrassment as coming in as a favorite team once again!!! First the Jamaican sprinters and now the American sprinters... Both would have to bring their A game at Los Angeles CA in 2028!!! Sha'Carrie Richardson was fantastic from a liability to an asset to get the gold 🥇 medal for USA in spite of the heavy rain pour!!! Sha'Carrie Richardson looked at Neita of England and flew passed away like Road Runner, beep, beep!! I enjoyed it!!! Hooray for USA!!! Thanks for sharing your insight and point of view!!!
With the U.S. men's 4x100 teams on the world stage, I'm shocked whenever they actually make it through a final without a handoff flub. Individually, the guys are great--amazing athletes.
Being overly obsessed with world records is never a good thing. They were too focused on breaking the world record, hence they messed up in the execution.
Disapointment , especially after Coleman s blazing start. On the biggest stage of track n field Canada , South Africa and Great Britain showed up and prevailed.
The USA men's Track team has a coach specifically dedicated to relays. Mike Marsh. I don't think we need to look any further than him for the major part of this relay team’s failure.
Canada should have a welcome sign on its border from the US: "Welcome to Canada, where it doesn't take 24 years to win a 4x1 relay gold." Awesome analysis bruh!
Really and truly they should have either kept the entire team from the World relays or leave Kenny out Courtney on anchor as in the semi's or take out Kyrie Kenny on 3rd Courtney on anchor...that was a hot mess🙄🙄....
This is a coaching issue as well, the coach have to make decision about placement. Kenny should had ran 3rd. Kenny left early period. Kenny appears to have a big ego. He wanted 2nd and got it and messed up. Next time we will win.
Kenny was also in a 3-point stance like a football player, no wonder he took off too early. Coleman ran a great 1st leg, but Bednarek wasn't in proper position to receive the baton, a disaster in the making!
They won't be any winning with that same coach. He needs to be fired for that terrible placement and whatever else he's been screwing up in the past too. I agree that Kenny does have a big ego, but he also needs way more relay practice. I feel as if he doesn't have as much relay experience as the others in that team.
We gotta always remember that Sha'carri speed should never be in question👌. Her ability to lock in is just something that needs to be improved. Also shout-out to TT for another great 2nd leg.
I think we have to aknowledge how well Louie Hinchliffe performed in this Olympic. Consistent thrue all his races and exactly at the level were he are right now in his development. I think we have to attribute a lot of his success to his coach Carl Lewis. A great duo it seems!
Thank you for the insight. You always provide that inside info. I just think there are too many excuses. Consistency is the key to success. Consistent practice. line-ups, and technique.
Christian Coleman ran a smokin' 1st leg, but Bednarek the 2nd leg, was down in 3-point stance like a football player, and not being able to see Coleman approaching, he took off way too early, while the other runners around him were standing up looking back at their approaching 1st leg runners, the way it's supposed to be done! This is where the disaster began. Not sure why Kenny did that, but unfortunately that's what cost us the race...again!
Kenny left to soon...and Gabby was the weakest link. They should have let T. Davis run in the first round so she could've got a Gold and would have had a shot at World Record. They were too busy padding one runners medal count...SMH
Think the US spends too much time catering to the egos of the runners. Athletes should not be the ones who decide the order or who runs; that’s a coaching decision.
@@mssha1980 They just wanted to boost her medal count...should've let T Davis run first round like they gave Quincy Wilson for his gold. She was 4th at trials and World Champion last year...BS she couldn't get on track.
For a team that was challenging for gold it looked terrible, but wasn’t helped by a coach who thinks training together beforehand isn’t necessary. Practicing clearly was important and its why the US did so poorly and likewise why Canada were so good. The US is a group of individuals.
Let’s just call a spade a spade! Kenny B fumbled the bag, I don’t know what he was doing. However the issues with US relay is deeper. 4x100m failure from the US team is emblematic of the relay set up! From observation, the US probably invest the least amount of resources in relay training camp (do they actually have them?😅), selection tends to be haphazard. Changing line ups and legs unnecessarily for a team that has experienced monumental problems in the past is plain stupid.
