Oregon Track Club Elite tops Atlanta Track Club in virtual meet

Although they were more than 4,000 kilometres apart, the Oregon Track Club Elite (OTC) and Atlanta Track Club (ATC) squared off in a dual track meet on Saturday. The meet was called the Return of the Dual, and it featured 12 athletes (six from each club) who competed in five events. The meet was small, and even though it was a virtual competition, it was still exciting to see some of the world’s fastest runners going head to head on the track. The OTC won the meet with relative ease, beating ATC by a final score of 6-1. 

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Events and scoring 

The five events held on Saturday were 600m and 1,200m races for both the men and women, plus a 2x2x400m relay to cap off the meet. The 600m races featured 2012 Olympic 800m silver medallist Nijel Amos and 2014 world indoor 800m champion Chanelle Price, both of whom represented the OTC and faced off against a pair of ATC athletes. The 1,200m runs were also set to be one-on-one affairs, although the OTC’s Hanna Green withdrew before the race, gifting the ATC a free point. Finally, in the last event of the night, the relay featured one male and one female runner per side, each of whom ran two laps of the track. The individual races counted for one point each, and the relay was worth three. 

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Results

The meet began with the men’s 600m, which Amos won by a second over his competitor, running 1:17.84. The women’s 600m was next, and it was much less competitive than the men’s race had been, with Price running 1:27.83 and winning by almost seven seconds. After the opening two races, the OTC led 2-0. 

That’s a wrap on the 1st ever #ReturnOfTheDual ?? For those who missed it, the full broadcast is up on our FB and YouTube pages! We are also very excited to announce we have raised over $7k for our two charities, which will stay open for the next 10 days! https://t.co/EqbTMWnDwn

— Atlanta Track Club (@ATLtrackclub) June 21, 2020

The 1,200m races followed Price’s big run, and the OTC continued its winning ways in the men’s race. Since Green withdrew from the women’s race, the ATC’s Yolanda Ngarambe ran an uncontested three laps of the track for her club’s first point of the night. 

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Going into the final event, the score was 3-1, and with three points up for grabs, the win was very much in reach for the ATC. After the first two legs of the relay, it looked like the ATC duo might grab the win for their club, but the OTC runners picked up the pace in the second half of the race and won by five seconds. The final score was 6-1. 

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Charity event

The meet was broadcast live on Facebook and YouTube, and it doubled as a fundraiser for local charities in Atlanta and Oregon. The clubs’ goal was to raise $10,400, which would work out to be $1 for each metre run at the meet. So far, they’ve raised just over $7,400, but donations can be made for another nine days.