Relay Teams Qualified and Participating in Beijing, courtesy of IAAF, Notes by Larry Eder

Relays are the bain of every head US Olympic coach. Former Olympic coach John Chaplin once noted that the head coach is worshipped if all four relays are won and vilified if they are not. That is just about it.
The Jamaican 4 x 100 meter relay team looks to pose the most challenge for both men and women from the U.S. The staff of the U.S. promises that there will be more practices and focus on strategy. Let’s hope so.
Note that French women are running a 4 x 100 meters. I do not believe that Christine Arron is participating in that team.

Relay teams qualified and participating in Beijing
LES EQUIPES DE RelaIS qualifieES ET PARTICIPANT AUX jEUX DE PEKIN
21 July 2008
21 juillet 2008
Monte-Carlo â€“ The qualification period for the menâ€™s and womenâ€™s 4x100m and 4x400m Relays at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, Beijing 2008 ended last Wednesday, 16 July, since when each Member Federation of the IAAF who had teams in the top-16 places have been asked to confirm whether they would be taking up their positions in Beijing.
With the deadline for confirmation having expired, the IAAF is pleased to confirm the following teams will compete:
Monte-Carlo â€“ La pÃ©riode de qualification des relais 4x100m et 4x400m hommes et femmes des Jeux de la XXIXÃ¨me Olympiade, PÃ©kin 2008, sâ€™est achevÃ©e mercredi dernier, 16 juillet. Depuis, il a Ã©tÃ© demandÃ© aux FÃ©dÃ©rations qui ont une Ã©quipe dans le top-16 de confirmer leur participation.
Ce dÃ©lai ayant expirÃ©, lâ€™IAAF a le plaisir de confirmer la participation des Ã©quipes suivantes :
Men 4x100m â€“ Hommes 4x100m
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Germany
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Netherlands
Nigeria
Poland
South Africa
Thailand
Trinidad and Tobago
United States of America
Men 4x400m â€“ Hommes 4x400m
Australia
Bahamas
Belgium
Cuba
Dominican Republic
France
Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Germany
Greece
Jamaica
Japan
Poland
Russia
South Africa
Trinidad and Tobago
United States of America
Women 4x100m â€“ Femmes 4x100m
Belgium
Belarus
Brazil
China
Finland
France
Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Germany
Italy
Jamaica
Poland
Russia
Thailand
Trinidad and Tobago
Ukraine
United States of America
Women 4x400m â€“ Femmes 4x400m
Belarus
Brazil
China
Cuba
France
Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Germany
India
Jamaica
Japan
Mexico
Nigeria
Poland
Russia
Ukraine
United States of America
Further Information:
The aggregate of the two fastest times which determined the qualification of each of the national teams (achieved at IAAF recognised international events in the qualification period of 1 January 2007 to 16 July 2008) can be found in the following pdf file –
http://www.iaaf.org/mm/Document/Statistics/Standards/BeijingRelayTeams16July2008_4099.pdf

Author

Larry Eder
Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys. Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."
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