Penn Relays | For Wariner, Penn is just another split

The girls from the high school relay team returned to their seats, pictures in hand. They had no idea who Jeremy Wariner was, but damn, was he hot!

Wariner was the only runner at this year's Penn Relays to run 400 meters in under 44 seconds. He was also the only one to hold an autograph session, signing photos that bore his Adidas endorsement.

The two are not unrelated. For Wariner, Penn is a public-relations stepping stone, not a season highlight. Everyone around him relishes America's oldest track meet; he crosses another name off the Bucket List.

Been there, done that, got the medal.

"It was my first time at Penn. The turns are a little different," he said. "But I loved the crowd, there was a lot of energy in the stadium."

Penn Relays rookies sometimes say that when they take a lead into the home stretch at Franklin Field, the roar of the gallery makes them worry that they're being caught up.

"I was like, who's coming to get me?" he cracked. "In reality I knew I had put some on Angelo [Taylor, of the competing USA Red Team] coming down the back stretch."

His 43.88 seconds - the anchor leg of USA Blue's winning 4x400m squad - could have been faster if he'd had a close competitor. Or if he hadn't slowed in the final few meters to mark a dominant victory with a fist pump.

But Wariner has other wins on his mind: more exotic (Doha, Oslo, Ostrava) and more important (Beijing 2008).

Then there is the matter of breaking Michael Johnson's 400m record of 43.18. It was discussed in the post-race press conference the way one might discuss grocery shopping .

Not "will he do it," but "when?"

"I'm not going to name any race and say 'it could happen at that time'," Wariner said. "Because it could happen at any time."

Any time, that is, except for this one. Wariner stuck to just the 4x400m relay, and his season schedule is rigorously structured so that he peaks at the biggest meets.

Not that Wariner was all that bothered. He answered a few more questions - yes, he's happy to be back with Darold Williamson, his old training partner - and got up to leave the press room.

With the swagger of someone who had just outrun everyone while barely trying, he walked away from Franklin Field.

Been there, done that, got the medal.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.