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Up until the final discipline on day one at the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24, it seemed as though sprints powerhouse USA and Paris 2024 Games hosts France would secure Olympic qualification in all five disciplines. But it all came crashing down for both teams in the men&rsquo;s 4x400m.
USA was disqualified from the first heat for moving out of the assigned order at one of the changeovers, while France&rsquo;s second-leg runner Thomas Jordier &ndash; who had contested the mixed relay earlier in the day &ndash; suffered an injury in the fourth and final heat. Both teams will get a second chance in the Olympic qualification round two on Sunday, but they would have preferred to have got the job done today.
Botswana &ndash; bolstered by a stunning 43.49 split from world 100m silver medallist Letsile Tebogo on leg two &ndash; produced the fastest clocking of the day in the men&rsquo;s 4x400m heats, prevailing by 0.03 in a close battle with South Africa, 2:59.73 to 2:59.76.
Tebogo had put Botswana into the lead, then world record-holder Wayde van Niekerk regained pole position for South Africa on leg three. But Bayapo Ndori produced a 43.95 anchor for Botswana to give them victory in one of the closest finishes of the evening.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/66370befce559ee9034a5369.jpg" alt="Botswana wins their 4x400m heat at the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24" />
Botswana wins their 4x400m heat at the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 (&copy; Francesca Grana)
</div>
World indoor champions Belgium also impressed. Anchored by world indoor 400m champion Alexander Doom, the Belgian quartet won their heat convincingly in 3:00.09 with Nigeria a distant second in 3:01.70.
In the first of the four heats, USA lived up to expectations by crossing the line in first place. But it later emerged that one of the US quartet had intentionally moved out of the set order for one of the changeovers, landing the team with a disqualification.
It meant that Japan, who had initially crossed the line in second place, were declared winners in 3:00.98 from Germany (3:01.25).
The third heat was the slowest but most competitive with five teams still in contention as they approached the final 100 metres of the last leg.
Italy&rsquo;s Davide Re eventually pulled ahead to win in 3:01.68, while Britain&rsquo;s Lewis Davey found space on the inside to move past Qatar and the Netherlands, claiming the runner-up spot in 3:02.10.
The 23 teams who missed out on Olympic qualification today will have another chance on Sunday of ensuring their place in Paris. The top six teams in the Olympic qualification round two will join the eight automatic qualifiers from Saturday.
&nbsp;
<h2>USA dominate in record-breaking mixed 4x400m round</h2>
Just three minutes and 12.16 seconds after the gun had fired for the first event at the World Relays, a championship record had been broken.
The Dutch quartet &ndash; featuring Femke Bol and Lieke Klaver, world champions in the women&rsquo;s 4x400m indoors and out &ndash; took more than two seconds off the championship record that had stood for seven years.
World indoor silver medallist Klaver moved the team from fourth to second with her 49.57 split on leg two. But the Netherlands still trailed The Bahamas, with Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo running a 49.70 split to give the host nation a lead of 0.78 at the half-way point.
