Olympic gold medalist Natasha Hastings with USA “red” sets #1 fastest time in the world at 2011 Penn Relays

(L to R) USA "Red" Sanya Richards-Ross, Natasha Hastings, Allyson Felix and Debbie Dunn Set #1 World-Leading Time in the Women's 4x400M Relay Race at the Penn Relays USA vs. the World

(Press Release) Philadelphia, PA-USA Track & Field Olympic Gold Medalist, Natasha Hastings, ran the third leg for team USA “Red” to set a new world-leading time of 3:22.92 with a first place win in the Nike Women’s 4x400M relay race at the 2011 USA versus the World Penn Relays.

In the USA vs. the World event, the U.S. Women’s 4×400 relay team competed against some of the strongest nations, most notably Jamaica. The U.S. team was split in to a “blue team” and “red team”. USA “Red” is recognized as being the more accomplished 400 meter sprinters and the “Blue” being the sprinters who only occasionally compete in the event. The “Red” team finished ahead of the field, followed closely by their “Blue” counterparts with a time of 3:23:17. Jamaica finished right in the pack, finishing in third place with a 3:23:82.

Natasha Hastings ran a 50.30 split-the exact same time team member Allyson Felix ran before passing the baton to her. What made Hastings time so remarkable is that she sprinted in lane two for most of the 400 meters-which means she ultimately ran more than 400 meters at full stride in order to hold the lead for her time. Athletes within the sport know that this is no easy task. Hastings, who famously ran with one spike at the 2009 Penn Relays, said “I thought it was cool that I kept both of my shoes on. It was kind of rough. Everybody came out to run. I ran my entire leg in lane 2, so I’m pretty excited to be able to still hold it down and stay close enough for Sanya to be able to bring it home with the win.” Debbie Dunn led the team as the first leg with a 51.1 split and Sanya Richard-Ross anchored with a 51.18 split.

Natasha Hastings tenacity on the track shows that she is definitely in the running to make the 2011 World Championship and the 2012 Summer Olympic team. Next, Hastings will compete at the Jamaica Invitational.

Natasha Hastings ran one of the fastest splits for Team USA Red at the Penn Relays 50.30 in the Nike Women's 4x400M relay race

About Natasha Hastings

Natasha Monique Hastings is an Olympic Gold Medalist and certified fitness trainer who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Natasha began her track career at the age of nine-years-old and made a first place win at the USATF Junior Olympics in the 400m in the Youth Girls division. She attended A. Phillip Randolph High School in New York where she was able to take her track and field interest to a more competitive level.

Moving on to her college career at the University of South Carolina, Natasha started to become known as the “400M Diva” and 2007 was considered her breakout year.

In 2008 at the age of 22, Natasha won an Olympic Gold Medal in the Women’s 4×400M relay team by running a 49.87 split.

Most recently, she won first place in the 400M at the USA Indoor Track & Field Championships running a world-leading time of 50.83. She is currently training for the 2011 IAAF World Outdoor Championship in Daegu, Korea and the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, England. Natasha currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia and trains in Columbia, South Carolina.