UK Relays - State of Play

[Stew-Coach]

Just for quick reference and to add some flavour in regards to 400 potential

You can judge a 400 programme fairly well on their 200 conversion (in season 200 primarily of course, but in essence a PB could be used to identify scope)
Male 200x2.14-2.17 Female 200x2.17.2.2 is a reasonable barometer. So when we see "fast" athletes run a 400, you can generally see if this is purely down to speed reserve and talent or actual programming for the event

Training for 400 is not just about volume but the specificity of that volume, and that doesn't just mean at speed but the contact of tempo/aerobic type work being appropriate

[RunUnlimited]

More of my very late reactions to events in Munich.

The winning time by GB's men in the 4x100m relay, would have medalled at *every* World Championships since the turn of the century, with only Doha 2019 being the exception. 2019 was possibly one of the deepest 4x100s in history, with the top five nations going under 38 seconds and the top 3 breaking 37.5.

Indeed, the 37.67CR they ran would have won world gold from 2001, all the way up 'til 2007, before the emergence of Bolt on the scene in 2008.

Be in no doubt that this was a seriously swift outing from the boys, and all achieved with two entirely new faces brought into the squad and no Prescod included, either.

[carterhatch]

The Night of the 10000s PBs was a joy to behold. the atmosphere seemed incredible [I only wish I had taken a bus to go and see it myself] and the organisers should be applauded. This sort of event doesnt happen overnight and without a lot of hard work in the background... chapeau to all...

The reason I bump this thread forward on this note is I invite said organisers to expand their 'franchise' and deliver something similar for 'the night of relays' [100, 400, 800]

[Paps]

Ben runs No10ks on a voluntary basis because it is something he is passionate about. I doubt he’d expand into other events.

That said, there’s no reason elements of it can’t be incorporated elsewhere - many meets on the Continent do so (admittedly not all at the same time like at Highgate, so far as Im aware). Events need to be set up to entertain a crowd, not be intended to appeal mainly to the die hard athleticos, who will be there regardless.

[Stew-Coach]

Always depends at what level a Night of Relays is focused upon, and I don't think you'd ever gen the numbers required to make it something like this event unless its tagged along and added into another

[Stew-Coach]

Incidentally the relays yesterday at the LIA were some of the most exciting domestic races ive been at in a long long time!!

On the women's side, I think there were 4 athletes with a 52 split, and although the field in the women's across all teams wasn't as strong, there were some good showings.


On the men's, the unofficial splits showed some running, 45.1 / 45.5 / 45.6 / 46.0x3 etc and some more low/mid

[Stew-Coach]

MysteryBrick

I wasn’t gonna say, but looks like already on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/Csi4TKnIGRE/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

[MysteryBrick]

Now that is exciting news. If we have a third regular sub-45 leg with MHS on 1st, that's a World-Medal winning team.

[Occasional Hope]

Plus great to see young Ed looks to be in shape after last year’s injury woes.

[MysteryBrick]

That run by Lansiquot confirms that the GB W4x100m will have 11.03, 10.83, 10.90 on 2, 3 and 4. Oh for an Asha Phillip of 5 years ago or a fit Desiree Henry to complete the quartet!

[RunUnlimited]

That run by Lansiquot confirms that the GB W4x100m will have 11.03, 10.83, 10.90 on 2, 3 and 4. Oh for an Asha Phillip of 5 years ago or a fit Desiree Henry to complete the quartet!

Of course, we should never count out Asha's ability to suddenly round into form at precisely the right time, but after the baton gaffe in Munich last year (the first time that had happened to the women's 4x1 team in over a decade), plus some of the false start issues during the indoor season, you have to wonder at just how many more times we can count on Phillip to go to the well and summon that speed at her stage of her career.

[SprintRelayFan]

Interesting thanks.

[Loop-guru]

Someone has to come along and take that position away from Asha. As long as she beats her contenders at the trials and gets down to 11.2? she makes the team in my book.

[Mikka]

No obvious replacement this year, yet. Wedderburn-Goodison or Regis, perhaps, in a year or two. I'd agree that unless Asha is running 11.4x all year, she is generally reliable.

