The United States swept all six relays against a World team in a hoped-for preview of the London Olympics in the Penn Relays at Franklin Field Saturday. USA Track and Field has set the lofty goal of 30 medals in the Olympics. Allyson Felix, Sanya Richards-Ross, Walter Dix, Justin Gatlin, and Lashawn Merritt showed they want their share. On a chilly and windy day, the men and women simply did what they wanted on the track against teams from Belgium and the Bahamas to Venezuela and Kenya, keeping the thrilling finishes to a minimum and giving a decisive glimpse into what they expect in the Olympics. The women won the sprint medley relay, the 400-meter relay and the 4x400. The men won the 400 relay, the distance medley relay and the 4x400 in the 118th running of the renowned meet. “We're in the right direction heading to London,” 2008 Olympics bronze medalist Bershawn Jackson said. “Just for America to come out on top 6-0, that says that America is coming this year.” The relays belonged to Felix, a three-time Olympic medalist, who flashed the speed that's long made her a fan favorite at the Penn Relays. Felix teamed with Tianna Madison, Bianca Knight and Carmelita Jeter to set a Penn Relays record in the 400 with a time of 42.19 seconds. She also was on a relay with Francena McCorory, Natasha Hastings and Sanya Richards-Ross that set the mark in the 4x400 with a time of 3 minutes, 21.18 seconds. The final day of the Penn Relays is traditionally the biggest – in both crowds and marquee names. The public address announcer told the crowd the United States had swept the All-Star event 6-0 at the end of the 4x400 to a roaring pro-USA crowd. “It was exciting for us to cross the line and kind of finish it off for Team USA. It was amazing,” Richards-Ross said. “Usually the Jamaicans give us some trouble in one of the relays.” Jamaican stars Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell did not compete in the relays. They'll be a force in London. Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller watched several “U.S.A. vs. the World” relays from the stands and blew kisses to the crowd. The US women opened the series with a win in the sprint medley relay. Porscha Lucas, Barbara Pierre, Phoebe Wright and Maggie Vessey took the relay in 3:42.85. The American women trailed until Vessey made a perfectly timed pass to get by Britain on the anchor leg. From there, the home country rolled. Led by Mike Rodgers, Gatlin, Doc Patton and Dix, the men won the 400 relay in 38.40. Suspended for four years in 2006 after testing positive for excessive testosterone, Gatlin's second chance has the 2004 gold medal winner in contention for another spot in the Olympics. Tyler Mulder, David Neville, Khadevis Robinson and Leo Manzano won the distance medley relay in 9:19.31. Manzano caught world champion Bernard Lagat on the closing lap for the upset win. Lagat regained the American record in the indoor 5,000 this year. The veteran runner was disappointed with his finish. Jackson, Merritt, Angelo Taylor and Calvin Smith won the 4x400 in 3:00.15. Merritt was a few strides behind Chris Brown of the Bahamas when he grabbed the baton for the final leg. He paced himself before grabbing the lead for good on the straight. Spearmon shines In Des Moines, Iowa, Wallace Spearmon broke the Drake Relays 200m meet record with a time of 20.02sec Saturday, and was delighted to better the mark set 15 years ago by athletics great Michael Johnson. Spearmon's time was three-hundredths of a second better than the previous meet record set by Johnson in 1997. Jenny Simpson, the reigning world champion in the 1,500, won her signature event in 4:12.95 but admitted it was a bit closer than she expected. Jenn Suhr defied the windy weather to set a meet record in the women's pole vault of 4.65m. Chaunte Lowe, who owns the best high jump in the world this year of 2.00m, won her event comfortably with a clearance of 1.98m. American Ryan Wilson won the 110m hurdles in 13.20sec, with two-time Olympic silver medallist Terrance Trammell settling for third in 13.36.
