Honestly, for a country that built a legacy on Track and Field and relay dominance, the 2025 World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou marked an undeniable low point for Team USA. Just one gold medal—down three from last year—was all they managed. The meet was riddled with baton drops, disqualifications, and missed chances. The men’s 4x400m team couldn’t qualify for the final, and the mixed 4x100m saw a botched baton exchange between Jada Mowatt and Kendal Williams. The results prompted the former coach to speak out, and commentators are backing that up!

The fallout after Team USA’s relay struggles in Guangzhou didn’t take long to surface. Did it? One of the most respected voices in American sprinting, Mechelle Lewis Freeman, stepped into that moment. Having coached U.S. women’s relay squads to multiple Olympic and World titles, Freeman wasn’t vague in her reaction. She posted on X: “It can never be about everybody getting a chance to run. The decisions should always be based on doing what it takes to accomplish the task as best as possible, every single time. Period. #MinimizeRisk #MaximizePerformance.”

That post quickly gained traction within the track and field community, not just for what it said, but who said it. The track and field coach’s resume includes leading the U.S. women’s 4x100m to three straight Olympic golds, and helping deliver a World Championship record in Budapest 2023. It’s no surprise her voice carried weight. And she wasn’t finished. In a follow-up post that hinted at deeper tensions, Freeman added: “So many things I wish I could say…”

Within hours, Rae Edwards, analyst and founder of RaesTake TV, picked up Freeman’s post. Sharing a screenshot, he wrote, “Welp. 🤷🏿‍♂️ Not much you can say to her at this point.”  The post included his tweet, which read, “”I mean. Team USA y’all just gave her fire for her speech. For whatever internal reasons, the external is now taking the damage. That world relays showcase was definitely horrid and unacceptable by the standards of what Team USA used to be. She gets the last laugh now for sure.”

Freeman officially left her role as a coach on February 26, 2025. That announcement came via a stark black-and-white Instagram post, showing the 2023 Budapest team in celebration. Her caption read: “My time as the USATF Head Women’s Relays Coach has come to an end. Thank you to my family and to those who believed in me. Thank you, Lord, for choosing me to show the world how to WIN against it all. To the athletes, keep making history and much love.” Well, as far as making history was concerned, Team USA did not have the best time at the World Relays.

USA World Relays results at a glance

The early shock came when the mixed 4x100m team failed to qualify for the final. That stumble set the tone. Not long after, the women’s 4x100m squad came in fourth, just off the podium and out of medal contention. The surprise stung, especially considering the dominance the U.S. had shown in past editions.

There were glimpses of redemption. The men’s 4x100m team, anchored by Brandon Hicklin, clocked a season-best 37.66, finishing just behind South Africa’s world-leading run. Meanwhile, the women’s 4x400m, led by Paris Peoples and Bailey Lear, fought hard for silver behind Spain’s national-record run.

But the biggest highlight? The mixed 4x400m gold. Johnnie Blockburger’s blistering third leg handed the U.S. a big lead, and Lynna Irby-Jackson sealed it with a 49.53 anchor. The time—3:09.54, was the eighth-fastest ever and set the Championship record.

Despite the lone gold, the meet was far from Team USA’s usual dominance