April 19, 2017
Junior sprinter Jenn Edobi and assistant coach Donnie Young will travel to Nassau, Bahamas this weekend for the IAAF World Relays. Edobi will represent Nigeria in the 4×400 relay and Young will serve as one of the coaches for the Nigerian staff over the weekend. The 4×400 relay prelims will take place at 7:30 p.m. (CT) on Saturday and the finals will be at 8:10 p.m. (CT) Sunday evening.
Having already represented Nigeria during the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships, this weekend will mark the second time that Edobi has competed for the Nigerian National Team at a world meet. She also competed at the 2016 Olympic Trials in Sapele, Nigeria, where she finished 11th overall with a time of 54.48 in the 400-meter dash.
Edobi has enjoyed a strong season for Vanderbilt in 2017 and has already set personal-best marks in the 200, 400 and 800-meters this year. She holds 17 spots on Vanderbilt track & field’s all-time top 10 performance lists, including three school records. Here is a full chart of her marks that rank among the top 10 in Vanderbilt history:
| Jenn Edobi | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Event | Mark/Time | VU All-Time Rank | Year |
| Indoor | 500m | 1:13.66 | 1st | 2016 |
| Indoor | DMR | 11:19.34 | 1st | 2015 |
| Outdoor | 4×200 | 1:37.45 | 1st | 2015 |
| Indoor | 400m | 53.47 | 2nd | 2017 |
| Outdoor | 200m | 24.17 | 2nd | 2017 |
| Outdoor | 400m | 53.16 | 2nd | 2017 |
| Indoor | 600m | 1:31.74 | 2nd | 2015 |
| Indoor | 4×400 | 3:37.95 | 2nd | 2015 |
| Indoor | 200m | 24.74 | 3rd | 2016 |
| Indoor | DMR | 11:22.96 | 3rd | 2016 |
| Indoor | 4×400 | 3:38.98 | 4th | 2015 |
| Outdoor | Sprint Medley | 3:55.62 | 5th | 2016 |
| Indoor | 4×400 | 3:42.73 | 6th | 2017 |
| Outdoor | 4×400 | 3:39.84 | 7th | 2016 |
| Indoor | 800m | 2:09.16 | 8th | 2017 |
| Indoor | 4×400 | 3:43.65 | 8th | 2017 |
| Outdoor | 4×400 | 3:40.68 | 8th | 2016 |
Quoting assistant coach Donnie Young:
On Jenn getting to compete at the IAAF Relays:
“This is a tremendous opportunity for Jenn. The World Relays is a unique meet as it features only relays and it will showcase some of the best runners in the world. For Jenn, this will be the second time that she has competed for Nigeria — she first made the Nigerian World Juniors Team back in 2014. To say that Jenn is excited would be an understatement.”
On the opportunity to serve as a coach at the meet:
“It is an honor for me to have been selected to be a coach for the Nigerian Team. They have such a great history of sprinters throughout the years and to be there alongside Jenn will be very special to me.”
About the IAAF World Relays
- 34 countires have submitted entries for a total of 513 athletes to compete at the 2017 edition of the meet.
- Athletes expected to compete this weekend combine for a total of 177 Olympic individual and relay medals, including 60 gold medals.
- The meet will feature a total of five relay styles: the 4x100m, 4x200m, 4x400m, 4x800m and a mixed-gender 4x400m.
- For more information, please visit the meet’s official web page HERE.
