It was a rather eventful Day 1 at the 2026 World Relays. Jamaica and Canada broke the world record in the mixed 4x100m relays, and then 26 European teams punched their tickets to the 2027 World Athletics Championships. Three squads from Team USA then joined them, but then came a move nobody saw coming. It left a former Olympian and Team USA coach stunned, with fans scrambling for answers.

Because reports had indicated that Team USA had withdrawn its women’s 4x100m team from the repechage round. That was despite the team having qualified for the round, with hopes of reaching the final. And Olympian Mechelle L Freeman, who is also a coach for Team USA, was shocked by that decision.

“Wow,” Freeman wrote on X. “Yes, we have the number one time in the world right now, so we will qualify on time for world champs. But to pull out a team on site is something I’ve never experienced in my 10 years as the relays coach.”

She wasn’t the only one stunned as several fans across social media were left searching for answers. Many believed that the reports were simply rumours. But things were confirmed the moment Team USA’s squad didn’t turn up for the start of Qualifying Round 2. And since then, journalist Jonathan Gault has reported that the team was withdrawn after an injury.

“Per USATF, they scratched the women’s 4×100 today due to an injury to Samirah Moody,” Gault wrote on X. “No auto spot at 2027 Worlds for Team USA — they’ll have to go out and run a time qualifier next year (which they almost certainly will).”

Had they competed, Team USA would have faced France, Nigeria, Hungary, South Africa, Belgium, and India. That was, however, after a less-than-perfect performance in Qualifying Round 1. Team USA finished fourth in Heat 1, well behind the winner, Spain, and second-place Canada. They clocked 42.26 and 42.39, respectively, while Team USA’s women registered 43.33, finishing behind Poland (43.09).

However, their time was enough to earn them a place inside the top 15. That handed them another chance in the repechage round. But after withdrawing from the event, France and Nigeria ended up first and second. It meant that the two teams also qualified for the 2027 World Athletics Championships.

But as both Gault and Freeman reported, Team USA’s women’s 4x100m relay team does have a chance of qualifying for the World Athletics Championships. That’s because, at the moment, they have the fastest time in the world. That’s after USA White clocked 41.70 in April 2026. Jamaica came within milliseconds of that, clocking 41.96 in Heat 1 in Botswana, but sits second right now.

Thus, the top three will go through, and, as per Gault, if it comes down to a time qualifier next year, Team USA will be present. After all, they hope to join the other 48 teams that have already qualified for Worlds.

First 48 teams qualify for 2027 World Athletics Championships

The first eight teams in each relay event will secure places at the World Athletics Championships in Beijing next year. That’s across the heats of both the men’s and women’s 4x100m, 4x400m, and the mixed 4x100m and 4x400m. Thus, by the end of Day 1, the top two teams in each heat, plus the next-fastest teams in every event, made the cut. And there’s more up for grabs when the final for each event kicks off on May 3, with four teams securing automatic qualification.

And after Jamaica broke the mixed relays world record (twice!!), they ensured their qualification for the World Championships in 2027. Yet while they didn’t quite break the world record, their mixed 4x400m and the women’s 4x100m also qualified. Canada produced a similar result, qualifying for three of six events, missing out on the men’s 4×400 m and the mixed 4x400m.

Team USA replicated that, missing out on the women’s 4x100m, 4x400m, and the men’s 4x400m automatic qualification. Shockingly, no team managed to qualify for all six events in one go. The ones who came the closest were Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as the Netherlands and Spain, each making 4.

But for Team USA’s women’s 4x100m team, the sudden withdrawal only added to the confusion and disbelief. Now, having been scratched because of an injury, it adds to their woes, although qualification still remains within reach.