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≡ WORLD ATHLETICS RELAYS ≡
Medals, but more importantly, qualifying for the 2025 World Athletics Championships was on the line on the final day of the seventh World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou (CHN), with the U.S. getting its remaining qualifier in the men’s 4×400 m.
In the finals, it was South Africa and Spain as the stars on Sunday, with the U.S. finishing with a gold and two silvers. Conditions were much better, clear and dry with 76 F temperatures, with a better crowd of perhaps 25,000 at the 80,012-seat Guangdong Olympic Stadium.
● Mixed 4×100 m:
The debut of this event, which will be in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, had Canada as the favorite after a 40.90 time on Saturday. Jamaica had a small lead off the first leg with Serena Cole, but Canada’s Marie-Eloise Leclair and Duan Asemota were terrific on the second and third legs and a crisp pass to anchor Eliezer Adjibi gave him a small lead.
He held it under pressure from Jamaica’s Bryan Levell and won in 40.30 to 40.44 – which will be the first world record in this event – with Great Britain third in 40.88. The U.S. botched the second hand-off in its heat and didn’t make the final.
● Mixed 4×400 m:
The U.S. led the qualifying at 3:11.37 and ran the same team, but reversed the men, with Chris Robinson on lead-off this time and Johnnie Blockburger third. Robinson (44.97) passed first to Courtney Okolo (50.88), with Australia’s Ellie Beer (50.33) taking the lead. Blockburger was third on the backstraight as Kenya took the lead, but surged in front on the far turn. Blockburger zoomed to a 5 m lead (44.16!) and handed to Lynna Irby-Jackson (49.53!), who opened to an 8 m lead on the back straight and she ran away to win in 3:09.54.
It’s the no. 8 performance in history for the U.S. (it has five of the eight), and Robinson and Blockburger had the only sub-45 men’s legs and Irby-Jackson the only sub-50 women’s leg. Australia was second in 3:12.20 and Kenya was strong in third in 3:13.10.
In the second qualifying round, the top three in each of two races qualified for the 2025 Worlds. The first race had Spain getting a 48.85 anchor (!) from Blanca Hervas to win in 3:12.55, ahead of Germany and China in the top three, and another poor performance from Jamaica, in fourth at 3:14.42.
Italy, Canada and France were well clear of the field by the third leg, with Alice Mangione bringing the Italians in first in 3:12.53. France followed in 3:12.66 and Canada third in 3:12.95.
● Women’s 4×100 m:
Jamaica was the favorite with Natasha Morrison coming in on first leg, then the legendary Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Tina Clayton and two-time World 200 m champ Shericka Jackson. The U.S. was two lanes inside, with Mikiah Brisco, Caisja Chandler, Kayla White and TeeTee Terry, but Spain and Belgium ran faster in the heats.
Brisco was good on the opener, but Spain and Jamaica were strong on the second leg. The Spanish passed first onto the anchor, with Terry getting the stick in third place. Spain’s Maria Perez had the lead, but it was Success Eduan of Great Britain who surged in lane nine in the final 50 m to get to the line first in 42.21. Perez held on for second in 42.28, then Jamaica’s Jackson third in 42.33 and Terry brought the Americans home fourth in 42.38.
In the qualifying races, France go a strong finish from Chloe Galet to win in 43.06, over Italy (43.12) and Chile (43.74). China won the second race in 43.03, followed by the Swiss (43.35) and Poland (43.38).
● Men’s 4×100 m:
Japan, South Africa and the U.S. were within 0.02 in qualifying and the Americans fielded the same line-up, with Courtney Lindsey, Kenny Bednarek, Kyree King and Brandon Hicklin.
Lindsey was strong and Bednarek and King were excellent and Hicklin had the lead on the anchor. But he could not hold off South African star Akani Simbine in the final 30 m and Simbine crossed first in a world-leading 37.61, to 37.66 for the U.S. Canada overcame a poor first pass to get third in 38.11.
It’s the no. 2 performance ever by a South African team, which also won silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In the three qualifying races, with two to advance to Tokyo, France got two strong finishing legs from Ryan Zeze and Aymeric Priam to win in 38.31, with Ghana at 38.32 and South Korea at 38.51. Belgium and Kenya went 1-2 in 38.49 and 38.51; Jamaica’s second leg, Julian Forte, pulled up and did not finish, so they’ll have to chase a world rankings entry to the Worlds.
