Saturday, January 28, the United States, “dream team,” made up of Emma Coburn, Jenny Simpson, Sydney McLaughlin, and Brenda Martinez, broke the distance medley relay World Record by 2 seconds. Emma Coburn ran the beginning leg at a distance of 1,000 meters. Sydney McLaughlin followed her, running the 400 meters. After came Brenda Martinez who raced the 800 meters before handing off to Jenny Simpson who anchored the relay team in the 1600 meters. What made this team so successful were the diverse individuals that all excelled in different distances and events. Then they combined forced to achieve their goal of breaking a world record.

Emma Coburn, who currently lives in Boulder, Colorado, is a professional runner who specializes in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Coburn holds the American record in the steeplechase with a time of 9:07:63. Coburn also won a bronze medal back in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio and currently runs for the New Balance company.

When asked about her thoughts on this potential “dream team,” Coburn commented saying, “We have a good group of girls and also a pretty close group of girls. We all genuinely root for each other and we all get along and like running together. So when this idea was brought up I immediately said yes.”

Sydney McLaughlin, a senior at Union Catholic High School, lives in New Brunswick, New Jersey. In 2016, she made her first Olympic team in 2016 and specializes in the 400 meters and the 400-meter hurdles. Also in 2016, McLaughlin was recognized for her accomplishments by Gatorade as the Gatorade National Girls Athlete of the Year. Despite McLaughlin’s young age, Coburn, Martinez, and Simpson hold such high respects for her work and effort in the sport of Track and Field that she was asked to join a group of professional runners in an attempts to break the World Record.

Brenda Martinez, who lives in Big Bear, California, is a professional runner who is sponsored by the New Balance company. Martinez specializes in 1500 meters and the 800 meters. In 2016 she joined the United States Olympic Team, qualifying in the 1500 meter run. In 2013, she won a bronze medal in the 800 meters at the IAAF World Championships in Moscow. Martinez was also a part of the previous world record team for the distance medley relay.

Jenny Simpson currently resides in Boulder, Colorado. Simpson signed to run professionally in 2010 for the New Balance company after having a successful collegiate career at the University of Colorado Boulder. In 2016, Simpson joined the United States Olympic team, racing the 1500 meters and earning a bronze medal. Simpson also ran in the 2011 and 2013 World Championships earning a gold and a silver in the 1500 meters.

Emma Coburn, Sydney McLaughlin, Brenda Martinez, and Jenny Simpson all excel at running in different ways. Separate they are talented, but together they bring their talent to another level. This talent and group work is what led to their success and ultimately a new world record.