 Pennsylvania state historical marker for the Penn Relays on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania | |
| Sport | Track and field |
|---|---|
| Founded | April 21, 1895 |
| Venue(s) | Franklin Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Sponsor(s) | Toyota Group |
| Official website | pennrelays |
The Penn Relays (officially The Penn Relay Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In 2012, there were 116 events run at the meet. More athletes run in the Penn Relays than at any other track and field meet in the world.[1] It regularly attracts more than 15,000 participants from high schools, colleges, and track clubs throughout North America and abroad, notably Jamaica, competing in more than 300 events over five days. Historically, the event has been credited with popularizing the running of relay races. It is held during the last full week in April, ending on the last Saturday in April. Attendance typically tops 100,000 over the final three days, and has been known to surpass 50,000 on Saturday. The Penn Relays also holds a Catholic Youth Organization night for Catholic Middle Schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Preliminaries are run on the Tuesday during the Carnival Week, and the Finals are run on Friday.
The Penn Relays is always held the last week in April and always begins the Thursday of that week. It went on hiatus in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic, the only year it did so besides the years from 1917–18 and 1942–45. The event resumed in 2022.