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By Joe Juliano
Inquirer Staff Writer
Dave Johnson, executive director of the Penn Relays, tried not to get too excited when he learned in February that international superstar Usain Bolt might compete in the world's oldest track and field meet.
After all, he thought, while the carnival is scheduled at the right time for colleges preparing for a final push toward conference championships and the NCAAs, it's a little early in the season for the world's best professionals, much less a guy in demand all over the world.
But with USA Track and Field and Nike doing the heavy lifting, Bolt agreed to come. And better yet, according to Johnson, Bolt wanted to come, to perform in front of the thousands of Jamaicans and Jamaican Americans who attend each year.
"From everything I know, it's Usain Bolt who came to them and just plain wanted to run here," Johnson said. "USA Track and Field and Nike deserve an awful lot of credit for pulling this together and handling the logistics. But the fact is, he wanted to be here."
The presence of Bolt, who will run Saturday on Jamaica's 4x100-meter relay team in the USA vs. the World competition at historic Franklin Field, has hiked interest in the carnival - it annually draws the top attendance at any meet outside of Olympics and World Championships - off the charts.
Media requests have risen, and it's a pretty sure bet the one-day carnival record crowd of 50,827, set in 2002, will be broken. Franklin Field has nearly 53,000 seats, most of them benches where lines mark off each spot, and you can expect the people sitting will be pretty snug.
"The house was packed last year," Johnson said, referring to a crowd of 49,831, the second-highest all-time. "How many more people can we put in here? It's an interesting problem to have."
Johnson said a crowd of about 50,000 turned out in 1929 to see distance running great Paavo Nurmi of Finland, who won nine gold medals in three Olympic Games.
"This is the biggest international appearance we've had since then," he said.
Bolt, 23, rose to superstardom at the 2008 Beijing Olympics where he set world records of 9.69 seconds in the 100 meters and 19.30 in the 200. He also was part of Jamaica's 4x100 team that set another world record of 37.10.
The 6-foot-5 runner topped his two individual marks at last summer's IAAF World Championships in Berlin, clocking 9.58 in the 100 and 19.19 in the 200. He again ran on Jamaica's 4x100 team, which won in 37.31, just short of the world record.
Bolt is no stranger to the Penn Relays, having competed at Franklin Field every year from 2001 through 2005. He ran for William Knibb High School (Jamaica) his first three years and, in 2003, he anchored Jamaica's 4x200 team to third place in the USA vs. the World race in 1 minute, 22.11 seconds.
He participated the next two years in the USA vs. the World competition. He ran the third leg on Jamaica's 4x400 team that finished third in 3:01.10 in 2004, and led off with a 200-meter leg for the sprint medley relay team that took fifth in 3:22.58 in 2005.
There will be plenty happening before Bolt races on Saturday. The decathlon and heptathlon begin things Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by women's events and distance races Thursday, men's and women's competitions Friday, and events Saturday featuring high school, collegiate, Olympic, and Masters athletes.
Florida and Oregon, the 2010 NCAA indoor track and field champions on the men's and women's sides, respectively, are entered at Penn. The first six team finishers for men and 10 of the top 12 on the women's side will be here.
All four indoor relay champions - Texas A&M (4x400) and Oregon (distance medley) for the men, Oregon (4x400) and Tennessee (distance medley) for the women - will take to the track at Penn.
In fact, almost 300 events will have been held at Franklin Field and venues surrounding the stadium until the time Bolt races, at 2:50 p.m. Saturday.
But once Bolt comes into view, the noise is sure to crescendo to a deafening and sustained level.
"I can remember a high school 4x400 in 2007 with three teams from Kingston [Jamaica] and Long Beach [Calif.] Poly," Johnson said. "I later watched a video of that race, and from the middle of the first turn on you can never hear the P.A. announcer. I remember thinking, you couldn't hear anything. "That was the longest continuous noise I've ever heard at an athletic event, for more than three minutes. This race won't last as long, but I can imagine the crowd being so loud that it will be difficult to get them in the blocks and set. I hope not, but I won't be surprised."
Inquirer Staff Writer
Dave Johnson, executive director of the Penn Relays, tried not to get too excited when he learned in February that international superstar Usain Bolt might compete in the world's oldest track and field meet.
