There will be a world record attempt happening later tonight at —A Night At The TRACK at the new indoor facility in Boston on Friday night, 15 April, and you will not want to miss this race!
UPDATED: Sydney McLaughlin has withdrawn from tonight’s DMR race due to a minor hamstring issue.
Kendall Ellis will come in to run the 400m leg for McLaughlin in the world record attempt tonight.
A team that was initially made up of world record holder and Olympic champion over the 400m hurdles, Sydney McLaughlin, World Indoor 3000m silver medalist Elle Purrier St. Pierre, Heather MacLean, and teenager Roisin Willis had to make a slight adjustment after McLaughlin was forced to withdraw because of a hamstring injury.
Team New Balance fellow rep, Kendall Ellis was drafted in as the substitute and she will now run the 400m leg on the squad that will attempt to break the Distance Medley Relay world best at the meeting that is presented by New Balance.
The race has been gathering momentum for the past few days and you can watch live streaming coverage for free on Runnerspace.com. The DMR will go off at 8:30 pm ET. Read more: How to watch the 2022 Mt. Sac Relays?
Currently, the women’s Distance Medley Relay —which is run in the format of 1200m, 400m, 800m, and 1600m —world best stands at 10:39.91 and many track and field experts believe the American select team has the capability to better that record.
Friday night’s relay leg will be the first appearance this season for McLaughlin, who won the Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo Games last summer and twice broke the women’s 400m hurdles world record with a pair of sub-52 seconds performances.
The last time McLaughlin was part of a record-breaking DMR Team NB setup, she was still a high schooler running on a team that included three other professional runners.
St Pierre has already had her feet wet on the track this season, having won a silver medal at the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships in the 3000m.
Willis is an exciting talent and senior at Stevens Point Senior High School in Wisconsin, and many are tipping her to be one of the standout performers in years to come. Read more: Where to buy CARIFTA Games 2022 tickets?
The 17-year-old recently broke the US high school indoor 800m record with a time of 2:00.06, which is even quicker than her outdoor PB so I am expecting something special from her this season.
MacLean, meanwhile, is coming off of a solid 2021 season, which included her making a debut at the Olympics Tokyo in the 1500m, while she recently finished 7th at the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Serbia.
Things are shaping up for another unique time of the year for this event as many people have already traveled to Boston for the 2022 Boston Marathon, so if you are in town, please come and show your support to Team USA and all the athletes who will be on display.
The Grand Opening of the TRACK at New Balance live broadcast will begin at 6:50 pm ET, while the DMR world record attempt gets underway at 8:30 pm ET. As usual, you can watch all the on-demand videos from the event that will be available here at the conclusion of the event.