China ran 38.03 to run away with the third race, ahead of Australia (38.31).
● Women’s 4×400 m:
The U.S. was the leading qualifier, with Paris Peoples leading off in the final (52.21), and passed second to Karmiah Davis (50.03), who moved smartly into the lead on the cut to the inside. She passed just ahead of South Africa’s Miranda Coetzee, to Maya Singletary (52.09), who was passed by Spain’s Daniela Fra, who gave anchor Blanca Hervas a 5 m lead at the last pass.
U.S. anchor Bailey Lear ran to the lead after 120 m and led around the turn and into the straight. But this was tight and Spain’s Hervas ran into the lead with 40 m to go and won with a national record of 3:24.13. Lear’s 50.39 leg was good for silver in 3:24.72. South Africa took the bronze in 3:24.84.
In the qualifying races (three to advance), Britain, Belgium and Poland had a substantial lead by halfway in race one and they all closed hard at the line, with Nicole Yeargin closing first for the British in 3:24.46, ahead of Belgium (3:24.52) and Poland (3:24.56).
Ireland’s Rashidat Adeleke broke away, along with Ellie Beer (AUS), on the second leg in the second race, and Sharlene Mawdsley (50.01) won it for the Irish on anchor in 3:24.69. Australia followed in 3:27.31 and then Switzerland in third (3:32.37).
● Men’s 4×400 m:
South Africa was the leading qualifier at 3:00.00 (the U.S. didn’t make the final), and passed with Belgium in front after the first leg. Botswana’s Justice Oratile took the lead on the second leg, and Kabo Rankgwe extended it, but died on the straight and South Africa’s Leendert Koekemoer (44.23) passed first.
It was Zakithi Nene leading, but the top three were close coming into the straight. But Nene won it with a brilliant 43.64 leg and South Africa celebrated in a world-leading 2:57.50. Alexander Doom brought Belgium up to second in 2:58.19 and Botswana settled for third in 2:58.27.
In the first qualifying race (three to advance), the Dutch led for most of the way, but Brazil’s Matheus Lima ran 45.04 on anchor to win in 3:01.14, with Netherlands second (3:01.32) and Jamaica punching their ticket in third (3:02.00).
The U.S. astonishingly did not qualify on Saturday (third in 3:01.23), and ran in the second race with two new legs: Justin Robinson (2nd) and Khaleb McRae (4th) and led off with veteran Elija Godwin, whose 44.45 anchor on Saturday was the only quality leg. Godwin was out like a shot but passed second behind Qatar, with Australia’s Reece Holder (44.16) taking the lead on the second leg. Robinson (44.21) moved up and passed even with Holder, then Kennedy Lightner took off and led into the turn and into the straight (45.11). But it was Australia’s Aidan Murphy (44.65) who passed first to Thomas Reynolds. McRae took the lead with 200 m to go and poured it on for a sizzling 43.86 leg to win in a then-world-leading 2:58.68. On to the Worlds.
Reynolds ran 45.25 for second (2:59.73) and 400 m hurdles star Abderrahmane Samba ran 44.37 for get Qatar into third (3:00.29), a national record.
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This was a fun event – it always is – but it was a qualifying exercise, with very few of the sport’s top stars participating. That’s going to be a topic of discussion for World Athletics, with the event heading to Africa for the first time in early May 2026, in Gaborone (BOT).
The U.S. did what it came to do: qualify in all five World Championships events. With teams that will barely resemble the Worlds squads in September, the Americans won the mixed 4×4 and got silvers in the men’s 4×100 and women’s 4×400. That was it. But: both the men’s and women’s 4x100s got the stick around, although the mixed 4×100 botched the second handoff.
Jamaica was worse, missing qualification in the mixed 4×4, didn’t start a team in the final of the women’s 4×4 and pulled up due to injury in the men’s 4×1 final. They will have some work to do to qualify via world rankings for Tokyo.
But South Africa was great twice, and Spain – hardly a historical relay powerhouse – won an unexpected women’s 4×4 gold and a women’s 4×1 silver, possible springboards to glory in Tokyo in September.
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