After all, he thought, while the carnival is scheduled at the right time for colleges preparing for a final push toward conference championships and the NCAAs, it's a little early in the season for the world's best professionals, much less a guy in demand all over the world.
But with USA Track and Field and Nike doing the heavy lifting, Bolt agreed to come. And better yet, according to Johnson, Bolt wanted to come, to perform in front of the thousands of Jamaicans and Jamaican Americans who attend each year.
"From everything I know, it's Usain Bolt who came to them and just plain wanted to run here," Johnson said. "USA Track and Field and Nike deserve an awful lot of credit for pulling this together and handling the logistics. But the fact is, he wanted to be here."
The presence of Bolt, who will run Saturday on Jamaica's 4x100-meter relay team in the USA vs. the World competition at historic Franklin Field, has hiked interest in the carnival - it annually draws the top attendance at any meet outside of Olympics and World Championships - off the charts.
Media requests have risen, and it's a pretty sure bet the one-day carnival record crowd of 50,827, set in 2002, will be broken. Franklin Field has nearly 53,000 seats, most of them benches where lines mark off each spot, and you can expect the people sitting will be pretty snug.
"The house was packed last year," Johnson said, referring to a crowd of 49,831, the second-highest all-time. "How many more people can we put in here? It's an interesting problem to have."
Johnson said a crowd of about 50,000 turned out in 1929 to see distance running great Paavo Nurmi of Finland, who won nine gold medals in three Olympic Games.
"This is the biggest international appearance we've had since then," he said.
Bolt, 23, rose to superstardom at the 2008 Beijing Olympics where he set world records of 9.69 seconds in the 100 meters and 19.30 in the 200. He also was part of Jamaica's 4x100 team that set another world record of 37.10.
The 6-foot-5 runner topped his two individual marks at last summer's IAAF World Championships in Berlin, clocking 9.58 in the 100 and 19.19 in the 200. He again ran on Jamaica's 4x100 team, which won in 37.31, just short of the world record.
Bolt is no stranger to the Penn Relays, having competed at Franklin Field every year from 2001 through 2005. He ran for William Knibb High School (Jamaica) his first three years and, in 2003, he anchored Jamaica's 4x200 team to third place in the USA vs. the World race in 1 minute, 22.11 seconds.
He participated the next two years in the USA vs. the World competition. He ran the third leg on Jamaica's 4x400 team that finished third in 3:01.10 in 2004, and led off with a 200-meter leg for the sprint medley relay team that took fifth in 3:22.58 in 2005.
There will be plenty happening before Bolt races on Saturday. The decathlon and heptathlon begin things Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by women's events and distance races Thursday, men's and women's competitions Friday, and events Saturday featuring high school, collegiate, Olympic, and Masters athletes.
Florida and Oregon, the 2010 NCAA indoor track and field champions on the men's and women's sides, respectively, are entered at Penn. The first six team finishers for men and 10 of the top 12 on the women's side will be here.
All four indoor relay champions - Texas A&M (4x400) and Oregon (distance medley) for the men, Oregon (4x400) and Tennessee (distance medley) for the women - will take to the track at Penn.
In fact, almost 300 events will have been held at Franklin Field and venues surrounding the stadium until the time Bolt races, at 2:50 p.m. Saturday.
But once Bolt comes into view, the noise is sure to crescendo to a deafening and sustained level.
"I can remember a high school 4x400 in 2007 with three teams from Kingston [Jamaica] and Long Beach [Calif.] Poly," Johnson said. "I later watched a video of that race, and from the middle of the first turn on you can never hear the P.A. announcer. I remember thinking, you couldn't hear anything. "That was the longest continuous noise I've ever heard at an athletic event, for more than three minutes. This race won't last as long, but I can imagine the crowd being so loud that it will be difficult to get them in the blocks and set. I hope not, but I won't be surprised."
Paul Marin -19 is one thing, 20 is a whole other matter. It gets even worse if they win the UCL. *groan*. 
05/18/2011.MU fans naah cough, but all a unuh a vomit?-Lazie 1/11/2015
BOLT ... is expected to take part in the 4x100m race in the US vs The World Series
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