IAAF World Relays - Day One Quotes
5/2/2015
Men’s 4x100m relay - Final
Mike Rodgers
“I feel like I was the missing piece. Me, Tyson and Gatlin have never run together before because of different circumstances. We finally got to put it together on the track and in two rounds, we earned the victory, and hopefully next time we can break the world record.”
“It would be great for the world championships to continue with these three guys. They said we’ve been beat up for the last seven years. Our media doubted us. They said we weren’t going to win today and we proved everybody wrong.”
Justin Gatlin
“We were high on confidence because we’ve been working on our handoffs for three weeks (since Texas Relays). We used different positions and different strategies to get the gold and we did that. So I think we’re very confident.”
Tyson Gay
“It felt good. We came together as a team and got the victory. We were trying not to think too much about who was in the race, but just wanted to execute and get the sticks around. We’ve had problems in the past, but we executed today.”
“We were confident. We knew we had a good team. We knew Usain Bolt was going to run anchor leg. He looked good in the prelims, so we knew we had to get a lead and hang on to it.”
Ryan Bailey
“We all have our areas where we feel comfortable on the track. Mike likes opening leg, Gatlin likes the backstretch, Tyson’s the curve man and I feel comfortable bringing it home against Usain, so that’s how we got it done today.”
“I still have a world team to make right now, so I’m focusing on that and will think about the Olympics later.”
Women’s Distance Medley Relay - Final
Treniere Moser
“My coach, Alberto, had prepared me for the pace. We didn’t talk about time, but just racing. So don’t focusing on the time, but just racing and competing and getting the job done. I just wanted to get us in good position for Sanya to get the baton and I knew what the other ladies could do, so it was about me setting a good tone.”
Sanya Richards-Ross
“I felt really great. It was an honor to partner with these ladies. I’ve never run a distance medley relay before and for my first one to be a world record, it was really special. I just wanted to do my part and run well here. I love the Bahamas and it was an honor to have a world record. I’ll remember this for the rest of my life.”
Ajee’ Wilson
“It was great. Anytime you hear the national anthem and have a gold medal to back that, it feels good. It was pure joy. I couldn’t ask for a better team or a better experience.”
Shannon Rowbury
“We were really excited for the opportunity. Treniere and I were always intrigued with the idea of the World Relays but we were never able to make it work out. I had been coming off an injury last season, but with indoors going so well this year, I was like ‘please can we do the World Relays, please can we do the World Relays’ and I think once we started to hear what other women were interested, we all got that much more committed to coming out here and trying to bring home a gold medal and world record.”
Men’s 4x800m relay - Final
Duane Solomon
“It was something we were going back and forth on leading up to getting here, switching up the order. We wanted to change things up and not be so predictable. It worked because they all had their fastest guys on the leadoff leg and I was able to keep us within reach.”
Erik Sowinski
“I just wanted to go out through 500m and feel comfortable. I wanted to give us a lead. There’s not too many guys who can match Robby’s speed in the last 150m, so we wanted to get him in a position where he could outrun any other team.”
Casimir Loxsom
“It means the world. A lot of times, scored meets like these are a matter of momentum. And to win a medal for our country, I’ve won a silver at the junior level but this is my first gold medal and it’s a pretty phenomenal experience. We kind of went in as the underdogs. Coming into this race, I told Robby that we were going to be the hunters. I thought it would be closer and we’d be trying to edge Kenya but we were really tactical at the end and it was just a phenomenal experience. To go out and run the way we did, that’s a hard relay to execute that way. This was just such a fun experience and nothing beats a victory lap with your flag.”
Robby Andrews
“I could hear the Kenyans cheering and getting louder, so I knew he was close. I just tried to slowly squeeze him out of the last 200m.”
Men’s 4x400m relay - Prelim
David Verburg
“My goal was to put us in first. I had a bad start, but our goal was to stay relaxed and execute. The whole team raced very well, and we were there to pick each other up.”
Kyle Clemons
“It felt great. Was definitely nerve-wracking. I came out here, saw the crowd and knew it would be great. They really got me going and definitely brought me home. Most importantly, we wanted to qualify and get the stick around, and we did.”
Jeremy Wariner
“It means more to put the uniform on my back again. It’s been since 2009 that I’ve competed for the U.S. and to show I’m back. I’m trying to help my team compete. I felt great. This is the best I’ve felt in years. I have some improving to do as the season goes on but I think tomorrow, I can split faster than I did today. I have to.”
Brycen Spratling
“In my mind, I didn’t want to get caught as the anchor leg. I’m happy that we got the win.”
“It took long enough to get to this day. I’m just really happy to be here in the Bahamas and grateful. It was great.”
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