FEATURE
ATHLETES READY FOR THE KANSAS RELAYS
2010 event features Olympic medal winners and other collegiate runners
By Kory Carpenter
kcarpenter@kansan.com
This weekend marks the 83rd running of the Kansas Relays. Founded in 1923 and held at Memorial Stadium, the Kansas
Relays have become a staple in the Kansas Track and Field outdoor season. While high school and collegiate athletes from all over the country travel to Lawrence to compete in the four-day event, some of the relays highlights include appearances from Olympic athletes.
Since 2005, Olympic athletes, such as Maurice Greene and Marion Jones, have come to the event. When interest in the relays was waning
Events begin on Wednesday and continue through the finals on Saturday afternoon. Spectators must purchase a Kansas Relays button to attend. Buttons are $10 for adults and $5 for children, students and seniors.
in 2005, then meet director Tim Weaver created the Gold Zone which brought Greene and Jones along with top NCAA athletes
to compete in the events. The Gold Zone is a three-hour meet within the actual meet. This addition has bolstered attendance and continued to bring Olympians to Mount Oread.
This year is no different, with three Olympic sprinters added to the docket. Two-time Olympian Churandy Martina will be running in the mens invitational 100-meter dash. Martina, a Netherlands Antilles native, is a national record-holder in the 100- and 200-meter dashes. He finished fourth in the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the 100-meter dash, and finished behind Usain Bolt in the 200-meter finals. Martina will debut at 2:45 p.m. on Saturday.
The mens 100-meter dash will be followed by the men's invitational 200-meter dash at 3:45 p.m. Antigua and Barbuda native Brendan Christian will highlight the event. The two-time Olympian won gold at the 2007 Pan American Games in the 200-meters. Christian is a former Texas Longhorn runner and holds the school's 100-meter record. He was also a five-time All-American while in college.
The most accomplished athlete competing this week will be Veronica Campbell Brown, Campbell, a Jamaica sprinter, is a five-time Olympic medalist and has competed in the last three Olympic games. In the 2004 Athens games, Brown won three medals, including gold in the women's 200-meter dash. She became only the second woman to defend her first-place finish in the 200-yard dash in 2008.
Brown will be competing in two Saturday track events: the 200-meter dash will take place at 3:35 p.m., and the 4x400-meter relay will begin at 5:05 p.m.
Weston White KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Jenny Terrell KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Left: Freshman long jumper Jamaica Collins leaps to a distance of 5.71 meters. Collins placed ninth in the women's long jump finals at the Kansas Relays last year.
Center: Abby Jones, sophomore pole vaulter, vaults during last year's Kansas Relays. Jones took fifth place in the event with a vault of 3.70 meters.
Right: Senior distance runner Patrick McGowan surmounts a hurdle midway through the men's steeplechase event at the 2009 Kansas Relays.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Distance runner Donny Wasinger attempts to pass Rob Novak of Seton Hall during the men's 1500-me
THE WAVE APRIL 14,2010
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN