{"id":1409,"date":"2012-07-12T09:33:35","date_gmt":"2012-07-12T16:33:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1409"},"modified":"2012-07-12T09:33:35","modified_gmt":"2012-07-12T16:33:35","slug":"relay-chatter-the-4x4s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1409","title":{"rendered":"Relay Chatter – The 4×4’s"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Batons\"<\/a>Ok, now that everyone thinks I’m crazy – because I believe the 4×1 is winnable by the US men – let’s talk about the really fun relay, the 4×4.<\/p>\n

First off I have to say that I hope the World Championships puts this event back where it belongs on the schedule – as the closing event! Yes we got a WR out of the 4×1 in Daegu but it usually takes a WR in the shorter relay to bring the excitement that nearly every 4×4 brings each time out. The best way ever to end a track meet – and that\u2019s how we should end our championships. <\/p>\n

What makes the 4×4 so exciting? Well in the short relay, there\u2019s usually one move that settles things. Typically somewhere between the second and third legs you get some separation and that is hard to make up with only one leg to go. In the long relay however, there is usually a lot more \u201cmovement\u201d among the teams – from leg to leg! A \u201cweak\u201d team can make a go of it temporarily and even lead at some point – and a squad with a pair of studs can make things very interesting.<\/p>\n

Bottom line, the 4×4 has that \u201cWhooo\u201d factor – the sound the crowd makes when athletes come from behind and\/or get passed! \u201cWhooo\u201d x 4, that\u2019s what the 4×4 brings, and why it\u2019s one of the most fun events there is. <\/p>\n

So how is the 4×4 going to play out in London? There is guaranteed to be a lot of \u201cWhoo\u201d going on, because we have a lot of very good quarter milers spread across the globe. We can start with the US as every leg will be sub45 for the open event. No other country can match that, which pretty much seals this one up before the gun goes off.<\/p>\n

My guess is that we lead off with Bryshon Nellum (44.80) as he\u2019s both strong, and consistent and should give us some open space to work with for the second leg, which on this team should probably be Tony McQuay (44.49). Tony should blow it open here with something in the 44.0 range. Follow up with Josh Mance (44.89) and LaShawn Merritt (43.75) and we should get a mid 44 split followed by a mid 43. That puts us at 3:56 mid and pretty much out of reach. <\/p>\n

Who challenges? The Borlee Brothers power the Belgian squad. They are both capable of running 43 high relay splits. The problem they face is that they\u2019re still stuck around 3:00 because they have no one else capable of much better than 46.<\/p>\n

Grenada has Kirani James and he\u2019s almost guaranteed to split 43 something. But he had little help outside of possibly Rondel Bartholomew who team 44.6 last year. <\/p>\n

An interesting entrant this year could be Kenya. They ran 3:00.97 last year and could improve on that with 800 record holder David Rudisha running a leg for them. Rudisha had run 45.51 in the 400 in limited racing and the prospect of the long striding Kenyan throwing down a 44 second split could both provide some "whooo" factor to the race as well as put them in contention. <\/p>\n

Similarly South Africa could add some spice to the race. They won silver in Daegu; ran 2:59.21 in their semi; and can make some noise with Pistorious and L.J. Van Zyl on two of those legs.
Perhaps the most dangerous however, could be the Bahamas. They always seem to contend and this year have several men running well in the open 400 in Demetrious Pinder (44.77), Ramon Miller (44.87), Michael Mathieu (45.06) and Chris Brown (45.14). A couple of low 44s from that group and they’re on the podium. <\/p>\n

I expect a lot of action in this race, with a final outcome of:<\/p>\n

gold – United States
silver – Bahamas
bronze – South Africa
4th \u2013 Kenya<\/p>\n

On the women’s side things could be even more exciting. For starters the Russian championships were hot over 400,  and this is traditionally an event they do well at. This time around they could be putting Antonina Krivoshapka (49.16), Yuliya Guschina (49.28), Tatiyana Firova (49.72) and Natalya Nazarova (50.00) on the track. That’s potentially 3:16\/3:17 territory!
And that sets up an interesting set of head to head legs with the US squad that should be Sanya R-Ross, Allyson Felix, Francena McCorory, and DeeDee Trotter. I would also throw hurdlers Lashinda Demus and Georgeanna Moline into the mix. <\/p>\n