Olympic champion Steven Gardiner then doubled The Bahamas&rsquo; lead on leg three, but the Netherlands still had Bol to come on the anchor leg, while The Bahamas had had to draft in teenager Shania Adderley after Anthonique Strachan had experienced shin pains in warm-up.
Adderley acquitted herself well and held the lead until about half-way through her leg before Bol breezed past. The world 400m hurdles champion ran a 49.54 anchor to finish in 3:12.16.
World 400m champion Marileidy Paulino produced a stunning 48.93 split to take the Dominican Republic from fifth to second and into an Olympic qualifying spot.
Just 11 minutes later, the championship record was smashed again, this time by world champions USA. Matthew Boling, Lynna Irby-Jackson, Ryan Willie and Kendall Ellis teamed up to win in 3:11.52, finishing more than two seconds ahead of Nigeria (3:13.79).
The championship record survived for the remaining two heats, but Ireland was rewarded with a national record of 3:12.50 with their surprise win in heat three.
Rhasidat Adeleke and Sharlene Mawdsley provided the star power, clocking splits of 49.64 and 50.13 on legs two and four respectively. They held off a strong challenge from Belgium, who took second place in 3:13.18 ahead of world silver medallists Great Britain (3:13.52).
In heat four, meanwhile, Olympic champions Poland showed renewed form to win in 3:13.53, helped by a 49.84 anchor leg from world silver medallist Natalia Kaczmarek. Olympic hosts France claimed the runner-up spot and a place at their home Games in 3:14.71.
While the likes of The Bahamas, Great Britain and Jamaica missed out on an automatic Olympic qualifying place today, they&rsquo;ll have a chance of claiming one of the six remaining places on Sunday.
&nbsp;
<h2>Double duty sees Ireland take top qualifying spot in women&rsquo;s 4x400m</h2>
Less than two hours after setting a national record to win their heat and qualify for the Olympics in the mixed 4x400m, Ireland did exactly the same thing in the women&rsquo;s 4x400m &ndash; thanks, again, to the efforts of Rhasidat Adeleke and Sharlene Mawdsley.
Running the same legs that they did in the mixed event, Rhasidat went even quicker with a 49.48 clocking, while Mawdsley produced a 50.98 split to hold off the challenge of Britain&rsquo;s Lina Nielsen. Ireland crossed the line in a national record of 3:24.38 while Great Britain finished second in 3:24.89.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/66370c15ce559ee9034a536c.jpg" alt="Ireland wins their heat in the women's 4x400m at the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24" />
Ireland wins their heat in the women's 4x400m at the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 (&copy; Francesca Grana)
</div>
World silver medallist Natalia Kaczmarek was another athlete on double duty. She anchored the Polish team to victory in the third heat in 3:27.11, while an inspired French team claimed the second Olympic qualifying spot in 3:28.06 ahead of Jamaica (3:29.03).
Olympic champions USA ensured they&rsquo;ll be in Paris to defend their title, taking the fourth and final heat in 3:24.76 to finish more than two seconds ahead of their nearest opponents. Norway&rsquo;s Henriette Jaeger ran a 49.94 split to cross the line in second place in a national record of 3:26.89, finishing 0.3 ahead of the more favoured Belgian quartet.
In the first of four heats, Italy pulled off a surprise victory over Canada. A 50.56 split from Alice Mangione gave the Italians the lead, finishing in 3:26.28 to Canada&rsquo;s 3:27.17. World champions Netherlands &ndash; with a team that did not feature Femke Bol or Lieke Klaver &ndash; placed third in 3:28.10.
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics

