FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas, Feb 11 - A US team of Kerron Clement, Wallace Spearmon, Darold Williamson and Jeremy Wariner broke the world indoor record in the 4x400m relay at the Tyson Invitational meeting today.
The quartet clocked 3 minutes 01.96 seconds to improve on the previous mark of 3:02.83 set by a US team on March 7, 1999, in Maebashi, Japan.
Leading off, Clement was well ahead of the field at the break. Moving inside, he handed off to Spearmon, who opened a sizeable lead on the field through his opening 200m.
Spearmon, the novice 400m runner of the group, handed off to Williamson, the man who anchored the United States’ 2004 Olympic gold medal-winning relay.
He extended the lead before handing over to world and Olympic 400m gold medallist Wariner.
They set me up with a great time,'' Wariner said. They gave me enough time to work with it. I just ran my usual race that I usually do.
Coach (Clyde) Hart was telling me before the race to not try and force it and to run my own race. He said enjoy myself. I wasn't trying to force the record. If it came it came. If it didn't, oh well we are young we can do it another year.'' The four stars - Spearmon is the outdoor world championship 200m silver medallist and Clement claimed the 400m indoor world record last year - easily won the university-level race. A team from Louisiana State University finished second in 3:05.28. The meeting's invitational events, part of USA Track and Field's indoor Visa Championship Series, were held on Friday, when Spearmon posted the fastest time ever recorded - 31.88 - in the rarely run 300m. With guys like this you really don’t have a choice but to break a world record,’’ Spearmon said.
That another WR on a track CANADA sold to Arkansas for a few grand cause nobody wanted to set it up around here!!