The USA will be keen to return to the top of the women’s 4x400m podium after missing out at the past two editions of the World Indoor Championships. In the absence of the Netherlands and Jamaica, the winners in 2024 and 2022 respectively, the USA will start as overwhelming favourites.

USA’s squad features three of the four women that earned 4x400m silver in Glasgow last year – Alexis Holmes, Bailey Lear and Quanera Hayes – along with Rosey Effiong, Karimah Davis and Maya Singletary.

The fastest time by a US quartet this year is 3:25.73 – produced by a team that featured three of the Nanjing-bound relay runners. It also makes them the fastest of the six teams entered for Nanjing, ahead of Poland, China, India, Australia and Sri Lanka.

The US team will no doubt depend on the speed and resilience of Holmes who in recent years has been an instrumental part of the women’s and mixed 4x400m squads. Alongside her world indoor relay silver last year, Holmes was part of the victorious teams that took mixed 4x400m gold at the 2023 World Championships and women’s 4x400m gold at the Paris Olympics.

Teammate Hayes brings even more experience to the squad. The 33-year-old was part of the gold-medal-winning US teams at the 2016 and 2018 World Indoors, and was on the US team at last year’s edition in Glasgow.

Poland – medallists in 2016, 2018 and 2022 – will be targeting another podium finish, though their squad will be without key athletes such as Natalia Bukowiecka and Justyna Swiety-Ersetic.

Australia will be making a rare 4x400m appearance. The last time they competed in this discipline at the World Indoors was back in 1999 when they claimed silver in a continental record of 3:26.87. Their Nanjing squad, which includes Oceanian 400m champion Ellie Beer, Ella Connolly and rising sprint talent Torrie Lewis, have the potential to improve on that mark.

Yemi Galadima for World Athletics

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