| Men's distance medley relay at the 2015 IAAF World Relays | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Thomas Robinson Stadium |
| Dates | 3 May (final) |
| Competitors | 24 from 6 nations |
| Winning time | 9:15.50 (WR) |
| Medalists | |
| Events at the 2015 World Relays | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Events | ||
| 4 × 100 m relay | men | women |
| 4 × 200 m relay | men | women |
| 4 × 400 m relay | men | women |
| 4 × 800 m relay | men | women |
| Distance medley relay | men | women |
The men's Distance medley relay at the 2015 IAAF World Relays was held at the Thomas Robinson Stadium on 3 May. This was the first time the event was held at a World Championship level meet. The previous world best, set by a Kenyan team in 2006 at the Penn Relays was elevated to World Record status due to the inclusion of the event in the World Relays. The event takes in a 1200m leg followed by a 400m leg, then an 800m leg before finishing with a 1600m leg.
The distance medley relay (DMR) is an athletic event in which four athletes compete as part of a relay. With its inclusion in the IAAF World Relays program, the IAAF announced on May 1, 2015 that the event would be an official world record event.
The 2015 IAAF World Relays was the second edition of the biennial, global track and field relay competition between nations. As in the previous year, it was held in May in Nassau, Bahamas. Apart from contesting for the Golden Baton for the best team overall, the competition also served as a qualifying stage for the 2016 Summer Olympics in the 4 × 100 and 4 × 400 metres relay. One major change compared to the inaugural edition was the replacement of the 4 × 1500 metres relay with the distance medley relay.
Thomas Robinson Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Nassau, Bahamas. It is currently used mostly for soccer matches. The stadium currently has a capacity of 15,000 people, but has the ability to be expanded to hold 23,000 people. The stadium is also the home of the College Football bowl game the Bahamas Bowl.
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In the first leg, Australian Ryan Gregson took it out in 2:53.15 to take a 5-meter lead over American Kyle Merber with Kenya another 7 meters back. Alexander Beck held the lead but Kenya's Alphas Leken Kishoyian gained a half a second on the leading two teams to pull his team back into contention. The 800 metre leg was thrilling as Brandon Johnson quickly passed Jordan Williamsz only to be overtaken by Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich. Johnson used his best strategic tactics to edge back into the lead by the handoff. But Ben Blankenship had no interest in the lead, literally slowing down and inviting Timothy Cheruiyot to take over. Cheruiyot more than obliged, accelerating to a much faster pace breaking away from Blankenship possibly trying to steal the race while Collis Birmingham brought Australia back into the mix. After a little more than 2 laps, Cheruiyot began to pay the price for his early pace. As he tied up, Blankenship cruised by, but the race wasn't over. Cheruiyot stayed on Blankenship's heels and on the final backstretch, Blankenship showed signs of vulnerability. But coming off the turn, Blankenship had more speed and was able to pull away to the finish line. Setting a new world record, a .06 of a second improvement over the 9-year-old world record was just an after thought.
Ryan Gregson is an Australian middle-distance runner. He holds the Australian record for the men's 1500 metres, both outdoors and indoors.
Kyle Merber is an American mid-distance runner specializing in the mile and the 1500 metres. He is currently sponsored by Hoka One One and competes for the New Jersey*New York Track Club.
Brandon Johnson is an American middle-distance track athlete, specializing in the 800 metres and formerly the 400 meter hurdles distances.