World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24

Two out of three ain't bad for France and USA in 4x400m events

Mixed fortunes for USA and France in 4x400m heats at WRE Bahamas 24

Both US teams made a statement in the first round of the 4x100m at the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 on Saturday (4), dominating their heats to storm into Sunday&rsquo;s finals and &ndash; more importantly &ndash; secure their spots for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
With the top two teams in each of the four heats automatically qualifying for Paris, it was all to race for. Olympic hosts France also ensured they&rsquo;ll have two teams on the start line in Paris, their men&rsquo;s quartet clinching a heat win and their women&rsquo;s team finishing runner-up to USA.
In the first round of the men&rsquo;s competition, fans were treated to a clash between Olympic champions Italy and world champions USA. Courtney Lindsey started things off for USA and he handed the baton to Kenny Bednarek. It was Olympic 200m silver medallist against Olympic 100m champion on the second leg, as Bednarek went head-to-head with Marcell Jacobs.&nbsp;
Kyree King took over from Bednarek before Noah Lyles &ndash; the treble world champion &ndash; ran the anchor. As Lyles sprinted away, Filippo Tortu was left to chase him home as USA won in a world-leading 37.49, more than half a second ahead of Italy in 38.14. The 2019 World Relays winners Brazil finished third in 38.79.
Since the last World Athletics Relays in 2021 in Silesia, where Italy won the men&rsquo;s 4x100m, there have been three major global titles on offer. Each was won by a different nation and the third of those victorious teams &ndash; 2022 world champions Canada &ndash; also finished on top in Nassau.&nbsp;
Anchored by Olympic 200m champion Andre De Grasse, Canada comfortably won the third heat, clocking 38.11, but there was a fierce battle for second. Australia had the advantage at the final handover but Jamaica&rsquo;s Sandrey Davison came through to pip Joshua Azzopardi by just four thousandths of a second, with both teams clocking 38.50. It means Australia will be among the teams running in Sunday&rsquo;s &lsquo;Olympic qualifying round 2&rsquo;, where the top two teams in each race will also qualify for Paris.
France didn&rsquo;t seem satisfied to only secure their spot for the home Olympics &ndash; they wanted to do so in style. The team was up against 2017 world champions Great Britain in heat two and Aymeric Priam held off Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, who also brought the baton home during GB's world title win, 38.32 to 38.36.
&ldquo;We have been working on this for two years, so I am glad we achieved the qualification,&rdquo; said Jeff Erius, France's second leg runner. &ldquo;All French teams have qualified so far. It&rsquo;s a great start.&rdquo;
The fourth and final heat came down to a battle between Japan and China. While Japan led into the final leg, China had by far the smoother changeover, but as China&rsquo;s Chen Jiapeng challenged, Japan&rsquo;s Sota Miwa responded to win by 0.15 in 38.10.
Among those joining Brazil and Australia in fighting for Paris places again on Sunday will be Trinidad and Tobago, who finished third in heat two, and South Africa, third in heat four.
<h2>Paris place secured, USA eyes faster time in final</h2>
When it comes to the women&rsquo;s 4x100m, either the United States or Jamaica had won at the three global championships held since the last World Athletics Relays. While world champions USA cruised through the first round in Nassau, Olympic champions Jamaica didn&rsquo;t enjoy such a smooth ride and they will also be among the teams returning on Sunday to have another go at Olympic qualification.
The US quartet of Tamari Davis, Gabby Thomas, Celera Barnes and Melissa Jefferson dominated from start to finish to win the first heat in 42.21.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6636f180e4618185cd8ff528.jpg" alt="USA's 4x100m women celebrate their Olympic qualification" />
USA's 4x100m women celebrate their Olympic qualification (&copy; Francesca Grana)
</div>
Davis got a strong start and she handed the baton to her world title-winning teammate Thomas, the individual Olympic and world 200m medallist, with a narrow lead. Thomas maintained the advantage and the team was unchallenged from there, as Barnes took over and then Jefferson brought them home to secure the first Olympic 4x100m place of the competition.
France were challenged by Nigeria in the closing stages, with a fast-finishing Tima Godbless chasing French anchor Mallory Leconte, but Leconte managed to hold on to claim the second qualification spot - 43.09 to 43.15.
&ldquo;We came together and made it happen in such a short time,&rdquo; said Thomas. &ldquo;Tomorrow, I believe we will do better and can be faster.&rdquo;
There was no hiding Poland&rsquo;s delight following their heat two win. The team started well but China, Italy and Canada soon started to make their presence felt. At the final changeover, those four teams were pretty evenly matched and they ran in a row down the home straight. But Ewa Swoboda, Poland&rsquo;s world indoor 60m silver medallist, proved the most poweful and she overcame her rivals to win in 42.81. Canada secured second in 42.98, 0.05 ahead of China, with 2021 winners Italy finishing fourth.
Germany won the women's 4x100m when The Bahamas last hosted the World Athletics Relays in 2017 and seven years later they got their campaign off to a successful start. Two of the nation&rsquo;s 2022 world bronze medal-winning team members &ndash; Rebekka Haase and Gina Luckenkemper &ndash; were on the team again this time and Haase crossed the finish line to win the third heat in 42.72.
While Australia&rsquo;s men&rsquo;s team missed out on an automatic qualifying spot for Paris by thousandths of a second, the women&rsquo;s team clinched one by the same margin as Ebony Lane, Bree Masters, Ella Connolly and Torrie Lewis clocked an Oceanian record of 42.83 to deny Cote d&rsquo;Ivoire by 0.003. That was despite a strong anchor leg from multiple global medallist Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith, that initially looked as though it may have been enough.
There were huge cheers as athletes took to the start line for the fourth and final heat, with world indoor 60m hurdles champion and world record-holder Devynne Charlton leading off for the host nation.&nbsp;
It was Liberia, through Ebony Morrison, that seemed to get the best start, but Great Britain soon looked in control. Asha Philip handed over to Imani Lansiquot before Bianca Williams took over. From there, it was down to Amy Hunt to get the baton home and she did so in the second-quickest time of the day &ndash; 42.33.&nbsp;
The Netherlands, anchored by Tasa Jiya, secured second in 42.88, finishing ahead of Liberia with a national record of 43.15.
The Bahamas, finishing fourth, will return to the track on Sunday for another shot at a Paris spot, along with teams such as heat one third-place finishers Nigeria, Jamaica and Ecuador, who ran a national record of 43.67 for fifth in their heat.
Jess Whittington for World Athletics

