Collegiate Record for Oregon women's 4x1 (and 4x2!)

[Juicy News]

Just to confirm, Hannah Cunliffe is not running for Italy right?

[aaronk]

I've always felt that the women's 4x100 record was soft since the team that set it had an 11.50 runner and an 11.60 runner on it. Even the video of the Oregon performance shows that they lost a lot of time on the first exchange.

One thing that continues to amaze me about our sport---and especially about Collegiate or High School Relays---is that ONE school (whether College or HS) can put together a team of 4 athletes that can run such amazing times--no matter which Relay distance we're talking about---from the 4X100 to the 4XMile!

Think of it!
One school has 4 members that can run times many NATIONS can't!
Case in point, UO's 2 Relay CR's!
So they had a "weak link" on lead-off!
Shoot them!
Yet even WITH that weak spot, they STILL managed to run times like 42.34 & 1:27.78!
(These are still kids---young adults---but they finished just 0.01 seconds (in the 4X200) behind a team that had Tianna Bartoletta & Dafne Schippers on it!

And look at the HS teams---which don't have the scholarship program a major university does----so they can't really recruit people to fill a "weak spot"!
They take whatever comes to them---walk-ons, basically!

If a team has a "star"---like Lake Braddock having Kate Murphy, or Union Catholic having Syd McLaughlin---so much the better!
Imagine what those HS's could run if they could recruit through scholarships & other perks!!

Anyway, this is just to say how much I respect & appreciate relay teams more than ever---ONE school having 4 people who can do what UO did in Florida!!

[CookyMonzta]

With Cunliffe and Stevens to join Gardner and Prandini, the next US 4x1 Olympic team could be made of All-Oregon alumni!

I actually mentioned that, 9 days ago, regarding THIS year's U.S. team...

http://trackandfieldnews.com/discussion/showthread.php?151777-Dream-Team-women-s-4x1&p=2610700&viewfull=1#post2610700

[jazzcyclist]

I've always felt that the women's 4x100 record was soft since the team that set it had an 11.50 runner and an 11.60 runner on it. Even the video of the Oregon performance shows that they lost a lot of time on the first exchange.

[bruce3404]

What is it with Oregon and sprinting, especially their women? I usually don't notice which university athletes are from, but this is so obvious. Prandini came from there, now they got Washington, Stevens, Cunliffe. Is it the coach? Do they recruit the most talented girls? Or am i simply missing something and other universities are just as good?

This all started about 10 years ago when the Ducks started recruiting in the Bay Area of CA. Keisha Baker, Jamesha Youngblood and Amber Purvis all ran for the same local track club and a pipeline to the Ducks was created. Then an injured NY area English Gardner lost all of her big scholarship offers except for Oregon, who believed in her. Prandini joined the pack. NY area resident Phyllis Francis joined the team. As mentioned, Curtis Taylor came aboard and my guess is that since he came from the Bay Area, very possible that he was part of the conduit. Ariana Washington chose OR over what was then a downtrodden USC team in her backyard. Deajah perhaps saw what fellow East Coasters Gardner and Francis did in Eugene and she came onboard. Hannah Cunliffe saw the error of her ways and transferred in from Oklahoma. Astonishing how a distance school completely remade it's women's program and has won national titles with distance oriented teams and especially sprint teams. And now the Ducks are the first choice of many young sprinters. Who doesn't want the opportunity to win a National Championship and maybe compete in the Olympics as Gardner, Prandini, Washington, Francis and Stevens did last year? And finally, this team has a ton of fun. The coaching staff rooms sprinters with distance runners or throwers, creating a true team environment. Most of us who ran might remember that distance guys hung around with distance guys, sprinters with sprinters, etc. The team environment that Robert Johnson has created at Oregon is truly remarkable.

[1runner1]

Putting that in due perspective: A world record in 1980 -

1:28.15 Marlies Göhr, Romy Schneider-Müller, Bärbel Eckert-Wöckel, Marita Koch 9 August 1980

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4_%C3%97_200_metres_relay#World_record

Muller, Wockel and Gohr were 3/4 of the 1980 WR Olympic 4x100 relay gold team (41.60, despite a horrid pass to Wockel on leg 2 which likely lost at least 0.25 or more).....Wockel won the 1980 Olympic 200 in 22.03 (from lane 1), and Koch won the 1980 Olympic 400 gold and was the WR holder at the time (21.71). And Oregon is 0.63 off their pace.

PRs for the GDR team : Koch 21.71 Wockel 21.85 Gohr 21.74 Muller not known by me.

and I'll bet the Oregon women are not all roided out

[jazzcyclist]

Congratulations Lady Ducks. Same foursome on both relays and only two hours rest between races.

The 4x100 is just a good warm-up for other sprint events. Two hours rest might have actually been a little too long.

[El Toro]

And only someting like 15 national teams have ever run faster. (number not precise)

Depends on how you want to deal with historical political entities. Here's a list of unique* countries from pela's list. I'll let people do their own count.

*Note that I've included the fastest all-Chinese team, which was a regional team and the slower National team so that people decide which one they want to count.

United States	40.82
Jamaica	41.07
German Democratic Republic	41.37
Russia	41.49
Germany	41.62
Great Britain & N .I.	41.77
France	41.78
Bahamas	41.92
Soviet Union	42.00
Trinidad & Tobago	42.03
The Netherlands	42.04
Ukraina	42.04
Commonwealth of Independent States	42.16
Sichuan, CHN	42.23
Brazil	42.29
Bulgaria	42.29
Nigeria	42.39
Belgium	42.54
Belarus	42.56
Federal Republic of Germany	42.59
Canada	42.60
People's Republic of China	42.65
Ghana	42.67
Poland	42.68
England	42.84
Suisse	42.87
Cuba	42.89
Kazahakstan	42.92
Switzerland	42.94
Czechoslovakia	42.98
Australia	42.99

[Tuariki]

The USA is blessed in having so many outstanding young female sprinters

[26mi235]

And yes, there's probably some teenage girl not currently on the radar right now who will emerge onto the scene and challenge the establishment.

Like the WJr record holder (or is it HS)

[18.99s]

Felix and Bartoletta will be 34 in Tokyo 2020 and probably slower than they are now (and possibly even retired), while the Oregon foursome will be in their prime.

Bowie is the current big leaguer most likely to break up that foursome. And yes, there's probably some teenage girl not currently on the radar right now who will emerge onto the scene and challenge the establishment.

[26mi235]

Somehow leaving off Bowie and Bartoletta (not to mention Felix) does not seem reasonable; maybe for the Prelims..., maybe in 2020 or 2021.

[18.99s]

With Cunliffe and Stevens to join Gardner and Prandini, the next US 4x1 Olympic team could be made of All-Oregon alumni!

[gh]

Müller was the weak link at only 22.47 :-)

1:28.78 (avg 22.355 per leg)

old record 1:29.42 Texas A&M 4/24/10

Putting that in due perspective: A world record in 1980 -

1:28.15 Marlies Göhr, Romy Schneider-Müller, Bärbel Eckert-Wöckel, Marita Koch 9 August 1980

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4_%C3%97_200_metres_relay#World_record

Muller, Wockel and Gohr were 3/4 of the 1980 WR Olympic 4x100 relay gold team (41.60, despite a horrid pass to Wockel on leg 2 which likely lost at least 0.25 or more).....Wockel won the 1980 Olympic 200 in 22.03 (from lane 1), and Koch won the 1980 Olympic 400 gold and was the WR holder at the time (21.71). And Oregon is 0.63 off their pace.

PRs for the GDR team : Koch 21.71 Wockel 21.85 Gohr 21.74 Muller not known by me.