The first time that 4x100 meters was decided in the Olympics (1912), the United States switched directly in the semifinals against Great Britain.
Since then, the country has dominated the branch.
They won 15 of the next 18 Olympic gold medals, but since then it has been heavier.
Last washed
In 2004, the United Kingdom won by just one hundredth to spare.
In 2008 one of the runners lost the pole in the qualifiers, in 2012 it was silver (which they then got rid of after Tyson Gay tested positive for doping), and in 2016 they finished in bronze place - but were then washed due to an incorrect change.
Last night it was another failure.
In tonight's trial run, the team, which consisted of world setter Trayvon Bromell, Olympic silver medalist Fred Kerley, Olympic five Ronnie Baker and Cravon Gillespie (with a year-best 9.96), finished only in sixth place in the trial heat.
The first three went to the final.
"Honestly, I'm pretty crazy," Travyon Bromell, who ran the first leg, told NBC.
Got hold of sweater
Above all, it was the changes that troubled the United States.
Especially the second shift.
Then Ronnie Baker first got hold of Kerley's linen, when he tried to take over the baton.
- Trying to time it perfectly with just a couple of workouts is difficult, but it's the way it is, says Baker, according to ESPN.
"Did everything wrong"
One who was really critical of the American effort is the nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis.
"The American team did everything wrong in the men's relay.
The shift system is wrong, the runners ran the wrong distances, and there was no clear leadership.
It was really embarrassing, and completely unacceptable for an American team to look worse than a school team ", he writes on Twitter.
China won the US heat, at 37.92.
The fastest in the trials was Jamaica, who won the first heat at 37.82.