IAAF President Lamine Diack at the Penn Relays with Gaines, Miller and Jones of the USA 4 x 100m (© Kirby Lee)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA)Marion Jones was a double winner at the 110th Penn Relays at the University of Pennsylvania’s Franklin Field on Saturday (24 April), in which the Olympic sprint champion participated in the USA vs. The World relay competition.
She anchored USA Red women’s teams to victory in the 4 x 100 and 4 x 200m relays in her second outdoor meet since her comeback from maternity leave. Jones had finished a distant fourth in the 200m in a wind-aided 23.03 in her first race in the Mt. San Antonio College Relays six days earlier.
“I think today I ran a little bit smarter than I did last week. Last week there were so many emotions. I took off like a bat out of you know where. Today I distributed a little more, and I felt stronger coming down the homestretch.’’
In the 4 x 100, Jones teamed with Angela Daigle, Chryste Gaines and Inger Miller to win comfortably, 42.63 to 43.28, over a Jamaican team that included Aleen Bailey and Brigitte Foster.
After the quartet’s victory they were greeted by IAAF President Lamine Diack, who was attending the 110th edition of the world’s most famous relay meeting as an honoured guest.
In the 4 x 200, Jones joined former training partner LaTasha Colander, Gaines and Miller to win in 1:29.40 during a 1-2 U.S. sweep.
U.S. Dominance
The Penn Relays will always be sentimental for Jon Drummond. The 35-year-old American first competed as a fourth grader at the University of Pennsylvania’s Franklin Field. The Philadelphia native also ran at Penn in junior high, at nearby Overbrook High School and while attending Odessa junior college in Texas.
He has competed in the Penn Relays in 14 of the last 15 years as an open athlete.The one exception was in 1999 when he was hospitalized for meningitis.
The 2000 Olympic relay gold medallist made an encouraging return with two victories, in the 4 x 100m relay and the individual 100m.
Drummond ran the opening leg for the USA Red 4 x 100m squad with Bernard Williams, Darvis Patton and J.J. Johnson that timed in at 38.42. Drummond also won the open 100m in 10.37 much to the delight of the 49,441 in attendance that was part of a three-day record attendance of 112,701.
The USA Red team’s victory in the men’s 4 x 100m was part of a sweep of six races for the Americans in the featured “USA vs. The World” competition. The U.S swept the men’s and women’s 4 x 100m, 4 x 200m and 4 x 400m relays that featured U.S. Olympic development teams against teams from other countries.
“You know it’s always a joy to come back here to win,’’ Drummond said. “This is the Penn Relays. It’s that feeling. To me, this is the Olympics of the United States.’’
The U.S. dominated the men’s 4 x 200m with a Red team of Shawn Crawford, Grimes, Darvis Patton and Justin Gatlin clocking 1:19.62 to win handily over Canada (1:19.62).
In the 4 x 400m, a Red team of twins Calvin and Alvin Harrison, Jerome Young and Tyree Washington clocked 2:58.93. Washington, the 2003 World Indoor champion, turned in a 44.4 split, to hold off a World All-Stars team anchored by 2001 and 2003 World intermediate hurdle champion Felix Sanchez.
The U.S. swept the first three places in the women’s 4 x 400m with a Red team of Kia Davis, Jearl-Miles Clark, Moushami Robinson and Suziann Reid crossing first in 3:23.82.
Collegiate Records for Scott and Tennessee
Candice Scott of Florida broke her collegiate record in the women’s hammer with a mark of 69.84m to defend her title and earn her selection as the college women’s athlete of the meet for individual events.
Tennessee set a collegiate record in the women’s sprint medley with Tianna Madison, Toyin Olupona, Dee Dee Trotter and Kameisha Bennett timing 3:41.78.
Tennessee’s Nicole Cook was named the college women’s relay athlete of the meet after running a 2:01.3 anchor on the Volunteers 4 x 800m that timed 8:21.23 for the meet’s fastest time since 1984. The junior also ran a 2:05.2 800m leg on Tennessee’s victorious distance medley.
Dan Taylor of Ohio State and the Florida 4 x 400m relay of Sekou Clarke, Reggie Witherspoon, Stefan Pastor and Kerron Clement were named male college and relay athletes of the meet, respectively.
Taylor won his second titles in the shot put (20.31m) and hammer (67.41m) to become the only athlete to win both events at the relays in the same year. Florida clocked 3:01.10 to break the 27-year-old meet record of 3:01.10.
In the high school competition, Long Beach Poly High (Calif.) ran 44.50 in the girls 4 x 100m to set a national U.S. high school record with a team of 2003 Pan American Junior Games gold medallists Shalonda Solomon and Jasmine Lee, Shana Woods and Shana Solomon. It was the seventh national relay record of the last two seasons for Poly, which became the first school to concurrently hold national records in the 4 x 100m, 4 x 200m, and 4 x 400m.
Vere Tech of Jamaica won the 4 x 100 in meet record 44.32 in which the first three teams broke the meet record.
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