ATLANTA — It was Olympic heartbreak for Atlanta's Christian Coleman on Friday, as he and Kenny Bednarek could not complete a smooth handoff in the men's 4x100m relay at the Paris Olympics, resulting in a disqualification for the U.S. team.
The disqualification was almost beside the point, as the first-to-second-leg handoff took so much time that the U.S. wasn't able to come close to catching up anyway.
You can see the moment in the race video posted by NBC below, starting at about the 9 second mark. It appeared Bednarek left too early, initiating the mishap with Coleman.
The handoff situation with Coleman had been highlighted in the heats round, too, as he used two hands in the exchange of the earlier race on Thursday.
Disastrous baton exchanges, disqualifications and a doping ban that took away a silver medal in 2012 has meant the men's relay team hasn't earned a medal in the event since 2004.
The curse continued in Paris as Coleman struggled to hand the baton to Bednarek.
He ultimately ran out of zone during the disastrous handoff. Coleman first ran into, then passed, Bednarek as they made their awkward exchange. After the race finished, judges determined they had passed out of zone.
Why was the US disqualified?
An out of zone penalty occurs when a runner ending their stretch still has the baton when they exit the handoff zone where the next runner — already beginning their sprint — is supposed to accept the pass.
It's a serious misstep that meant an instant disqualification for the team, no matter their standing beforehand or after.
Andre De Grasse put a bright mark on an otherwise disappointing Olympics by anchoring Canada to gold in a time of 37.50 seconds. It was the first medal in Paris for De Grasse, but his seventh overall. South Africa finished second and Britain third.
The U.S. team qualified for the finals Thursday, with the fastest time in the heats at 37.37 seconds. That time gave some hope that the quartet would be able to break the 20-year drought that hung over them.
Many expected the lineup of Coleman, Fred Kerley, Kyree King and Courtney Lindsey, to change for the finals.
However, Noah Lyles, the gold medalist in the 100 meters, had to bow out revealing after the 200-meter final he was diagnosed with COVID-19.
The disappointing end to the race comes minutes after Sha'Carri Richardson was able to come from behind in the women's 4x100 final to win gold for the U.S.
