Olympic track and field legend Carl Lewis informed CNBC that he stands “100 percent” by his criticism of Team U.S.A.’s males’s 4x100m relay group after it completed sixth in its semifinal on Thursday and stopped working to receive the last.
He stressed, nevertheless, that his ire was not directed towards the professional athletes, however towards the U.S. relay program that put the groups together.
“The federation sets up the teams, and the coaches and the system, and they’re failing the athletes,” stated Lewis, who won the 4×100 Olympic gold medal two times and 7 other golds.
“That’s why I was so emotional and so angry, because these athletes work their whole lives, they run fast and doing everything to make the team and then you put them in a position that’s impossible to be successful.”
Americans Trayvon Bromell, Fred Kerley, Ronnie Baker and Cravon Gillespie were removed from the occasion as China, Canada, Italy, Germany and Ghana all certified. Lewis informed “The News with Shepard Smith” that he spoke with among the professional athletes from the American group who likewise revealed his aggravation with the present system.
“They’re frustrated because it’s like the same, wrong, incorrect system, and making the same mistakes, and it’s like, why don’t we change the system, and put the other system that’s successful and have some people help us set it up, so that we have a chance to do it,” stated Lewis.
The U.S. has actually not won the males’s 4x100m relay because 2000 in Sydney.
Lewis informed host Shepard Smith that the problem comes down to the professional athletes’ lives, which he will constantly promote for them.
“My passion is to try to support athletes’ lives and these athletes work their whole life to become Olympic champions, and you know what, the United States is the best team in the world in the relay, no question, but we’re not even getting to the starting line,” Lewis stated.
U.S.A. Track and Field, the nationwide governing body, did not instantly react to CNBC’s ask for remark.
