2021 mOG 4x1: you sure you wanna open this one?

[Weights&Shoes]

Great anchor by Italy! No one, I mean no one, thought a dude like Jacobs would have TWO Golds!

Right?! whoever bet that is swimming in money right now.

BUT after Jacobs won the 100m I thought Italy (along with Canada, Japan and GBR) had a great opportunity to win a gold knowing the U.S. relay history. America proved me right again and they took advantage of the opportunity.

[Peter Michaelson]

Right?! whoever bet that is swimming in money right now.

BUT after Jacobs won the 100m I thought Italy (along with Canada, Japan and GBR) had a great opportunity to win a gold knowing the U.S. relay history. America proved me right again and they took advantage of the opportunity.

I'm glad I won't have to hear that British announcer say them Italian anchor leg's middle name as "Mar-sell'-ee" any more. Where do you get "Mar-sell'-ee" from M-A-R-C-E-L-L?

[Weights&Shoes]

Also I forgot Tortu broke his arms/shoulder in the Youth Games doing that very same dip. Had to get surgery. From that to his trademark dip winning an Olympic gold medal. Incredible.

[uakari]

Right?! whoever bet that is swimming in money right now.

BUT after Jacobs won the 100m I thought Italy (along with Canada, Japan and GBR) had a great opportunity to win a gold knowing the U.S. relay history. America proved me right again and they took advantage of the opportunity.

japan underperformed here against high expectations. they ran a slower time than the US (the US!) in the heats.

[CookyMonzta]

Speaking of Lewis...unless an athlete is doing multiple events like Carl and is honestly preoccupied...no relay camp, no relay duty...

Let's stop the outdated "tradition" of giving automatic slots to any athlete.

Funny you mentioned that. If I'm reading this the right way, that's exactly what they did with the w4x4, with the Trials winner (Hayes) benched and no medal at all, after a lousy open finals performance where an old lady overperformed by a country mile!

[CookyMonzta]

I wished we had track clubs like Santa Monica and HSI but we don’t anymore. All these sprinters are individuals pretty much.

AYE! Most of these teams were almost the same foursome (give or take one man) for the better part of the entire 1990s and a good part of the 1980s! Now our teams comprise of too many different guys in each successive global meet, breeding and festering chaos from one world meet to the next!

[Powell]

For Olympic Games, you have to reference to this:https://media.aws.iaaf.org/competiti...5a782e3a78.pdf
Olympics have total quota of athletes per sport set by IOC. So rules are slighter different.

But that can't be right. Poland entered 8 athletes for each of the relays (with one of them designated as alternate in each case).

[jjimbojames]

But that can't be right. Poland entered 8 athletes for each of the relays (with one of them designated as alternate in each case).

Was that 4x1 or 4x4? 4x4 you gain another two places for the Mixed, so essentially seven slots, if no individuals. GBR named 7 women - that was the three open runners and four athletes who were relay only, but on the OG site, two were down as mixed relay and the other five for the women’s relay

[Powell]

Was that 4x1 or 4x4? 4x4 you gain another two places for the Mixed, so essentially seven slots, if no individuals. GBR named 7 women - that was the three open runners and four athletes who were relay only, but on the OG site, two were down as mixed relay and the other five for the women’s relay

4x1 as well. Granted, that 8 included Pia Skrzyszowska, who was in the individual 100H, but that still leaves 7, none of whom was entered in any individual event.

[etuoyo]

AYE! Most of these teams were almost the same foursome (give or take one man) for the better part of the entire 1990s and a good part of the 1980s! Now our teams comprise of too many different guys in each successive global meet, breeding and festering chaos from one world meet to the next!

World Champs were every four years then. Quite different now that it's energy two years and will be even more regular changes in this current cycle of major champs five years in a row.

[steve]

AYE! Most of these teams were almost the same foursome (give or take one man) for the better part of the entire 1990s and a good part of the 1980s! Now our teams comprise of too many different guys in each successive global meet, breeding and festering chaos from one world meet to the next!

These were the teams from those years. Hard to find a perfect pattern, except that, similar to your point, in the years where more than 2 athletes were changed from the previous relay team, they did poorly. Also, Carl Lewis was amazing.

1984- Ron Brown, Sam Graddy, Calvin Smith, Carl Lewis
1987- Lee McRae, Lee McNeil, Harvey Glance, Carl Lewis
1988- Dennis Mitchell, Albert Robinson, Calvin Smith, Lee McNeil (did not advance rd 1)
1991- Andre Cason, Leroy Burrell, Dennis Mitchell, Carl Lewis
1992- Mike Marsh, Leroy Burrell, Dennis Mitchell, Carl Lewis
1993-John Drummond, Andre Cason, Dennis Mitchell, Leroy Burrell
1995-Maurice Green, John Drummond, Tony McCall, Michael Marsh (did not advance rd 1)
1996-John Drummond, Tim Harden, Michael Marsh, Dennis Mitchell (silver)
1997-Brian Lewis, Dennis Mitchell, Tim Montgomery, Maurice Green (did not advance round 1)
1999-John Drummond, Brian Lewis, Tim Montgomery, Maurice Green
2000-John Drummond, Bernard Williams, Brian Lewis, Maurice Green

It seems like the athletes and coaches today don't make relays as much of a priority, and that previous athletes were better coached in college on relay fundamentals; skills that were more easily carried over to post collegiate racing. But that could just be the middle aged man that I am yelling at the damn kids and the messed up world of today.

I do think that having Nike International racing SMTC, the Florida Clipper track club team, and whatever Adidas team was assembled, at multiple domestic meets was helpful in keeping the relay skills up. I think SMTC was the 4X200 world record holders for a while and really wanted to get the 4X100m record too (can't remember if they did)

[The Klingon]

What really surprised me about the 4x1 relay is that Japan had a DNF. I thought they were suppose to be the "poster boys" of passing efficiency.

[Weights&Shoes]

What really surprised me about the 4x1 relay is that Japan had a DNF. I thought they were suppose to be the "poster boys" of passing efficiency.

Twice now. World Relays and now the Olympics.

[ItalianFan]

4x1 as well. Granted, that 8 included Pia Skrzyszowska, who was in the individual 100H, but that still leaves 7, none of whom was entered in any individual event.

On the Women 4x100 pool, the names on WA entry lists (P Alternates are not listed) for Poland are
Klaudia ADAMEK
Marlena GOLA
Paulina GUZOWSKA
Paulina PALUCH
Marika POPOWICZ-DRAPALA
+
Pia SKRZYSZOWSKA entered in the 100hs

Official alternates are not listed on WA but they are on Olympic website (Ewa Swoboda).
EDIT: Actually Swoboda is listed on Olympic website because she was in the first entry list and then replaced by the relay alternate because she was injured).

Who else is missing?

[Jaguarclaws]

I just hope we remedy this relay stuff. The world relay championships has helped the European countries and Brazil. We need to change the way our team is selected. It will be hard because many athletes are individuals and also many foreign athletes run in the track clubs. We need to find 2 to 3 teams of US sprinters and reward them for passing and winning races. Would be nice for the American Track League to incorporate Relay races.