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Canadian PM Justin Trudeau trolls USA over Noah Lyles comments, 4x100m relay disaster

Grant Grubbs Profile Pictureby: Grant Grubbs08/09/24grant_grubbs_
Justin Trudeau
© John E. Sokolowski | USA TODAY Sports

On Friday, Canada won the 4×100-meter relay at the 2024 Paris Olympics. It was only the second time Canada has ever won the event, previously taking home the gold medal in 1996.

The United States entered the event as a heavy favorite. However, the 4x100m relay team was disqualified after Christian Coleman and Kenny Bednarek committed an illegal exchange of the baton at the first handover. After the event, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau didn’t hesitate to pour salt in the United States’ wounds.

Although Trudeau’s post was a retort to American sprinter Noah Lyles‘ previous comments, Lyles did not participate in the event after being diagnosed with COVID-19 earlier this week. Before being sidelined, Lyles won the gold medal in the men’s 100-meter dash and secured a bronze medal in the 200-meter race.

The US has now suffered 11 dropped batons, disqualifications or bans in the Olympics and World Championships since 1995. The US has not medaled in the event at the Olympics since 2004.

The last time they won the race was in 2000 at the Sydney Games in Australia. Before the US’s recent spell of misfortune, they dominated the event, winning it 15 times since the Olympics added the relay in 1912.

Carl Lewis is furious with US performance

Despite the US’s dominant history in the event, Trudeau had the last laugh on Friday. American former track and field star Carl Lewis was not happy with the US’s performance.

Lewis Johnson, the track analyst for the NBC Olympics coverage, was standing near Lewis as the men sprinted around the track at the Stade de France outside Paris. Johnson relayed what Lewis said, adding that the icon with nine Olympic golds, was “furious.”

“A few moments ago, I talked with the Olympic legend Carl Lewis,” Johnson said. “He was down here just a few feet away from me as the men’s 400-meter relay was contested. Carl is furious and he’s angry about several things. 

“First of all, he’s angry about a system that he says is not set up to help the United States move forward and do well,” Johnson said. “He’s also angry that they didn’t have the right people in the right places. If Noah Lyles was out sick with COVID, they should’ve just replaced the anchor leg and nothing else. But the fact they reordered the entire relay had him worried and at the end, had him upset.”

On3’s Suzanne Halliburton also contributed to this article.