2023 Penn Relays: "Everybody's out here to win" on rainy Day 2
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Day two of a Philly tradition that dates back well over 100 years. Some of the best athletes in the country are all at Franklin Field.
The best athletes in the world are braving the rain but there's some new things this year that have never happened at this event before.
"We're all here watching, who's the next great?" Aaron Robinson said.
Robinson says the next great athlete is here somewhere. One of the 15,000 athletes competing in the Penn Relays.
Throughout day two, they braved the rain.
While the race certainly continues a beloved tradition, this year there are some changes. For the first time, the girls competing are showcased on Friday and Saturday while the boys are on Thursday and Friday.
"To create equal opportunities but also so that the high school kids can be in front of the big crowds," Robinson said.
Moving forward, the days the girls and boys compete will rotate. Next year, the boys will go on Friday and Saturday.
"It's definitely high time that it happened because we have a lot of amazing women athletes and a lot of people don't know who's around," Destiny Huven said.
This is Huven's fourth time at the Penn Relays. She feels people often forget track and field is not just an Olympic sport.
"We're like well we're here year, after year, after year," Huven said. "Season after season doing the best we can so it's great to see representation out there."
Seventeen-year-old Jade-Ann Dawkins from Jamaica grabbed gold in the triple jump Friday. She and her coach, Kurt Brooks, applaud the change.
"It's very heartwarming because the girls have always been on the back burner for quite some time and kudos to the organizers to give them that opportunity," Brooks said.
Changes aside, planning for next year has already begun.
Come Monday, organizers say they'll be in full planning mode for 2024.