Athletics Distance Medley Relay | |
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World records | |
Men | Brooks Beasts (Brannon Kidder, Brandon Miller, Isaiah Harris, Henry Wynne 9:14.58 (2024) |
Women | New Balance (Emma Coburn, Kendall Ellis, Roisin Willis, Elle Purrier St. Pierre 10:33.85 (2022) |
The distance medley relay (DMR) is an athletic event in which four athletes compete as part of a relay. With its inclusion in the IAAF World Relays program, the IAAF announced on May 1, 2015 that the event would be an official world record event. [1]
Unlike most track relays, each member of the team runs a different distance. A distance medley relay is made up of a 1200-meter leg (three laps on a standard 400 meter track), a 400-meter leg (one lap), an 800-meter leg (two laps), and a 1600-meter leg (four laps) in that order. The total distance run is 4000 meters, or nearly 2.5 miles. Aside from the 400 meter segment, which is a sprint, all legs are a middle distance run. Prior to going metric, the distance medley relay consisted of a 440-yard leg, an 880-yard leg, a 1320-yard leg and a one-mile leg. The total distance for the old distance medley relay was 4400 yards and the total distance for the current metric distance medley relay is 4374.45 yards - slightly over 25 yards shorter than the old race.
The United States is expected to hold the world record in the men's DMR, assuming formal ratification of a performance of 9:14.58, set on April 19, 2024 during the Oregon Relays at Hayward Field, Eugene, Oregon. The team consisted of Brannon Kidder 2:49.60 (1200m), Brandon Miller 46.60 (400m), Isaiah Harris 1:45.75 (800m) and Henry Wynne 3:52.64 (1600m).
After the IAAF announcement of world record status, the first mark to become the ratified world record was set by a Kenyan team in 9:15.56. [1] Elkanah Angwenyi in 2:50.8 (1,200 meters), Thomas Musembi in 45.8 (400), Alfred Yego in 1:46.2 (800) and Alex Kipchirchir in 3:52.8 (1,600) recorded it on April 29, 2006, at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Oklahoma State Track and Field team of Fouad Messaoudi in 2:49.49 (1,200 meters), DJ McArthur in 46.82 (400), Hafez Mahadi in 1:47.27 (800), and Ryan Schoppe in 3:52.84 (1,600) currently hold the indoor world best in a time of 9:16.40. The mark was set on February 17, 2023 at the Arkansas Qualifier in Fayetteville, Arkansas. [2]
At the 2015 IAAF World Relays, the women's world record was set by the American team of Treniere Moser 3:18.38 (1200m), Sanya Richards-Ross (50.12) (400m), Ajee' Wilson 2:00.08 (800m), and Shannon Rowbury 4:27.92 (1600m) running 10:36.50. They beat the outdoor record of 10:48.38 set by a team from Villanova University of Kathy Franey (1200m), Michelle Bennett (400m), Celeste Halliday (800m), and Vicki Huber (1600m) at the Penn Relays in April 1988 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 27 years earlier.
The United States women's team of Sarah Brown, Mahagony Jones, Megan Krumpoch, and Brenda Martinez set the first indoor world record for the event with a time of 10:42.57 at New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in 2015. [3] At the time of the IAAF announcement, this time, superior to the best time outdoors, became the ratified world record [1] even though it was set on an indoor banked track.
On April 15, 2022 an American team consisting of Heather MacLean, Kendall Ellis, Roisin Willis and Elle Purrier St. Pierre set the current best indoor time of 10:33.85 at The TRACK in Boston. [4] Nevertheless the distance medley relay is only a world record discipline outdoors it is a subject to usual ratification procedure to become an outright world record because their time bettered the outdoor mark of 10:36.50. [5]
Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1500 m came about as a result of running 3+3⁄4 laps of a 400 m outdoor track or 7+1⁄2 laps of a 200 m indoor track, which were commonplace in continental Europe in the 20th century.
The Penn Relays is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In 2012, there were 116 events run at the meet. More athletes run in the Penn Relays than at any other track and field meet in the world. It regularly attracts more than 15,000 participants from high schools, colleges, and track clubs throughout North America and abroad, notably Jamaica, competing in more than 300 events over five days. Historically, the event has been credited with popularizing the running of relay races. It is held during the last full week in April, ending on the last Saturday in April. Attendance typically tops 100,000 over the final three days, and has been known to surpass 50,000 on Saturday. The Penn Relays also holds a Catholic Youth Organization night for Catholic Middle Schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Preliminaries are run on the Tuesday during Carnival Week, and the Finals are run on Friday.
The sprint medley relay (SMR) is a track and field event in which teams of four athletes compete over sprinting distances as part of a relay race. Unlike most track relays, each member of the team runs a different distance. The sprint medley is rather uncommon, run most frequently at non-championship track meets which are focused on relays. Since these are not championship events, specific criteria for the event are not in common rulebooks. This leads to localized variations.
The NCAA Men's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championship is an annual collegiate indoor track and field competition for men organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Athlete's individual performances earn points for their institution and the team with the most points receives the NCAA team title in track and field. A separate NCAA Division I women's competition is also held. These two events are separate from the NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships and NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships held during the spring. The first edition of the championship was held in 1965. The current team champions are the Oregon Ducks.
Brenda Martinez is an American middle-distance runner and Olympian. Born in Upland, California, she won a silver medal in the 800 meters at the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Moscow and finished first in the 800 meters at the 2014 Diamond League Final. She represented the US at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships in the 1500 meters. Martinez twice set the world record in the Distance Medley Relay at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston; first on February 7, 2015, and then breaking her own record on January 28, 2017. In 2016, Martinez qualified for the U.S. Olympic team competing in the 1500 meters after beating Amanda Eccleston by 0.03 seconds.