Discussion: It was awesome!

Even from a laptop in Perth!
You guys were great, proper gutsy efforts. Keep it up!

Great performances all round, shame the result wasn't what you wanted, but another year you will run the same and the result will go your way.

At least we made the podium. Ralph has now been in the top-6 in the last four WOC's and I have been in the last three - diplomas all around...

As Lard says, it was awesome. Well done all of you.

I can't help wondering how it might have panned out with Ralph on 2nd and you on 3rd. Who knows? and I'm sure the reasoning behind the chosen order was sound.

Keep it up and I'm sure you'll get the desired result before long.

Ralph is a class middle distance runner and definitely the best equipped for that battle on last leg. I'd have loved to experience the battle up that final hill, but Ralph is a guarantee of getting to the end with a chance. I know my role - part of the Ralph Street delivery service.

Yes, I actually think the big disappointment for me is that we wont see KJ on the last leg in a mixed sprint relay unless they change the format. That would be something to watch!

I think the ordering in the mixed sprint relay should change race to race. I think it is the most exciting race to watch, but can be a bit formulaic. Switching the order around would force different tactics and bring different teams into the mix.

Four legs of equal length and teams can choose whatever order they want for their two men and women?

or MFFM vs FMMF ?

That would be fun, but probably difficult to follow. I'd just let the organiser choose what order they wanted to run.

I'd like to see them swap between FMMF and MFFM every two years to match the Sprint WOC cycle. I can't see any reason why this can't happen, other than that it might break up the usual SWE-SUI-DEN dominance...

There seems to be a swimming relay using Hammer's principles, it's a bit mad as you (or the commentator) have to do some quick mental calcs to work out who is leading.

I think in O it would benefit the nations like Den who have a super-elite female who could benefit from drafting off the mid- to tail-end of a male pack. So not sure it would break up the current hegemony and would detract from one of the key attractions of the format - the leader you see is leading the race.

I agree it would be good to see the leg order vary race to race. From the outset it felt like the women got the interesting legs and the men were filler.

I used to think that the men couldn't influence the race at all, you simply got through those legs without doing something stupid, but I think that isn't quite the case. You can't win the team a medal, but you can influence which fight you are in - i.e. getting your team into the medal fight...