The Pressure is On for New Team USA Relays Coach Orin Richburg in Advance of IAAF/BTC World Relays

By Adam Kopet, DyeStat Editor

The IAAF/BTC World Relays begin Saturday in Nassau, Bahamas, and the United States could be a factor in every race, according to the event previews from the IAAF.

This will be the first World Relays under new Team USA relays coach, Orin Richburg, and he has a lot to prove.

"Potentially, with the talent we have, if we get the stick around the track, we will get a medal," he told Reuters.

While the potential has always been there, successfully getting the baton around has been a problem, especially in the men's 4x100 relay.

In the 15 Olympic, World Championship and World Relays 4x100 relays, the U.S. has failed to finish or been disqualified nine times. Two of those disqualifications were for doping offenses by one of the team members. Of the six successful finals, the U.S. has won four golds and two silvers.

On Saturday, a combination of Ronnie Baker, Marvin Bracy, Leshon Collins, Justin Gatlin and Mike Rodgers will take to the track in an effort to defend the U.S. 4x100 relay win from the 2015 World Relays.

Outside of that 2015 win, the men's 4x100 relay has been dominated by Jamaica and Usain Bolt since 2008. However, in the third edition of the event, there will be no Bolt. In his final year of competition, Bolt has opted for a reduced schedule that will not see him race until June.

To improve the odds for the U.S., Jamaica's Asafa Powell has withdrawn, according to Super Sport. His decision to withdraw was so he could focus on bigger races, including the Doha Diamond League Meeting in May, according to his publicist.

In addition to the recent difficulties for the men's 4x100 relay squad, the U.S. 4x200 relays teams have struggled mightily at the World Relays. In 2015, neither the men nor the women were able to successfully get the baton around the two laps of the track.

Some of those struggles might come from the unusual speeds at which incoming runners enter the exchange zone, at least as compared to the more common 4x100 and 4x400 relays.

Richburg, who spent 30 years as a college coach, has succeeded Dennis Mitchell, who was an often controversial figure among the Team USA coaches. This will be Richburg's first test.

However, unlike the World Championship and Olympic program that only include the 4x100 and 4x400 relays, Richburg will be charged with additional relay duties at the World Relays.

The U.S. is a strong contender in the 4x800 relays and the latest addition to the relay program, a mixed gender 4x400 relay. The latter, the concluding event of the World Relays, takes place shortly after the men's and women's 4x400 relay, making doubling back potentially difficult.