At the pre-event press conference for the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24, 10 of the world&rsquo;s best sprinters spoke of their ambitions to secure Olympic relay qualification this weekend when they compete at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium in Nassau.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/united-states/noah-lyles-14536762" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Noah Lyles</a> &ndash; the world 100m, 200m and 4x100m champion &ndash; will be aiming to secure USA&rsquo;s place at the Paris 2024 Olympics in the men&rsquo;s 4x100m. He&rsquo;ll also be using this weekend&rsquo;s event as a stepping stone towards a potential tilt at winning four medals at the Games, where he intends to compete in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m and 4x400m.
He won&rsquo;t, however, be contesting the longer event in Nassau.
&ldquo;I won&rsquo;t be running the 4x400m here &ndash; when I did it at the World Indoors, let&rsquo;s just say it caused a lot of controversy,&rdquo; said Lyles, who ran third leg for the USA in the 4x400m at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, where he claimed silver. &ldquo;This year I will be training specifically for the 100m and 200m, but also to be in good shape for the 400m so that I can be part of the 4x400m at the Paris Olympics. I&rsquo;m in the best shape of my life, and I know I&rsquo;ve been saying that for two years, but it&rsquo;s very true.&rdquo;
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/italy/lamont-marcell-jacobs-14453864" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marcell Jacobs</a>, the defending Olympic 100m and 4x100m champion and defending World Relays 4x100m winner, will be doing all he can to prevent Lyles reaching the top of the podium in Nassau and Paris.
&ldquo;There has been a lot of change in my life since Budapest,&rdquo; said the Italian. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve moved to the US and changed coaches. I&rsquo;m really happy &ndash; the work we&rsquo;ve been doing in training is really good. Now I&rsquo;m here with my teammates; we&rsquo;re the defending World Relays champions and the Olympic champions and hopefully we&rsquo;ll win again here.&rdquo;
Seven years on from forming part of the victorious Bahamian mixed 4x400m team in Nassau, two-time Olympic 400m champion <a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/bahamas/shaunae-miller-uibo-14368116" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shaunae Miller-Uibo</a> will race on home soil again as she continues her comeback following the birth of her son Maicel in April last year.
&ldquo;Training has been going really well. We&rsquo;re back at it full time now and just getting things ready for the Olympic Games,&rdquo; she said.
Reflecting on the 2017 World Relays, she added: &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a memory that really stuck with us. Being able to compete at home, and on top of that to bring home the gold in the first mixed relay, it was awesome. We heard the crowd going crazy and we ran with it from there. We&rsquo;re definitely going to come out here and put on a show for the crowd.&rdquo;
World 200m finalist <a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/bahamas/anthonique-strachan-14368117" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anthonique Strachan</a> also formed part of that winning mixed relay squad seven years ago and after being convinced by her teammates Miller-Uibo and Steven Gardiner, she&rsquo;s stepping up again.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just helping out the quarter-milers this weekend,&rdquo; she laughed. &ldquo;They need an extra little fast leg, I&rsquo;m going to try to be that. I&rsquo;m not a quarter-miler, that&rsquo;s not my event. Shaunae had to beg me &ndash; Shaunae and Stevie, they sort of cornered me!&rdquo;
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/bahamas/steven-gardiner-14578505" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Steven Gardiner</a>, the Olympic 400m champion, has great faith in Strachan and his other teammates.
&ldquo;Many people here were involved in putting together our mixed relay team,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Anthonique did an amazing job in 2017, so why not have her on the team again? I know what she&rsquo;s capable of doing &ndash; she&rsquo;s a fighter, so I know she&rsquo;ll bring the stick around. She just talks, but she will do it.&rdquo;
