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Friday 15 October 2010

Speedendurance.com

Why the 4×400m Relay is the Best Event Ever

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 08:10 AM PDT

I'll summarize it in one sentence:

Host Nation India wins Gold Medal 4×400m women's relay at the 2010 Commonwealth Games

That headline is enough to spark a few readers.

That's why the 4×400 meter relay should be kept as the final event of the program (aside from the marathon, which is not technically a track event). See my rant on the 2011 Daegu World Championships Schedule

Congratulations to India with a Gold medal performance of 3:27.77. Their team consisted of Manjeet Kaur (52.8), Sini Jose (52.0), Ashwini Chidananda Akkunji (51.6), and Mandeep Kaur (51.1). (400m splits shown in brackets)

If you don't get Goosebumps watching this video, I don't know what will get you excited. The crowd goes absolutely nuts! I'll bet most of them in the stands didn't give them a chance after the Aussies, Brits, and Nigerians. The last time India's women's 4×400m relay made the finals at a major International meet was 7th place at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics using a combination of 400m, 400mH and 800m runners!

A great effort is shown by the 3rd leg Akkunji holding off the runner trying to pass.

An even greater effort is the anchor leg Kaur holding off the Nigerian. Not just any Nigerian, the 400m Hurdles Gold medal winner Muizat Ajoke Odumosu!

Look how the Indian team are exhausted after the race. They are too dazed and confused to do a victory lap with their flag. The women put it all on the track that night. That's the way to run the 4×400m.

I've always said it's not just 4 people running the relay, it's the sum of all the parts that's greater than the sum of the individual parts.

And of course, with the relays, anything goes.

Here is the video on YouTube: