PARIS – American sprinter Kendall Ellis, the reigning U.S. champion in the 400 meters and a relay specialist, said the head coach of the U.S. women’s relay team informed her four minutes before the 4×400-meter final on Saturday night that she would not run in the final.

“I’m very proud of the team that competed there. I think they ran unbelievably,” Ellis told ESPN late Saturday night. “But I’m also disappointed, lied to and embarrassed. I feel like I was blindsided because I was told something this morning and for hours I thought I was going to run in the final. It seems like everyone knows it but me.”

Ellis said she woke up Saturday morning to a text message from relay coach Mechelle Freeman telling her she would not be running in the final. Ellis said she then asked Freeman for a face-to-face meeting with an athlete representative who was present at a hotel near the Olympic Village.

There, she said, Freeman raised concerns about Ellis’ inconsistency at that distance – she had won the 400 meters in the U.S. qualifying heats but had been relegated to the repechage here in Paris – before Ellis argued why she should reconsider her decision.

“At the end of the conversation,” Ellis said, “(Freeman) said, ‘You seem ready. I’m going to put you in the relay in the third leg.’ She told me to pick up my uniform for the final. I said, ‘OK,’ and arrived at the stadium at 6:15 a.m., thinking I was going to run.”

The USATF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ellis said she had started warming up shortly before checking in for the race when another U.S. coach approached her and said he was “really sorry” that she would not be running in the relay. Ellis reported the encounter to her personal coach, Quincy Watts, who took Freeman aside. Ellis then heard Freeman tell Watts that she would not be running in the final.

“That was four minutes before the race,” Ellis said.

“We had a good conversation (this morning), a good meeting,” Ellis said. “I’m an incredible relay runner. It was disappointing not to 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 said that while she was shocked to learn she had been cut from the season, especially because of the manner in which it happened, the lack of clarity did not surprise her.

“I feel like so many athletes on the U.S. team have this concern that there is a lack of transparency and communication around U.S. relays,” she said. “This is nothing new. This is not shocking. There is a history of this with U.S. relays, and I’m fed up and want to bring attention to it.”

Ellis said she had planned to continue racing through the end of the summer, but is now unsure what the future holds.

“I can’t give an answer at the moment,” she said. “I’m disappointed and angry, and now is not the right time to make decisions.”