PHILADELPHIA – Beginning in the moments leading up to the first international relay of the day, there was no lack of drama and excitement Saturday at USA vs. The World at the Penn Relays, presented by Verizon.

A Penn Relays record 112,701 fans – more than any edition in the meet’s 110-year history – attended the three-day carnival, including 49,441 on hand for Saturday’s perfect weather. The throng greeted the first event of USA vs. the World – the Verizon men’s 4x100m – with deafening chants of “U-S-A” countered by screaming Jamaican fans, waving the green, black and gold flags of their team.

On the track, however, it was all Team USA as the Americans swept all six USA vs. The World races.

The men’s 4x100m began as an even race between USA Red and USA Blue, as Philadelphia native Jon Drummond and Pan Am Games relay gold medalist Mickey Grimes opened for the two teams, respectively. But 2003 USA outdoor 100m champion Bernard Williams broke the race open for USA Red on the second leg, over 110m hurdle Olympic silver medalist Terrance Trammell. Shawn Crawford made up some ground for USA Blue on the third leg, and USA Red and Blue entered the final exchange zone virtually even.

Crawford’s handoff to Justin Gatlin never transpired, however, and USA Red seized the opportunity. One of the world’s finest anchor-leg runners, J.J. Johnson took the baton from Darvis Patton and ran away with the race, winning in 38.42 seconds. The Jamaican team of Lindel Frater, Patrick Jarrett, Latonel Williams and Asafa Powell was second in 39.02, and the Canadian team of Nic Macrozonaris, Anson Henry, Charles Allen and Pierre Brown was third in 39.65.

The Nike women’s 4x100m also was a dramatic, see-saw race early on as USA Red (Angela Daigle) and USA Blue (LaTasha Colander) were even after one leg. The Blue handoff between Colander and 18-year-old star Allyson Felix lacked the virtuosity of the USA Red exchange from Daigle to 1996 Olympic relay gold medalist Chryste Gaines, and USA Red bolted to the lead, with Jamaica’s Aleen Bailey in tow. Crystal Cox recovered some ground for USA Blue on the third leg, but ’96 Olympic gold medalist Inger Miller held the lead for USA Red, handing off perfectly to five-time Olympic medalist Marion Jones in first place. Jones needed no prompting to cruise to the finish line in a winning time of 42.63 seconds, followed by Jamaica (Judith Kitson, Aleen Bailey, Brigitte Foster, Sherone Simpson) in second in 43.28, and USA Blue (Colander, Felix, Cox, Kelli White) in third in 43.75.

The result of the Nike men’s 4x200m relay was never in doubt, as the USA Red team of Mickey Grimes, Shawn Crawford, Darvis Patton and Justin Gatlin led from start to finish in a time of 1:19.62. Canada (Tyler Christopher, Shane Niemi, Anson Henry, Pierre Browne) was second in 1:22.15, and USA Blue (Coby Miller, Bernard Williams, Ramon Clay, J.J. Johnson) was third in 1:22.35

Drama returned for the Verizon women’s 4x200m. After two legs, USA Red and USA Blue were in a dead heat, but Julian Clay’s third leg gave USA Blue a lead over Inger Miller and USA Red heading into the anchor leg. In a footrace between Marion Jones and Shaunta Pelham, Jones came from 2 meters down to win by nearly .6 seconds. The USA Red team of Colander, Gaines, Miller and Jones finished in 1:29.40, with USA Blue (Angela Daigle, Debbie Dunn, Clay, Pelham) second in 1:30.01. Jamaica (Aleen Bailey, Sheryl Morgan, Ronetta Smith, Jodi-Ann Powell) was third in 1:32.44.

The outcome of the Sunny D Intense Sport Drink women’s 4x400m relay was up for grabs, but after the first two legs, it was clear that one of three Team USA lineups would be the victor.

USA White finished the first leg in first, on the strength of Michelle Collins, with Jamaica’s Sandie Richards in second. Monique Hennagan was out well for USA White in the second leg, leading at her handoff with USA Red (Moushaumi Robinson) second and USA Blue (Debbie Dunn) third. The white-red-blue order held until the last curve of the anchor leg, when Suziann Reid gave USA Red the win (3:23.82); Crystal Cox moved up to second for USA Blue (3:24.80), and Mary Danner finished for USA White in third (3:25.04).

The Verizon men’s 4x400m was more international in its mid-race competition. Calvin Harrison gave USA Red a narrow lead after the first leg, but it was a lead the team would never relinquish. Harrison’s twin, Alvin, kept the Red team in the lead, but the World All-Stars and Jamaicans were hot on their heels, within half a second.

2003 World Outdoor champion Jerome Young dashed the hopes of the All-Stars and Jamaica with a dominant third leg in 44.6 seconds, and Tyree Washington extended the lead to a win in 2:58.93. The All-Stars (Gary Kikaya, Alleyne Francique, Sophiane Labidi, Felix Sanchez)) were second in 3:00.76, with Jamaica (Michael Campbell, Brandon Simpson, Usain Bolt, Germaine Gonzalez) third in 3:01.10.

