Projo Running Blog

USA Track & Field provides this preview of this weekend's Penn Relays:

After a dominating performance last year that saw the home team win five of the six races contested, Team USA will attempt to equal or better that performance Saturday at USA vs. The World at the 113th running of the Penn Relays.

The first event of the 2007 USATF Outdoor Visa Championship Series, USA vs. The World will be broadcast live on ESPN2 from 1-3 p.m. Eastern Time.

An impressive array of U.S. men's stars led by Tyson Gay, Bershawn Jackson, Shawn Crawford, Nick Symmonds, Wallace Spearmon, Kerron Clement, Andrew Rock, Derrick Brew, LaShawn Merritt and Darold Williamson will look to keep Team USA on the winning track. Standouts on Team USA's women's squad include Allyson Felix, Lauryn Williams, Dee Dee Trotter, Hazel Clark, Torri Edwards, Moushaumi Robinson, Monique Henderson, Sheena Johnson, Rachelle Smith and Lisa Barber among others.

Nearly 150 athletes from 10 countries around the globe - including the world's #1 ranked female sprinter, Sherone Simpson - will compete at this year's USA vs. The World, held annually at the Penn Relays since 2000 and featuring men's and women's 4x100 and 4x400m relays. The event also will include a men's Distance Medley Relay and a women's Sprint Medley Relay. Countries challenging Team USA this year include Jamaica, Kenya, China, Russia, Germany, Great Britain, Canada Bahamas, Trinidad & Tobago and the Dominican Republic.

USA vs. The World to feature one-lap stars

The greatest drama on the track came at last year's USA vs. The World came in the AT&T Men's 4x400m relay, where Team USA avenged a loss to Jamaica at the 2005 USA vs. The World.

U.S. stars participating this weekend include reigning 400m hurdles world champion Bershawn Jackson, 2005 World Outdoor 400m silver medalist and reigning USA Outdoor champion Andrew Rock, two-time Visa Championship Series winner and world indoor 400m record holder Kerron Clement, Olympic 4x400m relay gold medalist Darrold Williamson, Olympic relay gold medalist and 400m bronze medalist Derrick Brew and 2006 USA Indoor and Outdoor 400m runner-up LaShawn Merritt.

The list of international stars expected to compete in men's 4x400m action is headlined by 2003 Track & Field News Man of the Year and 2004 Olympic gold medalist Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic, who was ranked #1 in the world four consecutive years in the 400m hurdles. Jamaican stars Michael Blackwood (world ranked #6) and Sanjay Ayre, who each ran splits of 45.7 seconds in upsetting Team USA in 2005, are expected to challenge the U.S. on Saturday. The Jamaican team also will feature Jermaine Gonzales, who posted many top-five finishes on the international circuit last year en route to beginning this season ranked #9 in the world.

Team USA women hoping to continue 4x400m relay dominance
An experienced and accomplished group of U.S. women's quarter-milers will look to continue Team USA's winning tradition in 4x400m relay. Reigning World Outdoor 200m champion Allyson Felix is slated to compete for Team USA following a dominating 400m win at the Mt. SAC Relays two weeks ago in 51.74 seconds. Prior to that performance it had been nearly two years since Felix had competed in an open 400m race.

Other U.S. stars expected to compete in the women's 4x400m relay include 2004 Olympic Games relay gold medalists Dee Dee Trotter and Monique Henderson, 2006 World Indoor relay gold medalist Mary (Danner) Wineburg and 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials 400m hurdles champion Sheena Johnson. Team USA will have its hands full in this race in facing challenges from Jamaica, Russia, China, and Canada. Russia is the defending world champion in the event, with Jamaica finishing runner-up at the 2005 World Outdoor Championships.

Speed to burn in 4x100m competition

Team USA's men's 4x100m relay crew features many of the fastest athletes in the world headlined by Tyson Gay, who enjoyed a remarkable breakthrough season last year that saw him set blistering personal bests in the 100 meters (9.84 seconds) and 200 meters (19.68). As season's end, Track & Field News ranked him #1 in the world at 200 meters and #2 globally at 100 meters.

He'll be joined by reigning Olympic 200m gold medalist Shawn Crawford, 2005 World Outdoor 200m silver medalist Wallace Spearmon, 2003 World Outdoor Championships 200m silver medalist Darvis Patton, three-time Big 12 100m champion Dabryan Blanton and former University of South Carolina standout Leroy Dixon.

International stars challenging Team USA include Marc Burns of Trinidad & Tobago, who finished third at last year's IAAF World Cup and ended 2006 ranked #9 in the world at 100 meters, and Jamaica's Michael Frater, who finished last season ranked #10 in the world.

Team USA's women's 4x100m relay team will be led by reigning World Outdoor 100m champion and Olympic silver medalist Lauryn Williams, who is coming off an injury-plagued 2006 season. Joining Williams will be the world's #1 ranked 200m runner Allyson Felix, who also is slated to compete in the 4x400m relay in Philly. Other U.S. standouts in the 4x100 include 2003 World Outdoor 100m champion Torri Edwards, 2005 World Outdoor 100m finalist and 4x100m relay gold medalist Muna Lee and 2006 Indoor Visa Championship Series winner and reigning World Indoor 60m champion Lisa Barber.

Team USA sprint relay features top talent

Headlining the Team USA women's sprint medley relay list is 2005 World Outdoor Championships 200m silver medalist and reigning USA Outdoor champion Rachelle Smith. 2004 Olympic 4x400m relay gold medalist Moushaumi Robinson also will compete for Team USA, along with three-time USA Outdoor 800m champion and two-time Olympian Hazel Clark, who has anchored Team USA to world bests in this event each of the last two years, including a time of 3:36.17 in 2006.

Also in the sprint medley relay pool is for two-time (2005-2006) USA Outdoor 1,500m champion Treniere Clementand 2006 NCAA Division I Indoor 60m and long jump champion Marshevet Hooker.

The world's #1 ranked women's 100m runner, Sherone Simpson, will lead a strong Jamaican quartet in the women's sprint medley relay. Simpson lost three of her first five 100m races last year before posting nine straight wins, which included triumphs at the World Athletics Final and the World Cup of Athletics. Simpson also finished 2006 ranked #3 in the world at 200 meters. Her teammates at Penn include Kenia Sinclair, who has anchored the Jamaicans to runner-up finishes at Penn the last two years.

Symmonds, Lukezic headline Team USA DMR lineup

Team USA's men's Distance Medley Relay squad will feature Nick Symmonds, one of the nation's fastest rising stars. A seven-time NCAA Division III outdoor national champion in 800m and 1,500m competition, Symmonds showed he could compete with the nation's best in winning the 800 meters at the 2007 AT&T USA Indoor Championships in Boston, and finishing as the runner-up at the 2006 AT&T USA Outdoor Championships.

He'll be joined on Team USA's men's DMR relay pool by 2006 USA Indoor 1,500m champion Chris Lukezic, 2007 USA Indoor 800m runner-up (and Penn grad) Sam Burley and 2004 Olympic 4x400m relay gold medalist Kelly Willie, among others..

Final lineups for the 2007 USA vs. The World at Penn Relays will be announced Saturday. For more information on this event and the 2007 Visa Championship Series visit www.usatf.org.

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