{"id":391,"date":"2010-09-01T06:22:00","date_gmt":"2010-09-01T13:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=391"},"modified":"2010-09-01T06:22:00","modified_gmt":"2010-09-01T13:22:00","slug":"relay-chat-in-the-aftermath-of-the-zurich-37-45","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=391","title":{"rendered":"Relay Chat in the Aftermath of the Zurich 37.45"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"float:left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/view.picapp.com\/pictures.photo\/entertainment\/rodgers-celebrates-after\/image\/9568556?term=zurich+diamond+league\" target=\"_blank\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/view2.picapp.com\/pictures.photo\/image\/9568556\/rodgers-celebrates-after\/rodgers-celebrates-after.jpg?resize=380%2C285\" border=\"0\" width=\"380\" title=\"Rodgers of U.S. celebrates after crossing finish line to win men's 4x100m relay event at IAAF Diamond League athletics meeting in Zurich\" height=\"285\" oncontextmenu=\"return false;\" ondrag=\"return false;\" onmousedown=\"return false;\" alt=\"Michael Rodgers of the U.S. celebrates after crossing the finish line to win the men's 4x100m relay event at the IAAF Diamond League athletics meeting at the Letzigrund stadium in Zurich August 19, 2010.      REUTERS\/Ruben Sprich (SWITZERLAND - Tags: SPORT ATHLETICS)\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"clear:left;height:0px;overflow: hidden;\"><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/view.picapp.com\/\/JavaScripts\/OTIjs.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Ahh the discussion about relays. Doesn\u2019t matter who is in the race, relays always elicit a lot of conversation. Which is why they should be on meet schedules far more often than they are! Take the recent Weltklasse meet in Zurich. The US team in the race came away with a 37.45 \u2013 the 5th fastest time ever and #2 time for an American squad. <\/p>\n<p>Since then message board speculators have gone nuts \u2013 because, according to general message board logic, the assumption is that if that squad could run 37.45 then Jamaica has to be able to run much faster! So with each passing race and PR by an athlete the predictions keep getting faster and faster. And of course, according to message board logic, the team with the fastest set of 100 meter PR\u2019s is the automatic winner with a blazing new WR \u2013 last I saw somewhere around 36.50 \u2013 in the offing. <\/p>\n<p>Of course if it were that easy the US should have won in Beijing given that we sported a 9.7, two 9.8\u2019s and a 9.9. And they should have been chasing a WR around 36.80 set by the US foursome from Athens that sported the same 9.7, two 9.8\u2019s and a 9.9! Alas it isn\u2019t quite that easy, and so the team in Beijing never made it to the starting line in the final because the baton never made it across the finish line in the semi. And while the Athens team did cross the finish line, they did so in 38.08, missing gold by .01 and slower than the first team to run 38.0x \u2013 a US WR squad in 1977 with PR\u2019s of 10.23, 10.05, 10.26 &amp; 10.07! None of those numbers make sense!<\/p>\n<p>Well they don\u2019t based on general message board logic, but they do in the real world of 4&#215;1 relay running. That\u2019s why a French team was able to run a WR 37.79 way back in 1990 \u2013 without a single sub 10 second sprinter \u2013 Nigeria clocked 37.98 in \u201892, Britain 37.77 in \u201893 and Canada ran 37.69 in \u201896. Because, you see, when discussing the 4&#215;1 it\u2019s really NOT about 100 meter PR\u2019s at all. But then again, the only thing that the 100 meters and the 4&#215;1 really have in common is the number one hundred. <\/p>\n<p>Let me explain. You see, the 100 meters is a sprint that starts in the blocks and goes 100 meters down the straightaway. On the other hand the 4&#215;1 has: one block start, two turns, three exchanges, and four sprinters. Oh yeah, the one block start is not run down a straight but is run around one of those turns \u2013 so in essence not one single leg in the relay translates directly the 100 meter dash! So simply adding up 100 meter PR\u2019s can be risky business \u2013 just as simply running the first four men that cross the finish line in a championships 100 as your team can be risky business. <\/p>\n<p>If you don\u2019t believe me, just ask the hordes of track aficionados that will tell you that the US and not Canada would have won that Atlanta 4&#215;1 if Carl Lewis had been allowed to run on the team \u2013 in spite of the fact that he did not finish in the top four at the Trials. Or those that will tell you that the death nell for that 2004 Athens team was the placement of Coby Miller on that squad even though he did finish in the top four at the Trials. That\u2019s because the 4&#215;1 is less about \u201ctimes\u201d and more about \u201cskill sets\u201d and blending these skill sets into a cohesive unit\/team.