American sprinter Kendall Ellis said she was "lied to and embarrassed" after Team USA's women's relay coach told her she would not be running in the final minutes before the race started.
It’s been odd how little contribution our individual 400 team made to our relays this Olympics, though injuries are a part of that too. I suppose that was also true in Tokyo for the women with SML and Mu in the final.
This was handled poorly. She deserved to be pulled, but they should have stuck with the initial decision instead of waffling and getting her hopes up. I do think that our 400m individual runners weirdly make a habit of running their way out of spots. Hall got hurt it happens. Norman crushed his 400m heat then went backwards. Ellis bombed her and then ran 50.4s when she went under 50 at USAs. Bailey and Holmes the only individual runners to make it to teams.
No one is supposed to be handed anything. She had opportunities to deliver and failed. No one have time for foolishness. Pulling her was the right call. And the composition of the team is made at warm up. 6 warmed up and then the final decision was made. The relay managers made the right call.
She looked POd in the after conference. And Gabby stumbled on the exchange with SML which could have been a major problem
They won by 4 seconds… they would have been fine no matter who was on the team. At the end of the day, bet on champions at their peak, not also rans who can’t make a final on their own.
She looked POd in the after conference. And Gabby stumbled on the exchange with SML which could have been a major problem
They won by 4 seconds… they would have been fine no matter who was on the team. At the end of the day, bet on champions at their peak, not also rans who can’t make a final on their own.
Her comments sound like sour grapes. The only thing I agree with is that she should have been ruled out for the relay after being relegated to the repechage.
She looked POd in the after conference. And Gabby stumbled on the exchange with SML which could have been a major problem
They won by 4 seconds… they would have been fine no matter who was on the team. At the end of the day, bet on champions at their peak, not also rans who can’t make a final on their own.
I believe her complaint is not that she was not selected, but that she was told she was. She went and warmed up and was only told 4 minutes before the race that she was not running. If true, she is correct about it being disrespectful and embarrassing, as she would have told her family and friends that she was running and not even had time to tell them she wasn't before the race started.
She looked POd in the after conference. And Gabby stumbled on the exchange with SML which could have been a major problem
They won by 4 seconds… they would have been fine no matter who was on the team. At the end of the day, bet on champions at their peak, not also rans who can’t make a final on their own.
If she was on the team, the USA would have lost by 1 sec. It was the right decision.