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/bahamas/alonzo-russell-14414605" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alonzo Russell</a>, Olympic bronze medallist in the men&rsquo;s 4x400m in 2016, will be making his mixed relay debut this weekend and cannot wait to join three of the victorious athletes from 2017.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s my first time on a mixed relay,&rdquo; said Russell, who last competed at the World Relays back in 2015, also in Nassau. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited to put in a strong performance in front of a home crowd and get the team to Paris.&rdquo;
World indoor 60m hurdles champion <a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/bahamas/devynne-charlton-14414505" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Devynne Charlton</a> is no stranger to a relay, but this will be her first time competing at the global event.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a hurdler that can sprint. It&rsquo;s a little different, it takes me back to high school and college because I was doing double duties there. I&rsquo;m excited to be in a team environment again.&rdquo;
It also gives her the opportunity to race back on home soil, where she received a celebratory homecoming after her success in Glasgow in March.
&ldquo;It was a big deal when I came home, the reception was amazing,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I almost wasn&rsquo;t able to walk the streets because people were stopping to get a picture with me. It was overwhelming but amazing to see the pride that Bahamian people felt for something that I did.&rdquo;
Another global gold medallist in action is <a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/netherlands/lieke-klaver-14560483" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lieke Klaver</a>, who formed part of the triumphant Dutch women&rsquo;s 4x400m teams at the World Championships in Budapest and World Indoor Championships in Glasgow.
&ldquo;The main goal is to qualify all five teams for the Olympics. That&rsquo;s what we came for,&rdquo; she said.
Sharing insight into her mindset when on the track with her teammates, she added: &ldquo;I always try to keep my heartbeat as low as possible, not to get too much of the environment inside of me. I focus on the girls &ndash; I know it&rsquo;s just four of us and that makes me so calm. I like to be on the first leg because then I can pass on the baton and let the girls do the rest and not look! But the second leg, I love it. There&rsquo;s so much speed.&rdquo;
After running a recent 11.02 100m, just 0.03 off her PB, Olympic and world relay medallist <a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/great-britain-ni/imani-lansiquot-14506362" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Imani Lansiquot</a> also has Paris qualification ambitions for her Great Britain 4x100m team.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been training really hard. All eyes are on Paris and I feel like I&rsquo;m in fantastic shape,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;This is my first World Relays. It fit perfectly with my preparations for the year and I feel like I&rsquo;m going to do a really good job for my team.&rdquo;
Few athletes will be feeling the pressure this weekend as much as <a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/france/t%c3%a9o-andant-14709654" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Teo Andant</a> and his French teammates.
The men&rsquo;s 4x400m quartet provided France with their only medal at last year&rsquo;s World Championships, so expectations are high as they approach an Olympic Games on home soil.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve done a round-the-world trip &ndash; I&rsquo;ve been to New Zealand, Australia and South Africa &ndash; just to be ready for the Olympics,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re all very ready and we&rsquo;re very determined. It&rsquo;s the year of our lives for us French athletes &ndash; a home Olympics comes around just once in 100 years, so we&rsquo;ve got to get this one right.&rdquo;

