Exeter College student selected for Oxford quartet at Penn Relays

Exeter College student Jack Organ (2024, English Language and Literature) has been selected to represent Oxford as part of a men’s 4 x 800m quartet at the prestigious Penn Relays, taking place on Saturday 25 April at Franklin Field, University of Pennsylvania. 

The Penn Relays is one of the oldest and most renowned athletics meetings in the world, bringing together leading American colleges alongside international teams. This year’s race promises strong competition, with Oxford aiming to challenge for the title against a high-calibre field. 

Jack’s selection follows an outstanding performance earlier this year, where he won gold in the 800m at the British Universities Championships in February. He has been selected and funded for the competition by the Achilles Club, which brings together the athletic clubs of Oxford and Cambridge. Achilles have been keen to send strong Oxford and Cambridge teams to the competition since Oxford’s historic victory in 1914, when its 4 x 1 mile quartet became the first international team to win a title at the event, and believe this year’s team has a strong chance of competing for a medal. 

Oxford’s participation also follows in a distinguished tradition that includes Exeter’s own Sir Roger Bannister (1946, Physiological Sciences), who won the Ben Franklin Mile at the 1951 Penn Relays in the same summer he became the first person to run a mile in under four minutes. 

Jack and his teammates will be hoping to build on this legacy as they compete for a place on the podium.

Exeter student, Jack Organ in the centre after winning gold at the British Universities Championships.