Both US teams made a statement in the first round of the 4x100m at the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24

USA leads the way with 4x100m heat wins at WRE Bahamas 24

USA&rsquo;s Taliyah Brooks retained her Multistars heptathlon title by equalling her PB of 6330, while Belgium&rsquo;s Jente Hauttekeete secured his first decathlon victory at a World Athletics Combined Events Tour Gold meeting, winning with 8020 in Brescia on Sunday (28).
Brooks began the defence of her heptathlon title with the day&rsquo;s fastest 100m hurdles, clocking 13.14 into a headwind (-2.3m/s). But there was disappointment for China&rsquo;s Asian Games champion Zheng Ninali, as she was disqualified.
The high jump was up next and Brooks cleared 1.77m &ndash; the second-best performance of the day behind Bianca Salming&rsquo;s 1.83m &ndash; before throwing 13.11m in the shot. Austria&rsquo;s 2018 world indoor pentathlon silver medallist Ivona Dadic, returning from injury, launched the implement 14.55m to top that event.
Brooks ended day one with a leading 200m time of 23.92, putting her 220 points ahead of Norway&rsquo;s Ida Eikeng.
The second day started well for Brooks as she extended her lead by topping the long jump with 6.52m. It was also a strong discipline for Sweden&rsquo;s Lovisa Karlsson (6.47m) and Switzerland&rsquo;s Katelyn Adel (6.41m), both of whom set PBs to move into second and third overall respectively.
Eikeng excelled in the javelin, launching her spear out to 51.62m to move up to third overall. Ireland&rsquo;s Kate O&rsquo;Connor, twice a runner-up at Multistars, moved into second place overall thanks to her 49.28m effort.
Brooks was further down the field with 38.53m, but she still ended the event with a lead of almost 200 points with just the 800m to go.
Adel, who had put together the series of her life this weekend, continued her momentum into the 800m, smashing her PB to win it in 2:12.66. Salming followed in 2:13.49 and Brooks &ndash; buoyed by the knowledge she had the title in the bag &ndash; was close behind in 2:13.81, a PB.
It meant that the US heptathlete successfully defended her title by equalling the 6330 PB she set when winning at Multistars last year.
O&rsquo;Connor, who clocked 2:15.14 in the final event, achieved her third Multistars runner-up finish with 6104 and Adel placed third with 6082 &ndash; a PB by more than 300 points. Karlsson just missed the podium, but was also rewarded with her first 6000-point tally, scoring 6051.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited to come here, get a decent score and walk away healthy,&rdquo; said Brooks. &ldquo;I got the exact same score as last time. Last year I was really happy with my 800m, and this year is the same &ndash; I set a PB by two seconds. It&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;ve been working really hard on.&rdquo;
<h2>Hauttekeete times challenge to perfection</h2>
Jente Hauttekeete may not have topped the leader board in any of the individual disciplines, but the 22-year-old&rsquo;s overall consistency in the decathlon led to him taking the title with 8020, the second-best score of his career.
Switzerland&rsquo;s Nino Portmann took an early lead, winning the first 100m heat in 10.91. Belgium&rsquo;s Robin Bodart won his heat in 10.93 for the day&rsquo;s second-fastest time and Teo Bastien led heat three in 11.04 to put him fifth overall after one event, just ahead of Hattekeete (11.06).
