Another Rio Olympics Scandal – U.S. Women 4×100 Relay Team to Re-Race after Dropping Baton

August 19, 2016

U.S. women 4×100 relay team got involved in a Rio Olympics scandal as they were granted the right to re-race after dropping baton. Protests are growing against the U.S. women relay team as many people believe that it is an unfair treatment.

Image credit: Yahoo

Earlier this week, the sports world was shaken by the Rio Olympics Scandal of the United States swimming team. American swimmers Ryan Lochte, James Feigen, Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz claimed that they were the victims of an armed robbery. However, it turned out that they made up a cover story for their mischievous behavior. The Brazilian Police Department released a video showing that the sportsmen apparently vandalize a gas station.

While the sports world is busy with this Rio Olympic scandal, a new incident, involved by American sports women, raised controversy. U.S. women 4×100 relay team was disqualified after dropping the baton during the race before the final. Here is the video of the incident:

American athlete Allyson Felix dropped the baton just before handing it to English Gardner. The U.S. side appealed to the final results and the Olympics Committee granted them another chance to race. The U.S. women relay team will run again in order to be able to quality to the final.

Accidents are quite normal in sports; a small wrong move can change the fate of the whole competition. This is the very basis of the protests that the U.S. side has attracted protests. The Americans blamed the Brazilian athlete who appeared to be touching Felix while she was giving the baton to her team mate. Felix stated that this touch made her lose her control and it led her dropping the baton.

After watching the race footage, the Olympics committee decided to disqualify the Brazilian team and give another chance to the U.S. side. They will run alone and if they can beat the clock under 42.70 seconds, they will beat China and qualify to the final round.

Jamaico won the normal session with a time of 41.79 seconds. However, Americans are shown as favorites with the leadership of Allyson Felix as they won the competition at the 2012 London Olympics.

Rio Olympics scandals aside, the biggest sports event of the year continues with amazing competitions. If you want to bet on Rio Olympics in the United States online, check our United States and also European online betting sites reviews. There are lucrative deposit and no deposit free bet bonuses if you are looking for online sportsbooks to bet on Rio Olympics free.