For complete results, visit www.thepennrelays.com

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Athlete quotes, USA vs. The World

Justin Gatlin: [On the dropped baton between Crawford and Gatlin in the 4x100]: I guess we got a little too excited. He ran up a little on me, didn’t wait for me to get my hand back, and it dropped. That happens. You just have to keep your head up and go on. Everybody’s cheering for us, but you have to just keep your cool. … Penn Relays is the only meet where I walk in and get chills. I know every time I step in here, I get chills. The officials have to quiet it down, just to get the race started. There’s nowhere else like it. Nowhere.

Darvis Patton: I love the Penn Relays. It’s a tremendous atmosphere. It pumps you up, gets you going. If you can’t run good here, when the weather’s good, you can’t run anywhere. We have fans in the U.S. who holler and scream like this.

Mickey Grimes: I keep doing my job. As long as I’m making everybody else happy, I’m happy.

Shawn Crawford: I get a little more excited in the relay [in contrast with individual races], with the team effort. I get psyched up. It’s an inspiration for me to do my job and do it to the best of my ability … I’m focusing on making it to the Olympics. This would be my first Olympic team. You always have people coming out of the woodwork [at the Olympic Trials], so I expect it to be tougher than the Olympics itself.

Chryste Gaines: I think we all ran pretty strong legs. We had a good time out there today … I think every event at the Olympic Trials will be, basically, to the wire. Everybody is looking in great shape right now, and we’re all looking to get those three spots. The three who are on it that day are the three who will be on the team. Penn is unlike any other carnival in the world. The high school kids are out there, the college kids are out there, and the 100-year-olds will be out there in a minute. That’s great.

Inger Miller: Marion and I had an excellent handoff [in the 4x100]. I think it’s been a while since men or women had a handoff like that. It’s been since 1997 and our American record since we’ve had a handoff like that. It’s awesome. This is one of the best meets in the world. The fans chanting USA and Jamaica back and forth is just incredible. To be part of this for so many years has just been great. It makes you proud to say I’m running for the U.S.’

Marion Jones: [On her handoff from Miller]: A handoff that good is kind of scary, because you’re so extended, you’re not used to it. I think today I ran a little bit smarter than I did last week. Last week there were so many emotions, I took off like a bat out of you know where. Today I distributed a little more, and I felt stronger coming down the homestretch. … You use it as a workout, you want it to be a little challenging. I still felt a little burn in my chest from the 100, but that’s what you want. I need to run, I think I need to get back in the mix.

The young kids [at USA vs. The World], we tell them, you better be ready. You might not hear the call for the stick, you might get caught up in the crowd. The good thing is although the Jamaicans are cheering for the Jamaicans, they appreciate a good performance.

Over the past few years, the Golden Spike Tour has done well and it continues to grow. I think we’re all very optimistic about the future.

[On Balco]: I’ve never signed, endorsed, agreed upon, saw or sent any checks to Balco … or knew about it. Other than that, I think the article speaks for itself. I can’t say what it [the check] might have been for. I don’t know. I’m going to let the judicial process do what it’s supposed to do, and I’m confident my name will be cleared.

LaTasha Colander: I’m glad to be in the sprints. In track & field, you do your best whatever event you’re in. Just going to the Olympics, you have to be courageous and go out there and give your all. Who would trade that moment for anything? I give my respect to Pat Tillman, who served his country and he got killed for being able to take a stand and protect his country. The Olympic Games is a wonderful thing. We want to be courageous athletes for the U.S.A., to go out and embrace it.

Jearl Miles-Clark: Some of the young ladies running, I actually didn’t know. All in all, it was really good. I enjoyed myself. I always do when I come to Penn Relays. The crowd was great, coming around the last turn, they were going crazy as I was passing the Jamaican lady.

Suzianne Reid: Felt like old times. I took off two years. I’m very happy to be back, especially with my mentor, friend and teammate for many, many teams, Jearl Miles, and Allyson coming up. It felt good to be among people that I knew, and the young people coming up. (Hip injury ).

Allyson Felix: It was a really good experience. It was really great, just to see the crowd and to come to a meet like this. I look forward to the rest of the year.

Calvin Harrison: It was my second time ever running the lead-off. I ran a 45-flat, so it was cool. Every year, I look forward to coming to the Penn Relays. With a capacity crowd off 50,000 people, it really motivated me to come out and do my job.

Jerome Young: Basically today I wanted to come out and have fun. This is the first time to have Tyree, Calvin, Alvin and me running together. I ran pretty good at Mt. SAC. This was a good boost for me. I just want to keep everything gong and keep focused. … If you look at the [Olympic] Trials, anybody can come up. All of us are trying to get the same thing. The best guy who stays focused will be the guy who does the job.

Tyree Washington: I was very pleased. Calvin ran exceptional, as did Alvin and Jerome. It just shows how versatile the U.S. is. The crowd was a new record this year … I’m ecstatic. This is the first time I’ve anchored at a huge event since Athens in ’97. Any one of us could have anchored. We stayed humble and respected other runners. Since they instituted this relay pool, it gave other athletes a chance to showcase their talent. It really motivates us all.

Alvin Harrison: It felt great to be back. I sat the most of last season out due to an injury. It was great to be running with this group of guys. We ran today on our strength. This year for me is one of the most exciting years of my career. It will be my third Olympic Trials. not