Bastien, the 2021 European U20 bronze medallist, soared into the lead after the next event, going close to his long jump PB with a leap of 7.82m. Hauttekeete, the world U20 heptathlon record-holder, was sixth at that stage after leaping 7.37m.
A 14.12m throw moved Hauttekeete up to fourth following the shot put, with Bastien holding on to the lead thanks to an outdoor PB of 13.84m. Czechia&rsquo;s 2016 European silver medallist Adam Helcelet made his presence felt at this stage, launching the shot 15.31m to place him fifth overall, with Yuma Maruyama and Jose Fernando Ferreira Santana completing the top five.
Hauttekeete and Santiago Ford both soared clear at 2.01m in the high jump, which moved them to second and third respectively behind Bastien (1.95m). His lead was 45 points at that stage but Hauttekeete ran 49.16 to Bastien&rsquo;s 50.10 in the 400m &ndash; the final event of the day &ndash; to take the gap to just a single point at the half way stage.
Ferreira Santana dominated the 110m hurdles at the start of day two and was the only man to finish inside 14 seconds, clocking 13.88. Hauttekeete took a brief lead thanks to his 14.44 clocking, while Bastien managed 14.51, but the French all-rounder responded in the next event, throwing a discus PB of 43.49m to regain the lead.
Hauttekeete threw 40.13m, and Chile&rsquo;s Santiago Ford moved up the leaderboard into third after sending his disc flying out to 47.84m, the best of the day. Murayama, meanwhile, set his third PB of the competition with 46.21m.
Belgium&rsquo;s Thomas van der Plaetsen, the 2016 European champion, was a non-starter for the next discipline. But his compatriot Bodart ensured a Belgian still topped that event, vaulting 5.15m. Bastien was next best, extending his lead thanks to a 5.05m clearance, while Hauttekeete remained in contention with 4.85m.
The discipline ended with disappointment for Murayama, though, as he landed awkwardly on his final attempt at 4.65m and was forced to exit the competition.
Hauttekeete threw a PB of 56.04m in the javelin, but he was bumped down to third place after Ferreira Santana launched his spear out to 67.47m. Bastien increased the gap between him and Hauttekeete, throwing 56.98m.
Bastien had a 138-point lead over Hauttekeete going into the 1500m. Although the Belgian was a far superior 1500m runner, he still needed to finish 25 seconds ahead of Bastien to secure the victory.
Switzerland&rsquo;s Andrin Huber was a comfortable winner of the 1500m, clocking 4:23.99, then Estonia&rsquo;s Risto Lillemets crossed the line a few seconds later, closely followed by Hauttekeete (4:30.80). Bastien, meanwhile, finished outside five minutes (5:02.75).
It meant that Hauttekeete took the victory with 8020 from Lillemets (7971). Bastien held on for third place with 7963, just 26 points ahead of Ferreira Santana.
&ldquo;I just kept going and fought until the end and now I&rsquo;m here in first position,&rdquo; said Hauttekeete. &ldquo;I knew I needed to finish 25 seconds ahead of Bastien and I knew that would be tough. But it&rsquo;s never over until the end.&rdquo;
<a href="https://multistars.it/Multistars_2024/index_2024.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a>

Meeting Name	Venue	Country	Date
87th Tokyo Athletics Open Championships	Komazawa	JPN	27 Apr 2024
3rd Korzeniowski Warsaw Race Walking Cup	Warszawa	POL	05 May 2024
World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24	The	BAH	04 May 2024
Horizon League Championships	Oakland	USA	03 May 2024
Irish Milers Club-Crusaders	Morton	IRL	04 May 2024

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