Penn Relays

When the University of Pennsylvania Track and Field committee wanted to add more excitement to their 1893 spring handicapped meet, they came up with the idea of running a relay race at the meet. The team would consist of four men all running a quarter of a mile one after the other. Today this relay race is known as the 4 × 400 m relay. The sport of relay running was only two years old at the time of the first Penn Relays. During the 1893 spring handicapped track meet, the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University men ran a relay race against each other. The Princeton men won with a time of 3:34, beating the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) by 8 yards. In 1894, Penn hosted the track and field meet at the university athletic grounds at 37th and Spruce Streets on April 21, 1894. The Penn Relays affected the history of the sport of relay racing and helped it become as popular as it is today. The first Penn Relay Carnival The first Penn Relay Carnival, held on April 21, 1895, at Franklin Field, was a success. Approximately 5,000 people attended the meet. Nine relay races were run and only two teams were in each race, four of which were high school and prep school races. Another four were college races and one championship college race. The only relay run at that time was the 4 x 400-yard relay or the mile relay. The first team to win a Penn Relays championship was Harvard University, defeating the University of Pennsylvania with a time of 3:34. Other colleges that competed in the meet were Cornell, Columbia, Lafayette, Lehigh, Rutgers, Swarthmore, City College of New York and New York University. At the 2016 Relays, Ida Keeling became the first woman in history to complete a 100-meter run at the age of 100, which she did with a time of 1:17.33. COVID outbreak The 2020 Penn Relays was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. According to news sources, these were the first times the event had been canceled since the event's inception on April 21, 1895. and the Summer Series, which featured open races held in mid-July. A 5k race around the campus that finishes at the track was also introduced as an October event. In 2022, the Penn Relays made both the Summer Showcase (now its own separate one-day event) and 5k standard events annual in July and October, respectively. ==Franklin Field==

Franklin Field was opened in 1895 specifically for the first Penn Relay Carnival. In this same year, Franklin Field was the site of the nation's first scoreboard. According to the NCAA, Franklin Field is the oldest stadium that functions as both a football field and a track and field stadium. In the fall of 1903, it became the first permanent college stadium in the country and the first stadium with a horseshoe design. The stadium was rebuilt in 1922 to its present-day form. The lower deck seating was made more stable and the upper deck seating was added to the stadium to allow for more spectators. After Franklin Field's renovations, it became the first two-tiered stadium. In 1967 the 10 lane synthetic track was added to replace the old overused cinder track. ==Prizes==

The plaque The plaque was first given out at the 1925 Penn Relay Carnival. The design that is on the plaque and the medals was created by Dr. R. Tait McKenzie. The picture on the awards features the founder of the University of Pennsylvania, Benjamin Franklin, sitting in his library chair holding a laurel sprig in his left hand. Four nude runners stand facing him in a line all holding hands. The last runner in the line is holding the baton of the relay. Former University of Pennsylvania runners Larry Brown, Louis Madeira, George Orton and Ted Meredith posed as models for the design. The design is carved onto an 18" or 8" bronze plate and mounted on a wooden circle. Around the bronze picture, on the wooden part of the plaque, reads "Relay Carnival" above the design and "University of Pennsylvania" below the design. College relays The winning teams of the non-championship college relays will receive an 8" plaque. Individuals on the second place team will receive silver medals. Individuals on the third, fourth and fifth place relays will receive bronze medals. The prizes for the college relays are the same for the Military Academies races except the individuals on the first place teams will receive gold watches as well and the plaque. College championship individual events First place individuals receive gold watches. Second will receive silver medals. Third, fourth and fifth receive bronze medals. College individual events First place individuals receive gold medals instead of gold watches. Second will receive silver medals. Third, fourth and fifth receive bronze medals. High school championship relays The winning team in the high school "Championship of America" relays will receive an 18" bronze plaque. The individuals on the first place relay will receive gold watches. Individuals on the second place team will receive silver medals. Individuals on the third, fourth and fifth place relays will receive bronze medals. If a team from outside the United States wins one of these races, watches will also be given to the first American team in this race. High school championship individual events First place individuals receive gold watches. Second will receive silver medals. Third, fourth and fifth receive bronze medals. Just like in the high school championship relays, the first American individual will receive the gold watch. Olympic development relays The first place relay will receive an 8" bronze plaque. The plaque will go to the first national team whose members are all the same nationality or the first USAT&F registered club whose members are all members of the same club. The individuals on the first place relay will receive gold watches. Individuals on the second place team will receive silver medals. Individuals on the third, fourth and fifth place relays will receive bronze medals. Olympic development individual events First place individuals receive gold watches. Second will receive silver medals. Third, fourth and fifth receive bronze medals. Masters, Special Olympics, and blind relays The first place team will receive an 8" bronze plaque. Individuals on the winning relay will receive gold medals. Individuals on the second place relay will receive silver medals. Individuals on the third fourth and fifth place teams will receive bronze medals. Masters, Special Olympics, and blind individual events First place individuals receive gold medals. Second will receive silver medals. Third, fourth and fifth place receive bronze medals. IC4A men's and ECAC women's relays The winning teams of these relays will receive an 8" plaque. Individuals on the second place team will receive silver medals. Individuals on the third, fourth and fifth place relays will receive bronze medals. If the times of winners of these races are faster than that of the college championship races, they will receive gold watches. High school Philadelphia, Tri-State, and consolation races The first place team will receive an 8" bronze plaque. Individuals on the winning relay will receive gold medals. Individuals on the second place relay will receive silver medals. Individuals on the third, fourth, and fifth plea teams will receive bronze medals. High school 4 × 400 m and 4 × 800 m and prep school 4 × 100 m and 4 × 400 m relays The first place team will receive an 8" bronze plaque. Individuals on the winning relay will receive gold medals. Individuals on the second place relay will receive silver medals. Individuals on the third place teams will receive bronze medals. Elementary school, junior high school, middle school, and parochial school relays The first place team will receive an 8" bronze plaque. Individuals on the winning relay will receive gold medals. Individuals on the second place relay will receive silver medal Individuals on the third place teams will receive bronze medals. ==In popular culture==

• Bayard Rustin was an African-American civil rights activist and the principal organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Rustin is one of two men who both ran at the Penn Relays and had a school named in his honor. • In the novel Crash by Jerry Spinelli, a boy is named "Penn" by his great-grandfather, who ran in the Penn Relays. In the end Penn gets to run in the Penn Relays. • The Penn Relays play a key role in "Off to the Races," a second-season episode of The Cosby Show. Cliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby) is invited to participate in a relay race during the event, but finds himself running against Olympic medalist Valerie Brisco-Hooks. ==World records==

Over the course of its history, originally one world record was set at the Penn Relays (though it was revoked following doping results), and one record was subsequently declared a world record after World Athletics began recognising the event. The 2006 distance medley relay Kenyan team was the first world record recognised by World Athletics from this event when the event became an official event at their Relays event on May 1, 2015. ==Meet records==