Aug. 9, 2004

Team USA flexed its competitive muscle a pre-Olympic “Team Challenge” with France and Germany on Sunday in Munich, with plenty of help from USC’s own Olympians, posting three world leaders in relay competition and sweeping several events. USC was represented on both winning 4x400m relay and the men’s second place 4x100m relay as Lashinda Demus ran a leg of the winning women’s 4x400m relay (running a world leader), Otis Harris ran a leg of the winning men’s 4x400m relay and Terrence Trammell ran a leg of the second-place 4x100m relay.

Team USA’s women’s 4×100 and 4x400m relays and the men’s 4×100 all ran world-leading times, while the men’s 4×400 also had a strong win. In the 4x400m, the USA II Team of Moushaumi Robinson, USC 400m hurdler Olympian Lashinda Demus, Sheena Johnson, NCAA runner-up Monique Henderson staged an upset of sorts, as their time of 3:20.88 surpassing the “I” team of NCAA champion DeDee Trotter, Olympic Trials champion Monique Hennagan, two-time Olympic relay gold medalist Jearl Miles-Clark and Olympic Trials runner-up Sanya Richards (3:20.91), as Henderson overtook Richards in the final meters.

The men’s relays also provided USA sweeps. The USA I team of Olympic Trials 200m champion Shawn Crawford, 100m runner-up Justin Gatlin, relay pool member Coby Miller and Trials champion and Olympic gold medalist Maurice Greene turned in an impressive win in 37.92 seconds. USA II (John Capel, Leonard Scott, Darvis Patton, former Gamecock Terrence Trammell) was second in 38.33.

In the 4×400, Team USA I’s lineup of Andrew Rock, USC Olympian Otis Harris, Jeremy Wariner and Darold Williamson ran 3:00.58 to win easily over Team USA II (James Carter, Angelo Taylor, Bennie Brazell, Bershawn Jackson – 3:04.96).

In individual events, Olympic Trials champion Jeremy Wariner ran his sixth sub-45-second clocking of the year in the men’s 400 meters, running 44.91 to win over fellow Olympian and USC-affliated athlete Otis Harris (45.86).