US track and field superstar Carl Lewis labelled the men's 4x100 metres relay team a "total embarrassment" after a ragged run saw them finish a shock sixth in their semi-final on Thursday.
It was the latest in a dire run of performances in an event the United States has dominated for decades.
The US team featured two of the individual 100m finalists, Fred Kerley and Ronnie Baker, the world leader Trayvon Bromell, and Cravon Gillespie, who also ran the heats en route to their 2019 world championship-winning title.
But, despite the depth of talent on show, the changeovers were poor and a shocking second handover saw them lose all momentum. Anchor Gillespie, a controversial inclusion ahead of Kenny Bednarek or Noah Lyles, made no impression in a mass finish, with China the surprise heat winners in 37.92.
Canada, brought home by 200m champion Andre de Grasse, were second, two thousandths of a second behind, and Italy, helped by newly-crowned individual 100m champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs, posted a national record 37.95 to also advance. Germany (38.06) and Ghana (38.08) also finished ahead of the Americans (38.10) to take the two fastest losers' slots in Friday's final.
Jamaica led the way in the other semi, qualifying fastest in 37.82, ahead of Britain (38.02) and Japan (38.16).
Carl Lewis, who helped the US to two Olympic and three world sprint relay golds, was one of many to take to social media to share his disappointment. "The USA team did everything wrong in the men's relay," Lewis tweeted.
"The passing system is wrong, athletes running the wrong legs, and it was clear that there was no leadership. It was a total embarrassment, and completely unacceptable for a USA team to look worse than the AAU [Amateur Athletic Union] kids I saw."
Leroy Burrell, a member of the 1992 gold medal-winning US relay squad alongside Lewis, added: "I have no words."
Members of the US team were left struggling to explain the latest entry in the Americans' extensive catalogue of under-achievement.
"Honestly, I'm not even sure," was the verdict of Gillespie when asked what went wrong.
"We've definitely got to pick up for the worlds (championships) next year and the next Olympics because this is unacceptable," he added.
"We just didn't get the job done today, no excuses," said second-leg runner Kerley, silver medallist in the men's 100m final on Sunday.
Third-leg runner Baker suggested the team had not had enough practice.
"We are all running fast right now," Baker said. "Fred is running 9.8sec and I am running 9.8sec. Trying to time that up perfectly with a couple of practices is tough."
After dominating the event for decades, winning at a remarkable 15 of the 18 Olympics they entered from 1920 to 2000, a succession of disqualifications and setbacks have contributed to the US failing to win gold since.
In 2004 they were edged on the line by Britain, while they dropped the baton in 2008. They finished second again in 2012, only to be stripped of the medal due to Tyson Gay's doping positive, and were disqualified again for a changeover offence after finishing third in 2016.
With a series of similar failures in the world championships it adds up to a long tale of woe. It is also another setback for the men's team of the sport's traditionally most powerful nation at Tokyo, where they have struggled to make anything like their usual impact.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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RESULTS
Tottenham 1
Jan Vertonghen 13'
Norwich 1
Josip Drmic 78'
2-3 on penalties
