<Anchor> At the
Tokyo Olympics, the 'athletic powerhouse' the US cried at the 'curse of the baton'. In the men's 400m relay, he was knocked out of the qualifier by mistake of touching the baton.
Correspondent Lee Jeong-chan.
<Reporter> With
Usain Bolt missing, America's dream of reclaiming the 400m relay was thwarted in the qualifying rounds.
The start was fine, but there was a delay in the process of runner 2 handing the baton to runner 3, and the last runner could not turn the tide and crossed the finish line later than China, Canada, Italy, as well as Germany and Ghana.
[NBC broadcast: Oh my God. How do you get to the finals after placing 6th? I can't go. Shock. It's a huge shock.] When
runner Curley handed the baton, Baker's departure was delayed and time passed as she almost held the baton in her hand.
The United States, which has reigned as an absolute power by sweeping gold medals 15 times in the Olympic 400m relay, has been weeping under the 'Curse of the Batong' since the 2008 Beijing Games.
I missed, fell, and was disqualified after getting a baton outside the baton touch zone in the final of the last Rio Olympics.
When he failed to pass the qualifying rounds, let alone a medal for the first time in 17 years, American track and field legend Carl Lewis could not hide his disappointment, saying, "Everything went wrong."
(Video editing: Park Chun-bae, CG: Jeong Hyeon-jeong)