Team USA's men's and women's 4x400m relay teams, the defending world and Olympic champions, will look to add to their remarkable legacy Saturday at USA vs. The World at the 111th running of the Penn Relays at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. 2004 U.S. Olympic relay gold medalists slated to compete include Otis Harris, Derrick Brew, Andrew Rock, Monique Hennagan, Sanya Richards, Moushaumi Robinson and DeeDee Trotter.

The first event of the 2005 USATF Outdoor Visa Championship Series, USA vs. The World at the Penn Relays will be broadcast live from 4-6 p.m. Eastern Time on NBC.

Nearly 150 athletes from 11 countries around the globe will compete at this year's USA vs. The World, held annually at the Penn Relays since 2000 and featuring men's and women's 4x100, sprint medley and 4x400-meter relays. On Saturday, Team USA will look to win every race at this competition for the third consecutive year.

American gold

In winning the men's 4x400m relay at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Team USA has now won the gold medal 17 of the 22 times the event has been contested at the Olympics since 1908. Otis Harris, who also won the silver medal in the 400 meters (44.16) in Athens, ran a strong leadoff leg in the 4x400 final before passing the baton to 2004 Olympic 400m bronze medalist Derrick Brew (44.42). Both will compete Saturday at Franklin Field, along with Andrew Rock, who won a gold medal by running the third leg for the U.S. squad during the qualifying round.

Team USA also will feature Tyree Washington, who developed a sore Achilles tendon just prior to last year's Olympic Trials. Washington dominated the globe's finest one-lappers in winning the 2003 world indoor 400m title and going on to an undefeated outdoor season before capturing the silver medal at the World Outdoor Championships in Paris. He ended the 2003 campaign ranked #1 in the world by Track & Field News.

2004 Olympic 400m hurdles fourth-place finisher James Carter will compete on Saturday, along with 2004 triple world junior championships gold medalist LaShawn Merritt, who ran the then third fastest indoor 400 meters of all-time with his 44.93-second performance February 11 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Jamaican threat

The U.S. contingent will face an experienced and dangerous team from Jamaica featuring three of the four competitors who competed in the 4x400m relay final in Athens. Davian Clarke leads the Jamaican team following his sixth-place finish in the 400 meters (44.83 seconds) at the 2004 Olympics. He ended the season ranked #10 in the world by T&FN. His countryman, Michael Blackwood, had another strong season in 2004, ending the campaign ranked #5 in the world after his eighth-place finish in Athens. Also look for Jermaine Gonzales to join his two Olympic teammates, after he ran the third leg for Jamaica last summer in Athens.

Also look for the Bahamas to provide a strong challenge to Team USA on Saturday, after placing sixth at the Athens Olympics. The Bahamian team will be led by Chris Brown, who ran the anchor leg in the Olympic final with a split of 44.66 seconds. He will be joined by fellow Olympian Dennis Darling, who ran the second leg for the Bahamas during the opening round in Athens.

The Dominican Republic also will compete in the men's 4x400, featuring 2004 Olympic 400m hurdles gold medalist Felix Sanchez, who has been ranked #1 in the world in that event for the past four seasons, a feat duplicated only by National Track & Field Hall of Famer Edwin Moses (totaled six #1's in a row, nine overall).

American juggernaut?

Team USA's women's squad enters Saturday's competition as the prohibitive favorite featuring three of the four competitors who captured the gold medal in the Olympic final last summer, giving the U.S. its third consecutive Olympic women's 4x400m relay gold medal. All three of those competitors - Monique Hennagan, Dee Dee Trotter & Sanya Richards - finished the 2004 season ranked in the top-six in the world.

Hennagan had her best season ever in 2004 by winning the Olympic Trials in a personal-best time of 49.56 seconds, placing fourth at the Olympic Games (49.97) and finishing as the runner-up at the World Athletics Final (50.20). The anchor leg on Team USA's gold medal winning team, Hennagan finished the season ranked #3 in the world. She'll be joined by 2004 NCAA Outdoor 400m champion Dee Dee Trotter, who ran the opening leg on the relay in Athens. Trotter placed fifth in the 400 meters at the Olympics in a personal best of 50.00, before finishing third at the World Athletics Final (50.60). She ended the year ranked #4 in the world.

After placing third in the 400m at the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Championships (50.68), 2003 U.S. and NCAA champion Sanya Richard's season kept getting better. She went on to finish as the runner-up at the Olympic Trials in a personal best of 49.89 seconds before placing sixth at the Olympics (50.19). She ended the season ranked #6 in the world. Also competing for Team USA will be Moushaumi Robinson, who won a gold medal for running the second leg in the opening round of 4x400m relay competition in Athens.

Russian invasion

The Olympic 4x400m relay silver medalists in Athens, Russia looks to give the U.S. contingent a big challenge on Saturday. The Russian quartet will be led by Oleysia Zykina, who ran the third leg in the Athens final. Also competing for the Russians will be Olga Kotlyarova, who last year had 400m wins at the European Cup and at the Lausanne Grand Prix before ending the season ranked #9 in the world.

After winning the women's 4x400m bronze medal in Athens, the experienced and very capable Jamaican team will toe the start line at Franklin Field looking to spring an upset. After running the anchor leg in Athens, veteran Sandie Richards will lead the way for the Jamaican team, along with Novlene Williams, who ran the lead leg in Athens and Nadia Davy, who ran the third leg. Also look for Ronetta Smith, who ran the lead leg for Jamaica in the opening round, to compete on Saturday.

Final relay lineups for this event will be announced Saturday. For more information on the USA vs. The World at Penn Relays, and the Visa Championship Series, visit www.usatf.org.