Relays and mishaps have often gone hand-in-hand with Team USA, and in the first mixed relay at the World Indoor Championships, that’s exactly how it went. A chaotic moment saw Team USA caught up in a mix-up that cost them crucial seconds, leaving them to finish dead last. Not quite how they expected it to go, but on the final day of the World Indoor, their men’s and women’s relay teams made up for it.

The men kicked it off by flying across the track to win Team USA the gold medal in the men’s 4x400m in the final. They broke the championship record with a time of 3:01.52 and came within 0.01 seconds of the world short-track record as well. It marked an impressive display from the men’s relay contingent, although that wasn’t the case by the end of Round 1.

They finished third in Heat 1, behind the Netherlands and Portugal, meaning automatic qualification had eluded the USA. But in the end, their time in the heat was enough to qualify them among the two fastest teams, allowing them to make the final six. That’s where they shone, as despite Belgium taking an early lead after Jonathan Sacoor’s 45.83, Team USA made up ground.

Chris Robinson put his side on top with the second fastest split (45.16) before both Demarius Smith and Khaleb McRae held onto the lead to give Team USA the gold. It certainly was an impressive display, and Team USA’s women’s contingent replicated that with their own gold medal in the 4x400m.

They qualified for the final with the best team in Heat 2 and the third-best time among the eight teams. And then they picked up the pace in the final to retain their title, registering 3:25.81 and keeping 2024 champions Netherlands at bay. Spain (3:26.04) finished with the bronze medal, although they just barely kept hosts Poland (3:26.17) from sneaking onto the podium.

It marked a remarkable turnaround for both sides, especially after their poor performance in the mixed 4x400m relay earlier in the tournament. That wasn’t entirely their fault, as the first leg was where most of the carnage and chaos occurred, which ultimately hurt Team USA.

It all kicked off with the Netherlands’ Keenan Blake, who cut in and came into Spain’s Markel Fernandes’ path while trying to pass the baton. He fell, tripped, and Blake fell over him, which meant that he wasn’t able to pass over the baton. In the other lane, Jevon O’Bryant had Team USA in second place after the first leg, and his baton pass to Sara Reifenrath was perfect.

But Jamaica’s Shana Kaye Anderson stretched across her lane and Team USA’s lane to get her baton, leading to a collision. That, combined with Blake’s fall, meant Reifenrath was shoved by the Dutch athlete and Anderson, causing her to fall as well. She managed to get up but had to finish her leg of the race without one spike, which led to the USA finishing last.

In the end, Belgium finished first, Spain second, and Jamaica third, but they were disqualified for impeding Team USA, and their third-place spot was eventually passed over to the home team, Poland. The home fans loved that, but for Team USA, it marked a disappointing end to their mixed relay, although they more than made up for it in the men’s and women’s 4x400m relays.

That also ensured that Team USA finished at the top of the medals table by the end of Day 3 of the World Indoor Championships.

Team USA finishes at the top of the medal table at the World Indoor Championships

That wasn’t always the case, as by the end of Day 2, Team USA sat in second place behind Italy, which had three gold medals after two days of action. However, the USA had only two gold medals after Jordan Anthony and Chase Jackson’s wins in the 60m and the shot put, respectively. But then Day 3 arrived, and Team USA thrived, winning multiple gold medals.

Cooper Lutkenhaus became the youngest ever World Indoor medalist when he clocked in at 1:44, his second fastest time ever in the 800m. It marked his first-ever medal on the global stage, which comes after his disappointing run in the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. He beat out Belgian Elliot Crestan and Spain’s Mohamed Attaoui, who finished second and third, respectively.

Following that, both Team USA’s men’s and women’s teams won their respective 4x400m relays to help secure the lead, although it was far from guaranteed. That was especially after Team Great Britain enjoyed an equally exceptional Day 3. They made history at the World Indoor Championships after winning not one but three gold medals in 28 minutes.

Georgia Hunter Bell kicked off the gold rush and was quickly followed by her first global 1500m title. She registered 4.85 to win the gold over Slovakia’s Tina Sutej (4.80) and Amalie Svabikova (4.70) to win Team GB their second gold. And then the third came from Olympic medalist Keely Hodgkinson, who suffered an unfortunate mishap before her heats even kicked off.

It didn’t seem to matter to her, however, as she swept through her opponents in the 800m final to win her first World Indoor gold. Yet it wasn’t enough, as that late surge was only enough for Team Great Britain to finish second on the table, behind Team USA, at the end of the World Indoor Championships.