World Athletics Relays

Wordmark of the World Athletics Relays
The Tommy Robinson National Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas hosted the first three editions of the competition.

The World Athletics Relays, known as the IAAF World Relays until 2019, is an international biennial track and field sporting event held by World Athletics where teams from around the world compete in relay races, some of which are not part of the standard Olympic programme. The first three editions were set to take place in Nassau, Bahamas at the Thomas Robinson Stadium in 2014, 2015 and 2017. Originally intended as an annual event, it was later decided to happen every odd year,[1] the same as the World Athletics Championships for which it serves as a qualification stage.

The competition format for the first edition included the 4 × 100 metres relay, the 4 × 200 metres relay, the 4 × 400 metres relay, the 4 × 800 metres relay and the 4 × 1500 metres relay.[2] The first edition had a $1.4 million prize fund.

From the second edition, the 4 × 1500 metres relay was replaced by the distance medley relay.[3] However, this was short-lived and was itself replaced by a mixed-gender 4 × 400 metres relay for the third edition.[4] In 2019, the 2 × 2 × 400 m relay and the shuttle hurdles relay were added to the mixed-gender category.[5]

The 2021 World Athletics Relays were held in Chorzów, Poland at the Silesian Stadium.

Championships

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Edition Year City Country Date Venue No. of
Events
No. of
Countries
No. of
Athletes
Top of the
medal table
1 2014 Nassau  Bahamas 24–25 May Thomas Robinson Stadium 10 41 470  United States
2 2015 Nassau  Bahamas 2–3 May Thomas Robinson Stadium 10 42 584  United States
3 2017 Nassau  Bahamas 22–23 April Thomas Robinson Stadium 9 35 419  United States
4 2019 Yokohama  Japan 11–12 May Yokohama International Stadium 9 43 529  United States
5 2021 Chorzów  Poland 1–2 May Silesian Stadium 9 37 689  Italy
6 2024 Nassau  Bahamas 4–5 May Thomas Robinson Stadium 5 52 893  United States
7 2025 Guangzhou  China 10–11 May Aoti Main Stadium

Events

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Event Year
Discipline Gender 2014 2015 2017 2019 2021 2024
4 × 100 metres relay Men
Women
Shuttle hurdles relay Mixed
4 × 200 metres relay Men
Women
4 × 400 metres relay Men
Mixed
Women
2 × 2 × 400 metres relay Mixed
4 × 800 metres relay Men
Women
Distance medley relay Men
Women
4 × 1500 metres relay Men
Women

Championships records

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Men

[edit]
Event Record Athlete Nationality Date Meet Place Ref
4 × 100 m relay 37.38 Mike Rodgers
Justin Gatlin
Tyson Gay
Ryan Bailey
 United States 2 May 2015 2015 IAAF World Relays Nassau, Bahamas [6]
4 × 200 m relay 1:18.63 Nickel Ashmeade
Warren Weir
Jermaine Brown
Yohan Blake
 Jamaica 24 May 2014 2014 IAAF World Relays Nassau, Bahamas [7]
4 × 400 m relay 2:57.25 David Verburg
Tony McQuay
Christian Taylor
LaShawn Merritt
 United States 25 May 2014 2014 IAAF World Relays Nassau, Bahamas [8]
4 × 800 m relay 7:04.84 Duane Solomon
Erik Sowinski
Casimir Loxsom
Robby Andrews
 United States 3 May 2015 2015 IAAF World Relays Nassau, Bahamas [9]
Distance medley relay 9:15.50 Kyle Merber 2:53.56 (1200 m)
Brycen Spratling 45.95 (400 m)
Brandon Johnson 1:44.75 (800 m)
Ben Blankenship 3:51.24 (1600 m)
 United States 3 May 2015 2015 IAAF World Relays Nassau, Bahamas [10]
4 × 1500 m relay 14:22.22 Collins Cheboi
Silas Kiplagat
James Kiplagat Magut
Asbel Kiprop
 Kenya 25 May 2014 2014 IAAF World Relays Nassau, Bahamas [11]

Women

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Event Record Athlete Nationality Date Meet Place Ref
4 × 100 m relay 41.88 Tianna Bartoletta
Alexandria Anderson
Jeneba Tarmoh
LaKeisha Lawson
 United States 24 May 2014 2014 IAAF World Relays Nassau, Bahamas [12]
4 × 200 m relay 1:29.04 Jura Levy
Shericka Jackson
Sashalee Forbes
Elaine Thompson
 Jamaica 22 April 2017 2017 IAAF World Relays Nassau, Bahamas [13]
4 × 400 m relay 3:19.39 Phyllis Francis
Natasha Hastings
Sanya Richards-Ross
Francena McCorory
 United States 3 May 2015 2015 IAAF World Relays Nassau, Bahamas [14]
4 × 800 m relay 8:00.62 Chanelle Price
Maggie Vessey
Molly Beckwith-Ludlow
Alysia Johnson Montaño
 United States 3 May 2015 2015 IAAF World Relays Nassau, Bahamas [15]
Distance medley relay 10:36.50 Treniere Moser 3:18.38 (1200 m)
Sanya Richards-Ross 50.12 (400 m)
Ajee' Wilson 2:00.08 (800 m)
Shannon Rowbury 4:27.92 (1600 m)
 United States 2 May 2015 2015 IAAF World Relays Nassau, Bahamas [16]
4 × 1500 m relay 16:33.58 Mercy Cherono
Faith Kipyegon
Irene Jelagat
Hellen Onsando Obiri
 Kenya 24 May 2014 2014 IAAF World Relays Nassau, Bahamas [17]