<\/p>\n<p>Of these skill sets, the ability to move the baton is the most crucial \u2013 I know because I\u2019ve watched the US fail to do so far too often. Lead leg must be able to pass the baton, the anchor leg much be able to receive it. The two interior legs must be able to both pass and receive \u2013 they should be the most skilled members of the squad. The ability to start well out of the blocks is important only for the lead off runner, as the others will be running from a standing start. For all closing speed is critical, because unlike the 100 meters where you just have to make it to the finish line, in the relay you may find yourself having to chase your partner as he (or she) is just getting going \u2013 the fast starter who fades late race in the 100 may fail you here. Your lead and third legs must be excellent on the bend, and your second and anchor legs need great top end speed in the stretch. <\/p>\n<p>Of course you need speed \u2013 that goes without saying \u2013 but long jumpers, hurdlers, and 200 and 400 meter sprinters make great relay runners, not just the 100 meter men\/women. And what one might think would be the \u201cobvious\u201d leg for someone may not be their best spot at all. For example, one might have thought that the best leg for WR holder Calvin Smith would have been the anchor leg \u2013 because message board logic says fastest man anchors. But strong closer Carl Lewis was the anchor man long before he got close to the WR. Smith was also an excellent turn runner though. So great speed and turn puts him on lead off right? Wrong. Because Smith was a horrible starter. No, Calvin\u2019s best leg was third where he gave other countries nightmares for years! Similar situation for Dennis Mitchell. Mitchell was an outstanding starter, and a great turn runner, yet he too was better running that third leg! <\/p>\n<p>Who WAS a great lead off runner? Well, the best I\u2019ve ever seen were Larry Black on the WR setting 1972 Olympic squad, Michael Marsh from the WR setting 1992 Olympic squad, and Jon Drummond who led off the 1993 WR unit. Coincidently, or perhaps not so, all three were also outstanding 200 meter men! You need pure speed down the backstretch, and since there are no blocks it doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re a great 100 sprinter or not \u2013 just that you can close well over the distance. That\u2019s why some of the best have been men like Steve Riddick, Ron Brown, Leroy Burrell, and Bernard Williams. And of course you want a closer at the end \u2013 either someone that can bail you out if you\u2019re behind, or a guy that can hold off that closing rush if you\u2019re ahead \u2013 Bob Hayes, Steve Williams and Carl Lewis come to mind. <\/p>\n<p>So, with all that said, can the current WR be broken? Absolutely \u2013 I\u2019ve felt the record was soft for quite some time. But it won\u2019t be easy, and it won\u2019t happen by adding PR\u2019s. As a matter of fact, if the team is assembled properly PR\u2019s will be irrelevant because the fastest team on paper WON\u2019T win. Yep, that\u2019s my story and I\u2019m stickin to it! I believe the US has the personnel to both win gold in Daegu and set a WR in the process. But it will take some work \u2013 there must be practice in order to get the timing of passing the baton right. And we don\u2019t need to wait until the Trials to pick a team \u2013 I already have one in mind. I will divulge my squad later this week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ahh the discussion about relays. Doesn\u2019t matter who is in the race, relays always elicit a lot of conversation. Which is why they should be on meet schedules far more often than they are! Take the recent Weltklasse meet in Zurich. The US team in the race came away with a 37.45 \u2013 the 5th [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_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-391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa3DCY-6j","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}