Keep the four men (Coleman, Kerley, King and Courtney) who ran in the heat for the final. They ran 37.47s and assuming if they can run that time in the final or close to it, they can at least get one of the medals. Ok this is all based on hindsight but we know USA men team has baton issue. Not new and it is well documented. It all about increasing the odds (nothing is 100%) of getting a good baton pass, not based on individual runners performance. All of these four in the original heat are sub-10 secs sprinter.
They could’ve left the legs the same and either kept Courtney on anchor or brought in the other guys who have been running relays this year, like Grant Holloway or Erriyon (the latter was likely not going to be called in lieu of the WADA case. Courtney ran WELL and Grant is The Flamingo… 🤷🏾♂️ On the baton drop…. Christian is a front end of the race runner. Coming into Fred to deliver the baton, he was bringing it in to a slow starter. Kenny also gets out fast so him receiving the baton from Kerley is perfect considering his strongest part of his race is a slow rate of deccelaration; so, he’s coming in faster than Coleman. That’s why those three legs were excellent. Kenny being a good curve runner and has great speed maintenance is perfect to deliver to another slow starter, Noah 🤷🏾♂️
Reflecting on the 4x100 meter relay issues, it's clear that problems arose long before the athletes hit the track for the final race. The coaching strategy seems to apply the same principles as those used for the 4x400 meter relay, despite these being fundamentally different events. While mishaps can occur in the 4x400-such as during the 2023 World Championships-they are generally less common compared to the 4x100. If I had input on future 4x100 relay team selections, for both men and women, I would advocate for running the same athletes in all three rounds, with any necessary changes occurring at the anchor position rather than elsewhere. Many other countries maintain a consistent lineup, and it seems to be effective for them. Instead of focusing solely on the athletes, we should also scrutinize the coaches making these strategic decisions. In my professional environment, a leader or coach would typically have one opportunity to correct their mistakes before being relegated to a role where errors are less critical. We all know what happens to NBA and NFL coaches who lose too many games-they're often shown the door.
@TheFinalLeg, After losing Noah, Team USA had to decide not only how to set the lineup, but also whether or not they were gonna still pursue the WR with an different lineup or be conservative to ensure they won. By changing the 2nd runner instead of the anchor they added risk. Since this is pretty obvious, I can only assume they felt a WR attempt was worth the increased risk. Honestly, I am not mad about that choice. They were willing to risk a pretty sure gold, for a chance at a WR. Was this bravado over brains? Maybe, but while I hate the outcome, I appreciate the choice. We went out swinging. Nobody died (yet). We live to tell about it.
Kenny B used the old 3 point stance as Coleman approached, I personally find that take-off position difficult to see the incoming runner when he hits the mark because you have to twist your head so much. the baseball starting position make see the incoming runner much easier and more accurate. Lots of coaching errors on the men's side.
How many time do they need to replace "the" coach. I'm sure it has been at least 5 different coaches over time, and none has been able to rectify the issue. Green machine was there. Drummond was there. Now Marsh. Same results. Is it really the coaches. Professional athletes who can't pass a baton. When are they going to take some responsibility?
This outside lane phenomenon is really interesting. You have Van Niekerk in Rio, Sha’Carri at worlds and now the Canadians all outside having great success 🤫
That US men's 4x1 was really painful to watch. I think one of the problems is that US has too many elite sprinters and while that might sound like a blessing it's actually a curse IF you have coaches who switch up the line-up too often. It's not about having 4 fastest men. It's about moving the baton fast, but also smooth around the track. For that you need consistency and team mates who have synergy and a lot of practice in the same line-up. E.g. Me and my friends were running far smoother relays even though we were only 16 years old, because we practiced A LOT. Fun fact, we even had a similar line-up in the sense that my buddy on the second leg knew that I had a great reaction time, explosive start and awesome 60m, but I would be slowing down in the last part of the race before the hand-off. Didn't matter, because we accounted for all of that in training. Hope US can get it right for LA 2028. P.S. Congratz to their Women's Team though and amazing feat especially by Gabby Thomas to win triple gold!
