The World Athletics Relays competition is set to take place live on NBC Sports and Peacock from the Bahamas on Saturday and Sunday. This event serves as a qualifier for the majority of the Paris Olympic 4x100m and 4x400m fields. The top 14 nations in each relay category – men’s and women’s 4x100m and 4x400m, as well as the mixed-gender 4x400m – will qualify for the Paris Games. It is not necessary for the nations that qualify to use the same runners at the Olympics as they do in the World Relays.
On Saturday, the top two nations in each first-round heat for every relay will qualify for the Olympics and move on to Sunday’s finals, which will determine the lane draws for the Olympics. A repechage round for nations that did not advance to the finals will also take place on Sunday, with the top two nations in each repechage heat securing qualification for Paris. The final two nations to qualify for each Olympic relay will be determined by world rankings on June 30.
The United States team for World Relays will feature Olympic medalists Noah Lyles and Gabby Thomas. The full U.S. roster is available online. Notably, the Bahamas has standout athletes such as reigning Olympic women’s and men’s 400m champions Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Steven Gardiner in its mixed 4x400m pool. Last year, the United States achieved a historic feat by sweeping both men’s and women’s 4x100m relay titles at world championships for the first time since 2007.