RAYMOND GRAHAM, STAR Writer

It would take a brave man to bet against Calabar not retaining their 4x100m relay title at this Saturday's Gibson McCook Relays.

A championship event, the defending champions will be hoping to better last year's record run of 39.61 seconds.

At the Camperdown Classic a few weeks ago, the Michael Clarke-coached team threw down the gauntlet with an impressive time much faster than their winning time a year ago.

The Calabar team, with a line-up similar to that which broke the record, is expected to go even faster this time around, as their athletes, led by the outstanding Michael O'Hara, are peaking at the right time.

The likes of Edward Clarke, who ran a fast 10.45 seconds at the Corporate Area Championship, along with sprint hurdler Seanie Selvie, have all looked much improved this year, and these three should be joined by Juliane Walker, who clocked 10.56 seconds at the Youngster Goldsmith to finish second behind O'Hara, who won overall in 10.33 seconds.

biggest threat

Calabar's biggest threat, if any at all, should come from the Martin Manley-led St Jago team that went under 40 seconds last year, after finishing runners-up in 39.99 seconds.

Their line-up this time around is much stronger than last year as Raheem Chambers has now stepped up in class one and they will be hoping to take the fight to the Calabar team.

Despite St Jago's reputation, they should find the Calabar team too hot to handle, and the Red Hills Road-based quartet looks set to improve on last year's record-breaking run and go much faster this time around.

Top 3

1. Calabar

2. St Jago

3. St Elizabeth Technical