I didn’t expect them to win anything when I knew Noah Lyles was out ! People often underestimate him but he is the the. If you take Shackarry Richardson out of women’s team they probably won’t win either. I think it’s a brain matter too. If you’re smart relay will be easy for you !
My initial thought, given the recent mishaps with the Men’s team, was to keep the same team that qualified for the Final. I know they felt they needed to put Kenny in, but I thought maybe the Team from the Heats would have been good. I believe Lindsey would have been fine on anchor given Noah was unable to compete.
Very Happy for Simbine, well deserved. A bit sad for Kenny B cause he's gonna get the Blunt end of criticism for the 4x100, but he has his silver medal to console him. Very sad for Marcell, a 4th and 5th place, he has shown that he deserved better, but that's sport
The hurdle events in this Olympics were the only races with the American men and women each winning first for the gold medal. 🥇🥇🥇🥇 Lyles 100m Thomas 200m Hall 400m Women's team 4x100m
At one of the symposiums I attended we learned that everyone goes off to race in Europe. They rarely stay at Colorado Springs to practice. I'd say go 5-8 fresh from the Trials.
You don't fix what ain't broke. They ran the best 4x100 time of the Olympics in Heat 1. There was no need to make any changes. Team USA gets too caught up in names and times, but it doesn't matter how fast you can run if you can't make clean passes.
I don't understand it. They have done well at the last 3 world championships. They won gold in 2019 and 2023, and got silver in 2022. So it's not like they do bad every relay. It's the olympics when they always do awful. Not sure exactly what changes so much so that they can't even run without getting DQ'd lol. Is it the pressure? Is it the chemistry between the athletes? Is it just the lack of relay practices? All i know is that the coaches are def getting fired after this mess.
They do bad nearly every relay, if they weren't as fast as they are they wouldn't even be on the podium. 2019 completely different team. Gatlin, Rodgers were much more experience. Same for 2017. 2021 was awful from start to finish. 2022 was a terrible relay for the team they had, remember they swept the 100m and 200m and lost to Canada who had nobody in either final. 2023 the best since 2019 but still there were a lot of improvements they could make. 2024 lol....do I even need to explain.
@@boringlifeofateen They trained well. I don't agree with inserting ppl that weren't there for the extensive training Kenny B did muck that up. Leave well enough alone.
@@aodoemelathere one common denominator, Noah Lyles from 2019 and 2023. 2022, Marvin Bracy had no business being on anchor when Fred went down during the 200m. Everyone said that, outside of Rae Edwards of RaesTake, that Noah should have been the anchor against Degrasse and not on 2nd. Mike Marsh will take the blame as he was the HC, However, IMO, there was some back room politics that took place after the 200m finals concluded and when Noah step out of the relay team. On RaesTake, I assume this came either from a source inside the relay camp, there was issue already because Kenny did not want to run 3rd, as the original final team was Coleman, Fred, Kenny and Noah. Kenny wanted to run 2nd like he did at world relays. Problem, Fred is not a good curve runner and was more suited to the straightaway. Coleman wasn’t coming off lead and Noah, if healthy, was not coming off anchor. Once as Noah issues with COVID came up after the 200m finals, I assume that Kenny’s coach, Dennis Mitchell started to politic the order and lobbied for Kenny to run 2nd and Fred to move to anchor. This wouldn’t have been an issue but I don’t believe that Coleman and Kenny worked on any exchanges. If you go onto USATF’s IG or X/Twitter pages at the relay camp, there are several of pics showing Coleman to Fred, King to Courtney and Kenny to Noah. You do not see any pic showing an exchange between Coleman to Kenny. So, if you take that with a grain of salt, I do not believe they worked in any exchange between those two, which lead to this disastrous result.
@@aodoemela But again, this is where the American mindset comes back. "If all the legs are fast, they should win the 4x1 relays". It's not that simple. 2022 was not that bad of a relay team as you say it was. I would agree that Noah should've anchored instead of Bracy, but if you knew what actually happened to Trayvon and Fred, you would understand. First, Trayvon had an urgent family situation in which he returned back to USA before relays. Fred actually got injured before the semi finals of 2022 hence why his heat run was 9.79, but then ran 10.01 in semis and 9.86 in finals. That was pure dawg from Fred. The Canadian team have been the same for years and years. They have a lot of chemistry and relay practice.
