"Now we know who we are" - USA women's relay coach Mechelle Lewis Freeman confident of 4x100m team breaking world record at Paris 2024

Mechelle Lewis Freeman, known as Coach Freeman, has recently expressed her opinion about chasing the 4x100m relay race world record. The 42-year-old believes that the bar set by the former relay team is expected to be broken in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.

A former athlete, Freeman specialized in the 100-meter and 4x100-meter relay. She was a 2007 Pan American double silver medalist, 2007 World Champion, and 2008 USA Olympian. Freeman was also a part of the 4x100m relay race team that secured a gold medal at the 2007 World Championship.

USA's 4x100m realy race team at Day 9 - World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023

She coached Team USA’s women’s 4x100m relay race team which consisted of Tamari Davis, Twanisha Terry, Gabby Thomas, and Sha'Carri Richardson, for the 2023 World Athletics Championships. Under Coach Freeman’s guidance, the team secured a gold medal while facing strong competition from the Jamaican team that had powerhouse athletes like Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson.

Team USA’s running time was 41.03s, which set a new championship record. They were close to beating the world record timing of 40.82s set by the former relay race team in the 2012 London Olympic Games. The former team created history that year by breaking one of the oldest world records of 41.37s set by a team from the German Democratic Republic in 1985.

Talking about the capability of the present relay team, Coach Freeman was extremely hopeful of breaking the world record timing. She said in an interview with CBS19:

“The World Record is getting broken soon," expressed Coach Freeman.

She also appreciated the former team and said:

"Now we know who we are, and I am looking forward to coming into 2024 to break this World Record, I love Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight and Carmelita Jeter, they're all great mentors but they know we're coming for them, thank you for setting the bar but it's time to break it."

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Mechelle Lewis Freeman’s non-athletic journey

After a successful athletic career, Coach Freeman shifted her focus to brand and activation management for companies. A graduate of the University of South Carolina with a 4.0 GPA, she worked for ad agencies. Her portfolio boasts her work with giant companies like Coca-Cola and Xerox.

Moreover, in 2015, Mechelle Lewis Freeman founded a non-profit organization, TrackGirlz. Coach Freeman envisioned providing interactive programming to build confidence and provide academic and social health resources to young athletic girls. Mechelle Lewis Freeman also worked as a motivational speaker.