Carl Lewis rips US men’s team as ‘total embarrassment’ after Olympic relay

Renowned Olympic sprinter Carl Lewis ripped the U.S. men’s track team after their relay loss at the Tokyo Games, saying their performance was a “total embarrassment.”

“The USA team did everything wrong in the men’s relay. The passing system is wrong, athletes running the wrong legs, and it was clear that there was no leadership,” Lewis wrote on Twitter late Wednesday.

“It was a total embarrassment, and completely unacceptable for a USA team to look worse than the AAU kids I saw,” he added.

The USA team did everything wrong in the men’s relay. The passing system is wrong, athletes running the wrong legs, and it was clear that there was no leadership. It was a total embarrassment, and completely unacceptable for a USA team to look worse than the AAU kids I saw .

— Carl Lewis (@Carl_Lewis) August 5, 2021

Lewis won 10 Olympic medals during his career from 1979 to 1996, including nine gold medals.

The U.S. men’s team claimed sixth place at the relay, with the sprinters struggling to hand the baton to one another during the race, The Associated Press reported.

“We just didn’t get the job done today. That’s all,” Fred Kerley, who ran the second leg of the race, said.

It’s been 21 years since U.S. men have won the 4×100 at the Olympics. 

“I’m honestly kind of mad — not at these guys; they did what they could do,” Trayvon Bromell, another member of the U.S. team, told NBC after running the opening leg of the race. 

“I did what I can do. I can really just speak for myself in a sense. Like I said, these guys did their job; I did what I could do. On the first leg, it just — it’s really some B.S. for real, to be honest with you,” he added.

China finished first, Canada finished second and Italy finished third in the race.