Recent Eastern graduate Natalie Dumas and the U.S. mixed 1,600-meter relay team ran the 3rd-fastest time in history Wednesday afternoon at the World Under-20 Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
Dumas split 52.35 on the 2nd leg and while she won’t run in the final later Wednesday so she can rest up for a likely three rounds of the 400-meter hurdles, she will earn a gold medal if the U.S. wins tonight.
The U.S. team ran 3:18.26, fastest in the world since 2022, and led all qualifiers into the finals just before midnight EST Wednesday.
Dumas teamed up with Joshua Shelton of Pearland (Texas), Jaelen Hunter of Mayfair High in Lakewood, Calif., and Olivia Harris of Buford (Ga.) to easily win the third of three semifinal races. Shelton split 47.37, Hunter 47.01 and Harris 51.53.
The U.S. will race in the final at 11:50 p.m. EST.
The next-fastest qualifying time was a 3:19.59 by the Australian Under-20 team.
The only faster mixed Under-20 4-by-400s were run by the U.S. and India at the 2022 World Under-20 Championships in Cali, Columbia, a 3:17.69 by the U.S. and 3:17.76 by India.
Dumas, who will race in the 400-meter hurdles on Thursday, was named earlier this week to the U.S. relay pool, making her eligible for both the mixed and women’s 4-by-4. It is not known yet whether she will run in the women’s 4-by-4 either in the trials or finals.
The first round of the 400-meter hurdles is scheduled for 1:41 p.m. EST on Thursday, with the semifinals at 9:15 p.m. Saturday and the final at 4:30 p.m. Sunday.
Dumas, 17, has PRs of 51.14, 2:00.11 and 55.99 and is the only woman in world history to run that fastest for the 400, 800 and 400-meter hurdles, all at last year’s West Philly Nationals at Franklin Field.
Based on 2026 times, Dumas is seeded 3rd in the 400-meter hurdles at 56.13, behind Tumi Ramokgopa of South Africa [56.05] and Alexandra Ștefania Uță of Romania [56.09]. Stefania is the only woman in the field who has run faster than Dumas with a 55.55 PR
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 