Carl Lewis has expressed his dissatisfaction with Team USA’s athletics performance in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Lewis, a former Olympic athlete, secured nine gold medals for his country throughout his career.
His career, which lasted from 1979 to 1996, saw him excel in sprint and long jump events.
Since his retirement, Team USA has achieved significant success, amassing an impressive 125 medals in Paris this year (at the time of writing).
Despite winning 14 golds in athletics, Team USA faced disappointment on Friday, August 9, when the men’s 4x100m relay team was disqualified.
The reason for the disqualification was an illegal baton pass.
During the race, Christian Coleman collided with his teammate Kenny Bednarek while attempting the baton exchange between the first and second legs. Additionally, Coleman handed over the baton outside the designated exchange zone, violating the rules.
According to World Athletics: “The baton shall be passed within the takeover zone. The passing of the baton commences when it is first touched by the receiving athlete and is completed the moment it is in the hand of only the receiving athlete.”
“In relation to the takeover zone, it is only the position of the baton which is decisive. Passing of the baton outside the takeover zone shall result in disqualification.”
In response to the relay mishap, Lewis voiced his frustrations on social media, calling for a complete overhaul of ‘the system’.
“It is time to blow up the system,” Lewis wrote on Friday. “This continues to be completely unacceptable. It is clear that EVERYONE at @usatf is more concerned with relationships than winning.”
He further emphasized: “No athlete should step on the track and run another relay until this program is changed from top to bottom.”
NBC Olympics’ Lewis Johnson reported Lewis’ intense frustration, describing him as ‘furious’.
According to NBC New York: “Carl is furious and he’s angry about multiple things. First of all, he’s angry about a system that he says is not set up to help the athletes from the United States moves forward and do well.”
“He said if Noah Lyles was out sick with Covid, they should have just replaced the anchor leg and nothing else. But the fact they reordered the entire relay had him worried, and in the end had him upset.”
Supporters online are now advocating for Lewis to take on a coaching role for Team USA at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
“Please step in Mr Lewis. This hurt my heart,” one person tweeted, while another added: “Carl Lewis should be an Olympic track coach or at minimum a consultant for the USA Olympics team in Los Angeles 2028!”