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American sprinter Kendall Ellis stated she was “blindsided” when she was faraway from the 4×400-meter relay on the Paris Olympics on Saturday evening.
Ellis was the reigning U.S. 400-meter champion. But she was not part of the group that blew out its opponents on the observe. Instead, Shamier Little, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Gabby Thomas and Alexis Holmes dominated on their highway to a gold medal.
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US’ Kendall Ellis prepares to compete within the ladies’s 400m semi-final of the athletics occasion on the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on August 7, 2024. (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP by way of Getty Images)
Ellis instructed ESPN she had 4 minutes to spare earlier than she was instructed she was a no go for the medal race.
“I feel very proud of the team that was put out there. I think they ran incredible,” she stated. “I also feel disappointed and lied to and embarrassed. I feel like I was blindsided because I was told one thing this morning and, for hours, thought I was running in the final. It seems everyone know besides me.”
Ellis stated she woke as much as a textual content message from Mechelle Freeman, saying that she wouldn’t be within the 4×400-meter relay. Ellis stated she wished to make her level in particular person and when she did, she stated Freeman instructed her to arrange as if she can be competing within the relay in any case.
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US’ Kendall Ellis competes within the ladies’s 400m repechage spherical of the athletics occasion on the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on August 6, 2024. (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP by way of Getty Images)
But earlier than the race, Ellis stated one other U.S. coach got here as much as her and stated she was sorry that she wasn’t competing. Ellis instructed her private coach Quincy Watts about what she heard. Watts then talked to Freeman in regards to the choice and Ellis overheard that she wasn’t going to be within the race.
“That was four minutes before the race,” Ellis instructed ESPN.
“We had a good conversation [this morning], a good meeting. I’m an incredible relay runner. It was disappointing to not be on the relay, but I’m angry about the way it was done. I don’t feel supported or valued as a member of the team or as a 400-meter runner, and I don’t feel respected.”
Ellis stated she’s not sure what she’ll do now that that Olympics are over with.
Kendall Ellis of Team United States appears on through the Women’s 400m Repechage Round on day eleven of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 06, 2024 in Paris, France. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
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USATF didn’t instantly reply to Fox News Digital’s request for remark.
Elllis gained gold within the 4×400-meter relay and a bronze medal within the combined 4×400-meter relay in Tokyo in 2021.
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