Penn Relays' USA and World teams announced

In the women's 4x100-meter relay Team USA sprint team will feature Allyson Felix and Carmelita Jeter, both with Olympic aspirations this year. They will be joined by Francena McCorory, Jessica Beard, and Bianca Knight. All five represented the United States at the World Championsips in Daegu, South Korea last year on ateam that took home gold in the 4x100m and 4x400-meter relays.

Phoebe Wright and Erica Moore will also compete for Team USA in the sprint medley. Wright has won multiple Penn Relays as a collegiate athlete, while Moore won her first international medal this year.

Team USA will face still challenges from Jamaica and Great Britain. Jamaica’s team will feature Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (the defending Olympian champion in the 100), Kerron Stewart, and Sherone Simpson in the 4x100 (a fourth runner is yet to be determined). All three medaled in Beijing. Shericka Williams and Novlene Williams-Mills will be running in the 4x400m, and Kenia Sinclair will be in the 800 meters.

Team Britain features Shana Cox, Nicole Sanders, Christine Ohuruogu, and Perri Shrakes-Drayton. That’s the same quartet that outran its American competitors in the 4x400m at the World Indoor Championships, taking gold by three thousandths of a second.

On the men’s side, Team USA’s sprinters will feature, in addition to Merrit, Walter Dix, Angelo Taylor, Justin Gatlin, and Bershawn Jackson. The medley team, anchored by Lagat, will also sport Jeshua Anderson, Khadevis Robinson, Nick Symmonds, Russel Brown, as well as Manzano.

Team USA will face plenty of international competition. The Jamaican, as the defending world and Olympic champions, are the likely favorites in the 4x100. The team’s top three runners are Nesta Carter, Jermaine Gonzales, and Allodin Fothergill.

Another notable athlete is Kirani Jones, who hails from Grenada, and is currently the 400m world champion.

- Steven Jaffe