Lara On Team USA For 2014 IAAF World Relays

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State volunteer assistant coach Geena Lara was named to the Team USA roster for the 2014 IAAF World Relays Championships, contested Saturday and Sunday, May 24-25 at Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas it was announced Tuesday.

A total of 55 athletes comprise the relay pools that will represent the red, white and blue at the event, which airs live on Universal Sports from 3:30-6:00 p.m. PT on both days of competition.

The first competition of its kind, the IAAF World Relays Championships consist of the 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, 4x800 and 4x1500 relays on both the men’s and women’s sides. Scheduled for primetime, the World Relays provide the only major world championship for the 2014 outdoor season.

Nearly 50 nations are sending teams to Nassau for the World Relays, which is expected to qualify some teams for the 15th IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil.

Lara, who was officially added to the Beavers’ coaching staff in March, is in the 4x800 relay pool along with Charlene Lipsey (LSU), Brenda Martinez (UC Riverside), Chanelle Price (Tennessee) and Ajee’ Wilson (Temple).

As a collegian at Michigan, Lara was a ten-time NCAA All-American and back-to-back NCAA 800m Champion in 2008 (2:03.91) and 2009 (2:00.80). She was a member of the "Fab Four", a group which set two collegiate records (4x800, and 4x1500) at the 2007 Penn Relays. Lara, also a part of the Wolverines’ cross country squad from 2005-09, was a ten-time NCAA All-American, owns two Big Ten 800-meter records and two DMR records, 10 Big Ten championships and numerous Michigan school records.

Lara represented Team USA at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, Germany in the 800m. She also competed at the North American Central American Caribbean Championships in San Salvador, El Salvador in 2007, finishing third, and won the title in Toluca, Mexico in 2008. She secured her spot in the 2012 Olympics with a second-place finish in the 800-meter race at the USA Track and Field Olympic trials in Eugene. Lara made a late charge on the home stretch to qualify with a time of 1:59.24.

In April, Lara ran a 2:01.10 800m at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., a time which is 12th in the world this year.

To see a full list of Team USA’s pools for the 2014 IAAF World Relays Championships visit usatf.org.