Francis Wins Gold at World Relays
NASSAU, The Bahamas – Oregon track and field alum Phyllis Francis represented the United States for the first time of her career at the IAAF/BTC World Relays this weekend and brought home a gold medal as part of the women’s 4x400 relay.
Francis, a 2014 graduate and American Indoor record holder in the 400, teamed with Natasha Hastings, Sanya Richards-Ross and Francena McCorory, each of whom won Olympic gold medals in the 4x400.
Francis ran the team’s first leg in 51.40, passing off to Hastings neck-and-neck with Jamaica. Hastings gave the U.S. a slight edge before Richards-Ross dropped the field with a split of 48.79, the fastest of the day. McCorory secured the victory and finished in a time of 3:19.39.
The time is the fastest in the world this year and is an IAAF World Relays record. The performance ranks 10th in U.S. history and is the fastest since the national team’s performance at the 2012 Olympics.
In Yesterday’s qualifying round, Francis ran the fastest relay split of the first day of competition, clocking a third-leg split of 49.74. The team of Francis, DeeDee Trotter, Hastings and Jessica Beard dominated their qualifying heat in 3:24.05.
In the second running of the World Relays, Team USA dominated the world winning seven out of 10 championships.