The team wanted the Gold Medal and a new Olympic record all wrapped up in one. They were over anxious which caused them to error in passing the baton. Hopefully in the future this will be corrected to become winners again.
@@keandradozier1558 Last time Team USA won an Olympic Gold Medal in the Men’s 4x100m relay was in the year 2000 And the next Olympic Games will be in LA 2028 So therefore, 2000-2028= 28🤓
Am I the only one who believes the line up wasn't the problem?! Kenny just messed up his steps. There's no way he thought the number of steps he gave CC was accurate. Not sure if he miscounted his steps or what but Kenny just messed that up
In all honesty I feel like they don’t wholeheartedly trust Fred to receive and handoff because I will admit even in Budapest and in the prelims he just seems to struggle in some way form or fashion receiving and handing off.
Reason why is he’s a 400m runner from the start who dropped down to the 100m he has no natural instincts for judging speed.. Kenny B is at fault because they know he would have been toxic if he hadn’t of ran. COACHES need to COACH!!!! Stop letting DIVAS ruin chances that come around every 4 years
Coach Rob Track and Field on his you tube channel has some really good insights as to the broken system of the USA and the mens relay. Look for the title "the most embarassing olympic race ever". Though canada didnt have a single racer in the mens 100m final. That relay team has been together since 2015.
The difference in consistency between the usa men and women's team needs to be studied by scientists.. the women's team managed to win last year despite making last minute changes and they won this year in pouring rain 🌧
So happy for South Africa 🇿🇦 winning a medal as well… of course we have superior athletes as and when they work together they will do well as a team… however the nature and business of track and field is now focused on the individual and apparently that is where the majority of time and effort is spent… not a bad thing, but not gonna win you team medals either
@@AllInTheGame01 if they put him on second leg he can run something fast. They have a great chance of winning here. I hear Hall may not run. They'll win if that's the case. But Bayapo Ndori would need to get the batton ahead of Rai Benjamin.
@@panashenhavira Yup & Scotch/Pesela who'll be their weakest runner needs to have the race of his life to help keep BOT in contention cos IF Hall doesn't run, could be looking at the US M4x1 & 4x4 Teams not winning Gold! Also think GB with MHS & Dobson will help keep the race as honest as possible!
Nah the same line up and Kenny replacing king is better but I guess that same line up did get 37.47 in the heats so it could have worked but leaving out Kenny is kind of dumb but it would’ve worked
Coaches deciding the athletes and the order last minute is setting Team USA up for failure. Also, the Star Athletics crew (who are known for their bad behavior) had too much power. They had 3 athletes on the women's side and 4 on the men's. How are you going to tell one of them to sit out without causing a mutiny? They shouldn't have used Kyrie or Tee Tee.
Sometimes you got to wonder if these coaches are doing this on purpose to sabotage Team USA and make them look bad. Wih this happening SOOO many times in the men's 4x100 relay, it really makes no sense why they won't fire the coach and get someone who knows what they are doing. It just seems so suspicious to me.
They think of themselves too much. They all want to run a specific leg instead of thinking about what is best for the team. But the final blame is on the relay coaches. Even the women had a near disaster. They won but they weren’t efficient . Almost fucked up leg 2-3 and 3-4
My thoughts exactly! It seems so suspicious to me that this has continued under the same coach for so long. He should have been fired by now. Maybe he is being paid to sabotage the men's team for the 4x100 relay. I don't trust that coach at all.
Still say CC is the common denominator in both the shaky preliminary heat AND finals fiasco. YES, Kungfu left early. But as leadoff runner, that’s on him to have the steps down from practice- to know if something’s off in warmups -to call the audible on time and have command of that first exchange in every sense of the word. The outgoing runner has his back to you. As a former and consistent leadoff runner, my coaches always put that on me to be accountable for. No dropped batons or botched exchanges from my hands 🤷🏾♂️ Now, the question is How long are we gonna allow seasoned pros who’ve ran relays for their entire careers get away with elementary school errors on the world’s Biggest track stages?