Mixed

[edit]
Event Record Athlete Nationality Date Meet Place Ref
4 × 400 m relay 3:10.73 Matthew Boling
Lynna Irby-Jackson
Willington Wright
Kendall Ellis
 United States 5 May 2024 2024 Relays Nassau, Bahamas [18]
2 × 2 × 400 m relay 3:36.92 Ce'Aira Brown
Donavan Brazier
 United States 11 May 2019 2019 Relays Yokohama, Japan [19]
Shuttle hurdle relay 54.96 Christina Clemons
Freddie Crittenden
Sharika Nelvis
Devon Allen
 United States 11 May 2019 2019 Relays Yokohama, Japan [20]

Medal table

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Updated: May 2024[21]

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 United States267235
2 Jamaica58619
3 Poland38112
4 Kenya36211
5 Germany3148
6 Italy3014
7 France1225
8 Canada1214
9 Bahamas1203
10 Trinidad and Tobago1124
11 Botswana1113
 Netherlands1113
13 Brazil1102
14 Nigeria1012
15 Cuba1001
16 Japan0325
17 South Africa0202
18 Australia0167
 Great Britain0167
20 China0123
21 Ireland0112
22 Barbados0101
 Belarus0101
 Saint Kitts and Nevis0101
25 Belgium0033
26 Denmark0011
 Dominican Republic0011
 Ecuador0011
 Ethiopia0011
 Portugal0011
 Russia0011
 Slovenia0011
Totals (32 entries)525251155

Multiple wins

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Multiple wins athletes are.[22]

Three wins
Athlete Country Events
Nickel Ashmeade  Jamaica Men’s 4x100m 2014, 4x200m 2014/2015
Tony McQuay  United States Men’s 4x400m 2014/2015/2017
LaShawn Merritt  United States Men’s 4x400m 2014/2015/2017
David Verburg  United States Men’s 4x400m 2014/2015/2017
Natasha Hastings  United States Women’s 4x400m 2014/2015/2017
Chanelle Price  United States Women’s 4x800m 2014/2015/2017
Sanya Richards-Ross  United States Women’s 4x400m 2014/2015, Distance Medley Relay 2015
Two wins
Athlete Country Events
Yohan Blake  Jamaica Men’s 4x100m 2014, 4x200m 2014
Justin Gatlin  United States Men’s 4x100m 2015/2017
Casimir Loxsom  United States Men’s 4x800m 2015/2017
Erik Sowinski  United States Men’s 4x800m 2015/2017
Warren Weir  Jamaica Men’s 4x200m 2014/2015
Phyllis Francis  United States Women’s 4x400m 2015/2017
Ajeé Wilson  United States Women’s 4x800m 2014, Distance Medley Relay 2015

References

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  1. ^ IAAF World Relays bidding information
  2. ^ "Bahamas to host inaugural IAAF World Relay Championships". Caribbean 360. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  3. ^ "World Relays 2015 website". Archived from the original on 2015-02-08.
  4. ^ Competitions Update. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-08-21.
  5. ^ Hardik Vyas (11 January 2019). "Athletics: Mixed shuttle hurdles added to World Relays program". Reuters. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  6. ^ "Men's 4×100m Final Results" (PDF). IAAF. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  7. ^ Simon Hart (25 May 2014). "Jamaica men break 4x200 metre relay record at IAAF World Relays in Nassau - and without Usain Bolt". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  8. ^ "Men's 4x400m Relay Results". IAAF. 25 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  9. ^ "Men's 4×800m Final Results" (PDF). IAAF. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  10. ^ "Men's Distance Medley Relay Final Results" (PDF). IAAF. 3 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  11. ^ "Men's 4×1500m Relay Results". IAAF. 25 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  12. ^ "Women's 4x100m Relay Results". IAAF. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  13. ^ "4×200m Relay Results" (PDF). IAAF. 22 April 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  14. ^ "Women's 4×400m Relay Final B Results" (PDF). IAAF. 3 May 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  15. ^ "Women's 4×800m Relay Results" (PDF). IAAF. 3 May 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  16. ^ "Women's Distance Medley Relay Final Results" (PDF). IAAF. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  17. ^ "Men's 4x800m Relay Results". IAAF. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  18. ^ "Mixed 4×400m Relay Final Results" (PDF). World Athletics. 5 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  19. ^ "2×2×400m Relay Result". IAAF. 11 May 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  20. ^ "Shuttle Hurdles Relay Result". IAAF. 11 May 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  21. ^ Christopher Kelsall (9 March 2022). "South Africa to lose relay World's gold due to doping ban to Thando Dlodlo". athleticsillustrated.com. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  22. ^ "Yokohama 2019 Facts & Figures". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
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