World Athletics Relays Explained

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

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

Events

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

Men

Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Meet	Place	Ref
4 × 100 m relay	37.38	Mike Rodgers Justin Gatlin Tyson Gay Ryan Bailey		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		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		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		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)		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		25 May 2014	2014 IAAF World Relays	Nassau, Bahamas	^[11]

Women

Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Meet	Place	Ref
4 × 100 m relay	41.88			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		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		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		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)		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		24 May 2014	2014 IAAF World Relays	Nassau, Bahamas	^[17]

Mixed

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

Medal table

Updated: May 2024^[21]

Multiple wins

Multiple wins athletes are.^[22]

Three wins

Athlete	Country	Events
		Men’s 4x100m 2014, 4x200m 2014/2015
		Men’s 4x400m 2014/2015/2017
		Men’s 4x400m 2014/2015/2017
		Men’s 4x400m 2014/2015/2017
		Women’s 4x400m 2014/2015/2017
		Women’s 4x800m 2014/2015/2017
		Women’s 4x400m 2014/2015, Distance Medley Relay 2015

Two wins

Athlete	Country	Events
		Men’s 4x100m 2014, 4x200m 2014
		Men’s 4x100m 2015/2017
		Men’s 4x800m 2015/2017
		Men’s 4x800m 2015/2017
		Men’s 4x200m 2014/2015
		Women’s 4x400m 2015/2017
		Women’s 4x800m 2014, Distance Medley Relay 2015

External links

• World Athletics Relays on worldathletics.org

Notes and References

1. http://www.iaaf.org/eventbidding/iaaf-events/iaaf-world-relays IAAF World Relays bidding information
2. News: Bahamas to host inaugural IAAF World Relay Championships. 18 August 2012. Caribbean 360. 29 March 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140329125333/http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/news/607246.html#ixzz23kRZWwiA. dead.
3. Web site: World Relays 2015 website. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150208163546/http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-relays/news/world-relays-2015-website. 2015-02-08.
4. https://www.iaaf.org/download/download?filename=616ad3fb-d1a8-48d8-952b-4c64fc80834c.pdf&urlSlug=competitions-update-200816 Competitions Update
5. News: Athletics: Mixed shuttle hurdles added to World Relays program . Hardik Vyas . . 11 January 2019 . 4 May 2019.
6. Web site: Men's 4×100m Final Results. IAAF. 2 May 2015. 4 May 2015.
7. News: Jamaica men break 4x200 metre relay record at IAAF World Relays in Nassau - and without Usain Bolt. The Daily Telegraph. Simon Hart. 25 May 2014. 25 May 2014.
8. Web site: Men's 4x400m Relay Results. IAAF. 25 May 2014. 25 May 2014.
9. Web site: Men's 4×800m Final Results. IAAF. 2 May 2015. 4 May 2015.
10. Web site: Men's Distance Medley Relay Final Results. IAAF. 3 May 2015. 4 May 2015.
11. Web site: Men's 4×1500m Relay Results. IAAF. 25 May 2014. 26 May 2014.
12. Web site: Women's 4x100m Relay Results. IAAF. 24 May 2014. 25 May 2014.
13. Web site: 4×200m Relay Results. IAAF. 22 April 2017. 23 April 2017.
14. Web site: Women's 4×400m Relay Final B Results. IAAF. 3 May 2015. 6 May 2015.
15. Web site: Women's 4×800m Relay Results. IAAF. 3 May 2015. 6 May 2015.
16. Web site: Women's Distance Medley Relay Final Results. IAAF. 2 May 2015. 4 May 2015.
17. Web site: Men's 4x800m Relay Results. IAAF. 24 May 2014. 25 May 2014.
18. Web site: Mixed 4×400m Relay Final Results. World Athletics. 5 May 2024. 6 May 2024.
19. Web site: 2×2×400m Relay Result. IAAF. 11 May 2019. 10 August 2019.
20. Web site: Shuttle Hurdles Relay Result. IAAF. 11 May 2019. 10 August 2019.
21. News: South Africa to lose relay World’s gold due to doping ban to Thando Dlodlo. athleticsillustrated.com. Christopher Kelsall. 9 March 2022. 23 March 2022.
22. Web site: Yokohama 2019 Facts & Figures. worldathletics.org. 28 April 2021.