The Bahamian mixed 4x400m team celebrates Olympic qualification (© Sergio Mateo)
A total of 70 teams have qualified for relay events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games following two days of thrilling action at the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 (4-5 May)
Fourteen teams in each of the five disciplines being contested in Nassau – the women’s and men’s 4x100m and 4x400m plus the mixed 4x400m – automatically qualified for Paris places. The first 40 qualified teams were confirmed on Saturday and the final 30 on Sunday, following a second Olympic qualifying round for teams that missed out on day one.
Teams that qualified on Saturday also secured their spots for the respective World Relays finals on Sunday, when they raced for prize money and Olympic lane seeding positions.
USA won four of the five finals in Nassau, the nation’s 4x100m women setting a championship record with their 41.85 run and the mixed 4x400m squad achieving the same with their 3:10.73 performance. Botswana’s 4x400m men ensured the event ended on a high, running a world lead of 2:59.11 to win the last race of the weekend.
Two nations – Great Britain & Northern Ireland and USA – each qualified a full five teams for Paris, while another six – France, Germany, Italy, Jamaica, Nigeria and Poland – qualified four each.
While the majority of Paris places have now been secured, teams that missed out in Nassau do still have a chance to qualify. A further two Olympic Games places in each discipline will be awarded based on top lists during the qualification period (31 December 2022 to 30 June 2024).
Teams qualified for Paris at WRE Bahamas 24
Women’s 4x100m
Australia, Canada, Cote d’Ivoire, France, Germany, Great Britain & NI, Italy, Jamaica, Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, United States
Men’s 4x100m
Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Ghana, Great Britain & NI, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Liberia, Nigeria, South Africa, United States
Women’s 4x400m
Belgium, Canada, France, Great Britain & NI, India, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, United States
Men’s 4x400m
Belgium, Botswana, Brazil, Germany, Great Britain & NI, India, Italy, Japan, Nigeria, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, United States
Mixed 4x400m
Bahamas, Belgium, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain & NI, Ireland, Jamaica, Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Switzerland, Ukraine, United States
World Athletics