"Usain Bolt must be seething"; "A bit of a disaster" - Fans react as Kishane Thompson-led Jamaica fails to qualify for men's 4 x 100m relay finals

By Janhavi Shinde

Modified Aug 08, 2024 14:17 GMT

The Jamaican men's 4x100m relay team, led by Kishane Thompson, fell short of qualifying for the final round at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The team, including Thompson, Ackeem Blake, Jelani Walker, and Jehlani Gordon, drew criticism from fans after the major setback.

The Jamaican team competed in the second heats in Round 1, clocking a below-average time of 38.45 seconds. They were surpassed by Chinese, French, and Canadian squads, who posted 38.24, 38.34, and 38.39 seconds, respectively, to earn direct qualification.

The team also failed to grab the qualification by time as the Japanese and the Italian squads listed 38.06 and 38.07 seconds, respectively, in the first heats.

Following their disqualification, fans expressed their dissent as one of them referred to it as "unreal".

"One of the worst performances...unreal...more practice needed," the fan wrote on X.

Another highlighted the rough exchange of batons observed between Thompson and Gordon as the reason for disqualification.

"They wasted seconds exchanging the batons, very amateurish for such a strong team," the fan conveyed.

Another fan reminisced about the dominance of the Jamaican team, including Usain Bolt, and assumed that the legendary sprinter must be furious.

"Usain Bolt must be seething," the fan wrote.

A fan reflected on the Jamaican track team's performance at the Paris Olympics, having secured only a silver medal so far, and said:

"These Olympics have been a bit of a disaster for the Jamaican team."

Here are a few more reactions:

"Such poor baton change it was painful to watch," a fan expressed.

"Jamaica became so dependent on bolt and shelly they are really struggling," another wrote.

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Kishane Thompson secures silver medal in men's 100m event after a needle-thin finish behind Noah Lyles

Kishane Thompson and Noah Lyles after the Men's 100m Final at the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo via Getty Images)

Kishane Thompson competed in the men's 100m at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He earned the spot to compete in the final after dominating the semifinal round with 9.80 seconds.

Thompson secured a silver medal in the event in the tight photo-finish final after finishing behind Lyles with a gap of five-thousands of a second. While the American sprinter posted a time of 9.79(.784) seconds, Thompson listed 9.79(.789) seconds.

With this feat, Kishane Thompson became the only Jamaican athlete to secure a medal in the track events so far at the Paris Olympics.