Somewhere in there I see a couple of 48 second splits in a very hotly contested race. Especially if we can get a litte added Oomph from someone like Jamaica, who could get in the mix if they can get someone to step up and give Novlene Williams Mills (49.78) some help. Last year\u2019s squad set a NR 3:18.71 in Daegu to finish behind the United States and ahead of Russia – but Rosemarie Whyte and Shericka Williams were running much better than they have so far this year. <\/p>\n

Outside of this trio, I\u2019m not sure anyone else has the horses. Great Britain will have Christine Ohuruogu who will close like a train. But they will need someone like Lee McConnell, or Perri Shakes Drayton to step up big time if they hope to get in the mix – at home no less. I would also toss out there that the Czech Republic could make some noise with hurdlers Zuzana Hejnova and Denisa Roslova. <\/p>\n

At the end of the day, however this looks like an old school Cold War showdown that goes:<\/p>\n

gold – United States
silver – Russia
bronze – Jamaica
4th – Great Britain<\/p>\n

So much for our limited assortment of relay events. Now over the next couple of weeks I need ot try and figure out the individual events! A few will be easy, but this could be one of the closest Olympics in recent memory in terms of depth and finishes. This is going to be fun. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ok, now that everyone thinks I’m crazy – because I believe the 4×1 is winnable by the US men – let’s talk about the really fun relay, the 4×4. First off I have to say that I hope the World Championships puts this event back where it belongs on the schedule – as the closing event! Yes we got a WR out of the 4×1 in Daegu but it usually takes a WR in the shorter relay to bring the excitement that nearly every 4×4 brings each time out. The best way ever to end a track meet – and that\u2019s how we should end our championships. What makes the 4×4 so exciting? Well in the short relay, there\u2019s usually one move that settles things. Typically somewhere between the second and third legs you get some separation and that is hard to make up with only one leg to go. In the long relay however, there is usually a lot more \u201cmovement\u201d among the teams – from leg to leg! A \u201cweak\u201d team can make a go of it temporarily and even lead at some point – and a squad with a pair of studs can make things very interesting. Bottom line, the 4×4 has that \u201cWhooo\u201d factor – the sound the crowd makes when athletes come from behind and\/or get passed! \u201cWhooo\u201d x 4, that\u2019s what the 4×4 brings, and why it\u2019s one of the most fun events there is. So how is the 4×4 going to play out in London? There is guaranteed to be a lot of \u201cWhoo\u201d going on, because we have a lot of very good quarter milers spread across the globe. We can start with the US as every leg will be sub45 for the open event. No other country can match that, which pretty much seals this one up before the gun goes off. My guess is that we lead off with Bryshon Nellum (44.80) as he\u2019s both strong, and consistent and should give us some open space to work with for the second leg, which on this team should probably be Tony McQuay (44.49). Tony should blow it open here with something in the 44.0 range. Follow up with Josh Mance (44.89) and LaShawn Merritt (43.75) and we should get a mid 44 split followed by a mid 43. That puts us at 3:56 mid and pretty much out of reach. Who challenges? The Borlee Brothers power the Belgian squad. They are both capable of running 43 high relay splits. The problem they face is that they\u2019re still stuck around 3:00 because they have no one else capable of much better than 46. Grenada has Kirani James and he\u2019s almost guaranteed to split 43 something. But he had little help outside of possibly Rondel Bartholomew who team 44.6 last year. An interesting entrant this year could be Kenya. They ran 3:00.97 last year and could improve on that with 800 record holder David Rudisha running a leg for them. Rudisha had run 45.51 in the 400 in limited racing and the prospect of the long striding Kenyan throwing down a 44 second split could both provide some "whooo" factor to the race as well as put them in contention. Similarly South Africa could add some spice to the race. They won silver in Daegu; ran 2:59.21 in their semi; and can make some noise with Pistorious and L.J. Van Zyl on two of those legs. Perhaps the most dangerous however, could be the Bahamas. They always seem to contend and this year have several men running well in the open 400 in Demetrious Pinder (44.77), Ramon Miller (44.87), Michael Mathieu (45.06) and Chris Brown (45.14). A couple of low 44s from that group and they’re on the podium. I expect a lot of action in this race, with a final outcome of: gold – United States silver – Bahamas bronze – South Africa 4th \u2013 Kenya On the women’s side things could be even more exciting. For starters the Russian championships were hot over 400,  and this is traditionally an event they do well at. This time around they could be putting Antonina Krivoshapka (49.16), Yuliya Guschina (49.28), Tatiyana Firova (49.72) and Natalya Nazarova (50.00) on the track. That’s potentially 3:16\/3:17 territory! And that sets up an interesting set of head to head legs with the US squad that should be Sanya R-Ross, Allyson Felix, Francena McCorory, and DeeDee Trotter. I would also throw hurdlers Lashinda Demus and Georgeanna Moline into the mix. Somewhere in there I see a couple of 48 second splits