Less than 100 days out from the 2024 Olympics in Paris, it is now officially crunch time for track and field athletes. The 2024 Penn Relays is one of the last opportunities for athletes to gain points toward their world standings that will help them secure or earn highly coveted spots on their respective national teams. Here’s a look at four of the top professional athletes who will be taking part in the 128th Penn Relays.
Vashti Cunningham, High Jump
The Olympic Development women’s high jump is a new event being introduced to this year’s rendition of the Carnival. Cunningham, who has taken first place in the event at every United States track and field championship event — both indoor and outdoor — since 2017 will headline the group of women competing.
The two-time Olympian has her sights set on returning to the largest stage in track and field this upcoming summer after previously finishing 13th at Rio and 6th in Tokyo. This year will also mark the second appearance Cunningham will have made at the Penn Relays as a competitor.
“I’m just really excited to be coming to Penn Relays again,” Cunningham said. “I’ve only got to come one time, but I have been waiting for the opportunity to come and compete in the arena again. Because it’s just such an amazing vibe and the fans, the support and just the build up of everything.”
An added bonus: Where Cunningham goes, her father follows. Randall Cunningham — a former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback — led the Eagles to a NFC Eastern Division Championship in 1988 and at the time of retiring, set the record for NFL quarterback rushing yards. Vashti has confirmed that Randall will be in attendance at this year’s event, an announcement sure to be welcomed by the Philly crowd.
“My favorite part about coming to Penn Relays is just being in Philadelphia, because that’s such a place of history for me — my dad playing on the Eagles for as long as he did,” Vashti said. “Just seeing him get recognized and the fans that he’s passed down to me — it just feels like I’m living and watching him again. But I’m the athlete [this time].”
Oliver Hoare, 1500-meter
The Australian middle-distance runner is no stranger to the Penn Relays. As a member of the University of Wisconsin track and field team, Hoare set the school and Big Ten Conference record in the indoor mile while also achieving NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field champion status in the 1500m in 2018.
“I’m extremely excited to be able to come and run at the Penn Relays,” Hoare said. “I mean, the Penn Relays — the history, and the event itself — has been around longer than my country’s been independent. It’s been pretty special to be able to compete in college for Wisconsin and now as a professional athlete.”
At the international level, Hoare currently holds the Australian record in the 1500m, mile, and the 5000m. He achieved star status in track and field after finishing first at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, followed with a bronze medal finish at the 2023 World Cross Country Championships.
A small sports hernia sidelined him from competing at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, but recovery has gone well, and Hoare will be coming to Franklin Field with his eyes also set on another Olympics appearance. In Tokyo, Hoare finished in 11th with a time of 3:35.79.
Nia Akins, 1500-meter
The former Penn women’s track and field middle-distance standout will be returning to Franklin Field — this time to compete at the professional level. During Akins time representing the Red and Blue, she was a four-time Outdoor Heps Champion, three-time qualifier for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, one of three named USTFCCCA National Women’s Track Athlete of the Year finalists, and the 2019 Penn Relays Athlete of the Meet.
Despite graduating in 2020, Akins still holds the program records for the outdoor 800m, the indoor and outdoor 4x800m relay, the outdoor 1500m, and the outdoor 4x400m relay. Her time of 2:00.71 achieved at the Boston Invitational in 2020 remains the second fastest indoor 800m time in NCAA competition history.
Following a year that saw Akins achieve U.S. champion status in the 800m at both the indoor and outdoor championships while finishing sixth at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August 2023, Akins will be making the switch to the 1500m at this year’s Relays. She is no stranger to competing at the Penn Relays, having dominated the 124th rendition of the Carnival. And after four years of college at Penn, Akins’ return to Franklin Field will be a homecoming long in the making.
Bryce Deadmon, 400-meter
Deadmon is an American track and field athlete who became a U.S. national champion in the 400m in July 2023 after taking first at the 2023 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. During his time at Texas A&M University, Deadmon finished in second in the 400m at both the 2021 SEC Outdoor Championship and the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
A time of 44.96 seconds in the U.S. Olympic Trials final secured Deadmon a seventh place finish and a spot in the U.S. men’s relay pool for the 4x400m. In Tokyo, Deadmon was part of a mixed 4x400m relay team that took home the bronze medal and a men’s 4x400m relay team that won a gold medal.
The two-time Olympic medalist will be competing in the 400m at this year’s Penn Relays, which will most likely be Deadmon’s last race before he heads to Nassau, Bahamas, to compete in the 2024 World Athletics Relays as a member of the American team.
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