[Loop-guru]

Zoey Clark is out this year as she recovers from a prolapsed disc. Something I can sympathise with as I am going through something similar at the moment.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/65783692

[treadwater1]

Daryl has run the anchor leg for a while now, I’m starting to think she might be better on second, with Imani on anchor. After that run yesterday and with Imani running so well I think the chances of winning in Budapest are looking more likely, but you’d need to squeeze more out of DN

[philipo]

Daryl has run the anchor leg for a while now, I’m starting to think she might be better on second, with Imani on anchor. After that run yesterday and with Imani running so well I think the chances of winning in Budapest are looking more likely, but you’d need to squeeze more out of DN

Chances of winning in Budapest. Did you mean Gold.?

[jjimbojames]

We have a chance to be closer, but both USA and JAM would need to drop the batons / bodge changeovers for us to win, IMO. Even without SAFP and ETH, JAM has four sub-11 women, and the USA has way more, plus legs from the likes of Steiner

[Loop-guru]

After Bianca Williams double 11.32 / 23.27 today I'm starting to think she could threaten her lifetime best of 11.17 at some point.

[treadwater1]

Everything would have to come together like it did in 2017 for the men, but I’ll stick my neck out and say we’ve got a chance of winning. If you look at the Eugene final Dina was pretty much level with SAFP at the point she pulled up, factor in Imani being a tenth quicker, factor in Daryl being a tenth quicker and it starts to look a closer race than in previous years. Granted there has been no sign of Asha Philip, but she can get herself into shape as she has done in previous years.

[MysteryBrick]

Anyone saying GB have no chance is a total idiot. Anyone saying GB are anything approaching likely is the same.

[carterhatch]

Vic Ohuruogu blasts a PB of 50.36 over in Florida. Yeargin slowly returning to fitness with a outdoor SB 51.94 in third.

Any word on Jodie Williams? I can't help but feel excited by the prospects of out 4x4 heading towards Paris... Ohuruogu, Williams, Anning, Yeargin, John, Hodgkinson, Pipi, Nielsen et all is a very strong, very deep group. NR could go down in the next 2 years if the stars align.

I admire Christy93's optimism but as MysteryBrick comments, ‘that NR requires either one woman hitting a 49-low or a couple in the 49s. I don't think we're quite there yet.’

Victoria Ohuruogu has run PBs in both 400 and 200 today [10/6] in Florida – quite an achievement but what has happened to the investigation into her training with her banned boyfriend. Has this been fully resolved, in which case we can all breathe easily and move on, or still ongoing …

A fit and in form Jodie Williams would be key to a strong relay quartet but she is yet to compete outdoors this year… any intel?

Yeargin was making good progress but this may have been hampered by injury. Her experience of NCAA relays makes her a valuable member of any four.

The flipside of the NCAA experience is that Anning may well be running on fumes … as might expecting anything from young Yemi Mary John who concludes her first year in the states.

This leaves Pipi, who looked overwhelmed in the Paris DL lineup, though being in lane 1 probably didn’t do her any favours and with regards to Nielsen, I just don’t expect to be sub50, though very happy to be proved wrong.

Hodgkinson is the unknown. Her appetite for global success is clearly evident and I wonder if her and her team have an eye on the first ‘long’ leg of the 4x400. Her training must be giving an indication of her flat 400 potential and I am sure I read somewhere she was thinking of entering a 400 in an age-category contest maybe [or am I making that up…] Still, with little need to enter 800 to persuade selectors at the UK trials, it will be interesting to see what she does.

What would we give for a Rhasidat Adeleke [newly crowned NCAA w400 champion and as I note elsewhere dont we wish her parents had moved to Belfast and not Dublin hahaha] and/or Femke Bol another extraordinary talent - indeed back in the day of the 'Athletics World Cup' there would be the makings of quite an European quartet but I digress...

It’s not easy to predict who might line up for the Team GB relay at Budapest; I think I’ll wait until the trials are over…

[libarun]

You're not making it up about Keely - she said in an interview after the Paris DL that she was thinking about doing the 400 at the European U23, and her coach says she's now more of a 400/800 type than the 800/1500 type she was commonly assumed to be. But until we see it, we won't know!