Each year, the Penn Relay Carnival brings together hundreds — if not thousands — of high school student-athletes to compete in dozens of events. For some, the journey to Franklin Field consists of a short bus ride from elsewhere in Philadelphia or the surrounding areas, but one of the largest contingents of Penn Relays athletes travels all the way from Jamaica.
Jamaican high schools have dominated some of the most popular events — notably the 4x100-meter and 4x400m relays. In 2024, schools from the Caribbean nation made up six of the nine entrants in the High School Girls 4x100m Championship of America and seven of the nine in the boys’ version of the event. The 10 most recent Champions of America in the High School Boys’ and Girls’ 4x100m and 4x400m relays, along with nearly all of the fastest times, have all come from Jamaica.
Penn Relays is one of the biggest events of the year in the United States and is also among the most important on the competition calendars for Jamaican high schools. Omar Bryan, a track and field coach at Munro College, a boys’ boarding school in Jamaica, said that Penn Relays is one of the events most similar to Jamaica’s Champs — officially called the Inter-Secondary Schools Boys and Girls Championships — which brings together nearly every Jamaican high school for four days of elite athletic competition. Bryan competed in the Penn Relays multiple times as a high school thrower in the late 2000s and has taken Munro College to Penn Relays “seven or eight” times since he became the coach in 2014.
The Penn Relays also hold deep significance for Jamaicans who aren’t competing.
Every April, thousands of spectators kitted in yellow, green, and black file into the bleachers of Franklin Field to cheer on the athletes who have traveled to the Penn Relays. Bryan praised the crowd at Penn Relays and emphasized the often dueling cheers of Jamaican and American groups.
“Jamaican crowds give a flavor to it, but the [local Pennsylvania] crowd is massive and passionate,” Bryan said. “Even at the high school level [there are] … people on different sides respecting each other, but at the same time they’re strong in support for their respective groups.”
The support for Jamaican high schools — even thousands of miles away from home — shows the prominence of track and field in Jamaican culture. It is the most popular sport in the country, and Jamaica has produced several recent Olympic medalists, including Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
Even though all athletes strive for victory at Penn Relays, sometimes simply competing is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Bryan said that many of the students who compete for Munro at Penn Relays have never left Jamaica before, much less been to Philadelphia. In a previous year, he said that one student — upon arriving at the airport — was constantly looking around and had to pinch himself due to the new experience.
Penn Relays provides many Jamaican high school students opportunities that extend beyond the three days of the event. Bryan knows of athletes who were able to meet with American college coaches while at the Penn Relays, who then parlayed these connections — as well as a strong showing before American coaches in their event — into scholarships to participate in track and field at U.S. universities. Some of these athletes have since gone on to have successful careers in the United States and send money home to their families in Jamaica.
“It’s a perfect opportunity to bring [athletes] exposure,” Bryan said. “This is exposure [and] upward mobility. … If it wasn’t for Penn Relays, quite a few of our Jamaican athletes wouldn’t reach where they are in the United States.”
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
Donate
