"Getting big personalities to work together" - Mechelle Lewis Freeman on World Championships relay team that had Sha'Carri Richardson and Gabby Thomas

By Agnijeeta Majumder

Modified Nov 22, 2024 05:05 GMT

US relay track coach Mechelle Lewis Freeman shed light on how working with big personalities like Gabby Thomas and Sha'Carri Richardson never let her compromise on having a winning mindset. In 2023, Freeman said she aimed to help the 4x100m relay team achieve a world record-breaking feat.

Mechelle Lewis Freeman, a former track and field athlete, specialized in the 100m and 4x100m relay, having won the world champion's title in 2007 and two silver medals in the 2007 Pan American Games. The 44-year-old also qualified to compete in the 4x100m relay at the 2008 Summer Games, but a botch in the baton handover disqualified the team in the finals.

Having founded TrackGirlz to foster mentoring women through track and field, Mechelle Lewis Freeman stepped into her new role as a coach after retirement. In a recent episode of Justin Gatlin's Ready Set Go podcast, she talked about how training high-class athletes like Gabby Thomas and Sha'Carri Richardson prompts her to have only one mindset: winning.

"With this team, it was getting big personalities to work together, getting everybody to be bought in. You never can compromise what's necessary, and that's to win. And no matter what, when we look around, you want to win? You want to win? You want to win? Okay, everybody's on the same page. Now, whatever happens from here, you can't compromise that, and if you do, then you know that's the standard of how we operate." [47:58]

Gabby Thomas' relay coach added:

"We broke a world championship record, the fastest time in world championship history. They have a potential, of course, of running faster. Anybody always can say that, but they know how to make adjustments. It's not just about running fast times, but it's about winning and making the adjustments to get the job done."

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Mechelle Lewis Freeman on the capability of the US women's relay team

Richardson and Thomas after winning the 4x1100m relay at the Olympic Games-Paris 2024 - (Source: Getty)

Mechelle Lewis Freeman coached the 4x100m relay team that won gold at the 2023 World Championships. The team set a new championship record but narrowly missed the world record time. In an interview after the 2023 World Championship, the 44-year-old expressed that the world record was in her foresight.

"The World Record is getting broken soon. 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." (via CBS19)

Her trainees Gabby Thomas, Sha'Carri Richardson, and Twanisha Terry soared to the 4x100m relay win at the 2024 Paris Olympics.