in a very hotly contested race. Especially if we can get a litte added Oomph from someone like Jamaica, who could get in the mix if they can get someone to step up and give Novlene Williams Mills (49.78) some help. Last year\u2019s squad set a NR 3:18.71 in Daegu to finish behind the United States and ahead of Russia – but Rosemarie Whyte and Shericka Williams were running much better than they have so far this year. Outside of this trio, I\u2019m not sure anyone else has the horses. Great Britain will have Christine Ohuruogu who will close like a train. But they will need someone like Lee McConnell, or Perri Shakes Drayton to step up big time if they hope to get in the mix – at home no less. I would also toss out there that the Czech Republic could make some noise with hurdlers Zuzana Hejnova and Denisa Roslova. At the end of the day, however this looks like an old school Cold War showdown that goes: gold – United States silver – Russia bronze – Jamaica 4th – Great Britain So much for our limited assortment of relay events. Now over the next couple of weeks I need ot try and figure out the individual events! A few will be easy, but this could be one of the closest Olympics in recent memory in terms of depth and finishes. This is going to be fun.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa3DCY-mJ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2801,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=2801","url_meta":{"origin":1409,"position":0},"title":"Noah and the 4×4","author":"CHill","date":"March 4, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Of all the competitions in track and field, the World Indoor Championships tends to be one of the least popular championship meets in the sport. That's typically because most athletes are still in their base training mode. As a result, the fields in most events aren't nearly as deep as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Allison\"","block_context":{"text":"Allison","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=allison"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/2A6245A3-AA6C-4120-AF41-52A4ACA1A12A-150x150.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2737,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=2737","url_meta":{"origin":1409,"position":1},"title":"US Relay Thoughts Heading Into Budapest","author":"CHill","date":"July 19, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Now that teams have been selected for Worlds, one of the biggest questions roaming the internet is, who will represent the US in the relays? Relay selection for us is nearly always controversial. While most countries either know exactly the composition of their squads, or have a pretty good idea\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Relays\"","block_context":{"text":"Relays","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=relays"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Track-Section_thumb-1-129x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":157,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=157","url_meta":{"origin":1409,"position":2},"title":"The Road to the NCAA Championships Starts at Conference","author":"CHill","date":"May 13, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The road to the NCAA Championship shifts into high gear this weekend as conference championships abound. The hottest meet should be the SEC Championships in Gainesville with Florida, Arkansas, LSU, and South Carolina competing, as all should play a roll in the National meet come June. The Pac10 meet won't\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":522,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=522","url_meta":{"origin":1409,"position":3},"title":"First 2011 Medal Watch List","author":"CHill","date":"July 2, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"With the team selected for Daegu, it\u2019s time to start looking at where our medals our. So following is my first Medal Watch List of 2011. My final list of 2010 can be found here for comparison. As you can see the list has already undergone some major renovation since\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 4 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 4 comments","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=522#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lh6.ggpht.com\/-N2KFgqmExQ4\/Tg_NYN_y-UI\/AAAAAAAAAQg\/EEtWv3g0Nog\/image_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2809,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=2809","url_meta":{"origin":1409,"position":4},"title":"Relay Season in Full Effect","author":"CHill","date":"April 2, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This past weekend ended the month of March with several outstanding relay meets. Athletes tend to love early season relays, because it gives you a chance to kick things off and see where you are, without actually running your \"regular\" event. You can run a relay leg of any distance\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2403,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=2403","url_meta":{"origin":1409,"position":5},"title":"Doha Will Be Remembered for the Four","author":"CHill","date":"September 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"World Championships are the highlight of the sport. They showcase the best that track and field has to offer. During each one, the absolute best of the best rises to the top to create the meet\u2019s most lasting memories. 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