Julien Alfred (© Getty Images)
An international quartet of Dina Asher-Smith, Rhasidat Adeleke, Lanae-Tava Thomas and Julien Alfred combined to clock a 1:27.05 4x200m at the Texas Relays in Austin on Saturday (30).
Britain’s 2019 world champion Asher-Smith ran the first leg before handing the baton to Ireland’s Adeleke. Jamaica’s Thomas took on the third leg and then Saint Lucia’s world indoor 60m champion Alfred ran the anchor, her split time reported as 20.8.
While the mark cannot count as a world record as the athletes represent different nations, their 1:27.05 is faster than the world record of 1:27.46 set by USA in 2000.
They returned four hours later to win the invitational 4x400m in 3:25.31.
USA’s Olympic and world 200m medallist Gabby Thomas opened her season by winning the invitational 100m and 200m.
First she ran a marginally wind-assisted 10.88 (2.2m/s) in the 100m, then around half an hour later she clocked 22.08 (1.2m/s) in the 200m.
She had earlier teamed up with Celera Barnes, Tamara Clark and Morolake Akinosun to win the invitational 4x100m in 42.25.
Pablo Mateo of France won the men’s 100m in a wind-assisted 9.92 (3.0m/s) and the 200m in a PB of 20.03 (2.0m/s).
Olympic discus champion Valarie Allman threw 67.98m to win on her season opener on Friday, while world fifth-place finisher Leo Neugebauer achieved 8708 points in the decathlon, with his series including PBs in the shot put (17.26m) and javelin (58.99m).
At the Florida Relays in Gainesville on Saturday, USA’s three-time world 110m hurdles champion Grant Holloway teamed up with his compatriots Pjai Austin and two-time world 200m medallist Erriyon Knighton plus Liberia’s Joseph Fahnbulleh to record 37.67 in the 4x100m.
Austin went on to win his 100m race in 10.02 ahead of Fahnbulleh with 10.09, while in another race Nigeria’s Favour Ashe went even quicker as he won in 9.99.
Brazil’s 2022 world 400m hurdles champion Alison dos Santos opened his season with a 400m win, clocking 45.25 to pip Alexander Ogando by 0.01.
In the previous day’s high school 400m, 16-year-old Quincy Wilson improved to a PB of 45.19, moving him to fifth on the world U18 all-time list.
World 800m champion Marco Arop won the 1500m in 3:40.81, while 19-year-old JaMeesia Ford won the 200m in 22.37.
At the Battle on the Bayou in Baton Rouge on Saturday, four athletes dipped under 11 seconds in a wind-assisted women’s 100m as Favour Ofili won in 10.85 (2.6m/s) ahead of Brianna Lyston (10.87), McKenzie Long (10.89) and Thelma Davies (10.98).
Christopher Morales Williams won the men’s 400m in 45.18.
