Once again, it’s a baton exchange mishap that slowed the United States’ men’s 4 x 100 relay

Bungling a baton transfer is nothing new for United States sprint relay teams, and it came back to haunt them again and fail to qualify them for the final of the men’s 4 x 100-meter stick-pass.

The baton failure slowed down the foursome as they finished in 38.10 and placed sixth in their heat, with China, Canada and Italy taking the top three spots in the heat to automatically qualify for Friday’s finals.

The baton exchange has given the U.S. men trouble in the past, and it sometimes occurred for the women. But in the 2016 Rio de Janerio Olympics, the American men came in third, but the quartet was disqualified after the first exchange was ruled to have taken place outside the exchange zone.

The men’s 4 x 100 relay teams in 2008 and 2012, and the women’s relays in 2004 and 2008 all failed to make it around the track successfully.

This time, the men got off to a mediocre start Thursday from Trayvon Bromell and the sloppy baton passing spelled doom despite the USA’s unmatched depth in sprinting.

“It was a mess from the start,” said United States’ four-time gold medal winner Carl Lewis, and the sloppy baton passing didn’t help. Teams have to practice this more and make sure they have it down pat before lining up.”