World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24

Ten of the world’s best sprinters spoke of their ambitions to secure Olympic relay qualification this weekend

Olympic qualification the main goal for global stars in Nassau

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe looked forward to a relays event "for the ages&rdquo; as he spoke to the world&rsquo;s media on the eve of the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 taking place this weekend (4-5 May).
As the main qualifying event for relay events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, multiple world and Olympic champions are among the top-class athletes who are in the Bahamian capital ready to race for Paris places, World Relays titles and prize money.
Speaking ahead of <a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-relays/bahamas24/news/news/olympic-qualification-main-goal-world-relays-bahamas-24" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a press conference with athletes including global gold medallists Noah Lyles, Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Marcell Jacobs and Devynne Charlton</a>, Coe hailed the &ldquo;star-studded cast&rdquo;.
&ldquo;The Bahamas was our first host in 2014. We&rsquo;ve had six editions and four of them have been staged here. I&rsquo;m guessing you can probably see why. It&rsquo;s not just about the location, it&rsquo;s about the friendliness of people on the islands and it&rsquo;s about the deep respect that you have for track and field, particularly relays,&rdquo; he said.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got nearly 900 athletes here from 52 different countries, and of course there is added piquancy. This is an Olympic year and we have injected some jeopardy. That jeopardy is simple: there will be teams getting selected here for Paris. Where many of those teams finish in the next day or so will also determine the advantage or otherwise of lane draws in Paris. So, there&rsquo;s a lot to play for.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re delighted to be here. I think we are going to see something that is probably, in terms of a relay event, something for the ages.&rdquo;
Mario Bowleg, the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture for The Bahamas, was delighted to have the best relay runners on the planet back in his country.
&ldquo;We welcome the world to our beautiful shores,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It was a privilege and an honour to host the first three editions of this event. We&rsquo;re on the brink of hosting the fourth edition, we&rsquo;re about to put on some things never seen before. I want to thank Seb Coe and World Athletics, as well as Mike Sands, NACAC and the LOC for ensuring that these events are a success.&rdquo;
Sanya Richards-Ross competed at the 2014 and 2015 editions of the World Relays in The Bahamas, notching up two victories in the 4x400m plus a world record in the distance medley relay.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s nothing quite like this competition in this stadium,&rdquo; said the 2012 Olympic 400m champion. &ldquo;What makes the sport so rich and so fun is when we come together with our teammates to compete in a relay. The World Relays provides the opportunity for athletes to come out here, step on the track and represent their country and just have so much fun.&rdquo;

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe looked forward to a relays event "for the ages”

Star-studded cast ready to put on pre-Paris show at WRE Bahamas 24

The composition of the teams may be slightly different, but a USA-Netherlands showdown in the mixed 4x400m &ndash; less than a year on from their dramatic duel at the World Championships &ndash; could provide one of the highlights of the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24.
On that occasion in Budapest last year, Femke Bol of the Netherlands was locked in battle with USA&rsquo;s Alexis Holmes on the final leg. In the closing metres, Bol lost her footing and crashed to the ground, while Holmes maintained her momentum to carry USA to victory in a world record of 3:08.80.
<div><a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-relays/bahamas24/where-to-watch" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/66341327d6042ffd2e3b73cc.jpg" alt="World Relays where watch banner small" /></a></div>
Bol and Holmes have both been named in the women&rsquo;s 4x400m, not the mixed event, for Nassau, so fans may still be treated to a rematch of sorts between the pair. But without world indoor champion Bol&rsquo;s foot speed in their armoury, the Netherlands may not be quite as formidable in Nassau.
Just one member of the world record-breaking quartet, Matthew Boling, will feature on USA&rsquo;s team for the World Relays, and he&rsquo;ll be joined by Olympic 4x400m champion Lynna Irby-Jackson.
The Dominican Republic &ndash; winners of the world title in 2022 ahead of the Netherlands and USA &ndash; will be bolstered by the presence of world 400m champion Marileidy Paulino, who has already notched up Diamond League victories in Xiamen and Suzhou this year. Alexander Ogando, who was also part of the triumphant 2022 squad, is also on the team for Nassau.
Since winning the Olympic title in 2021, Poland hasn&rsquo;t quite been able to replicate that form. They placed fourth in the mixed relay at the 2022 World Championships, then eighth at the 2023 edition. World silver medallist Natalia Kaczmarek and 2018 European champion Justyna Swiety-Ersetic add strength to their squad, but both may also be called up for the women&rsquo;s 4x400m so may be running on tired legs for the mixed event.
The biggest cheers, though, will be reserved for The Bahamas, who won the inaugural mixed 4x400m when the World Relays was last held in Nassau. Three members of that quartet &ndash; including Olympic 400m champions Steven Gardiner and Shaunae Miller-Uibo &ndash; feature on the host nation&rsquo;s team for this year&rsquo;s edition, and they will aim to strike gold on home turf again.
Great Britain &amp; Northern Ireland claimed silver behind the USA at last year&rsquo;s World Championships, and they&rsquo;re intent on challenging for another podium place in Nassau after naming some of their best one-lap sprinters for the mixed 4x400m.
Czechia&rsquo;s mixed relay pool includes the same four athletes that claimed bronze in this event in Budapest last year, so they could well be a danger again.
Jamaica earned world silver in this event at the 2019 World Championships, but haven&rsquo;t made a global podium since then. They boast strong depth in both the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s 400m, so undoubtedly have the potential to be in the hunt in Nassau.
France and Belgium, meanwhile, were just shy of the medals in Budapest, so they&rsquo;ll head to Nassau with plenty of motivation, as will defending champions Italy.
Other contenders include Bahrain, Botswana and a Canadian squad that features world 800m champion Marco Arop.
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics

The composition of the teams may be slightly different, but a USA-Netherlands showdown in the mixed 4x400m could provide one of the highlights of the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24

WRE Bahamas 24 preview: scene set for mixed 4x400m showdown

The World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 offers USA&rsquo;s 4x400m men the chance to maintain an unbeaten run in Nassau, but there are a number of nations ready to challenge for top spot this weekend (4-5 May).
After the first three editions of the World Athletics Relays &ndash; all held in The Bahamas, with US men&rsquo;s 4x400m teams winning at each &ndash; the 2019 title went to Trinidad and Tobago in Yokohama, before the Netherlands clinched the crown in Silesia in 2021, when USA did not field a team.
Since then, each of the three major outdoor global titles have been won by USA. But with so much at stake &ndash; including Olympic places for 14 teams &ndash; competition is set to be fierce.
<div><a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-relays/bahamas24/where-to-watch" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/66341327d6042ffd2e3b73cc.jpg" alt="World Relays where watch banner small" /></a></div>
Entered for the US this time is Bryce Deadmon, who formed part of the Olympic gold medal-winning team in Tokyo and the quartet that claimed the world title in Oregon in 2022. Champion Allison ran the anchor leg in Oregon, while Christopher Bailey ran the heats in Budapest, where USA retained the world title, and brought the baton home to secure world indoor silver in Glasgow in March.
Gold in Glasgow was won by Belgium, anchored by Alexander Doom, who became the first man to win the 400m and 4x400m at the same World Indoor Championships. The team &ndash; which also featured Jonathan Sacoor, Dylan Borlee and Christian Iguacel &ndash; pipped USA by 0.06 to retain the title.
That quartet has been named for Nassau, on a squad that inevitably includes two other Borlee brothers, Jonathan and Kevin &ndash; the latter having joined Dylan on the 2019 and 2022 world bronze medal-winning teams.&nbsp;
The Borlee brothers were also part of the squad &ndash; along with Doom and Sacoor &ndash; that finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics behind USA, Netherlands and Botswana. Three members of that Dutch silver medal-winning team are named for Nassau: Terrence Agard, Ramsey Angela and Liemarvin Bonevacia. They also formed part of the team to claim world indoor bronze in Glasgow, while Angela and Bonevacia helped Netherlands to their World Relays win in 2021.
Trinidad and Tobago&rsquo;s 2017 world 4x400m gold medallist Jereem Richards was on the victorious World Relays squad in 2019 along with Asa Guevara, and they team up again this weekend.
As well as Olympic bronze in Tokyo, Botswana &ndash; second at the World Relays in 2017 and third in 2021 &ndash; made the past two world finals, though the team was disqualified in Budapest. In the squad this time are world 100m and 200m medallist Letsile Tebogo, who ran a world 300m best of 30.69 in February and a 400m PB of 44.29 in March, and world 400m leader Bayapo Ndori, who clocked 44.10 last month.
Other recent major medallists Jamaica, France and Great Britain &ndash; who respectively claimed 2022 world silver, 2023 world silver and 2023 world bronze &ndash; will also want to make a statement as they seek to secure their Olympic spots.&nbsp;
The Jamaican squad includes Rusheen McDonald, the 2013 world and 2016 Olympic relay silver medallist who helped his nation to finish fourth at last year&rsquo;s World Championships. The French team, with a home Olympics in their sights, features three of the four world silver medallists. Two-time world 400m medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith is among those on the British squad.
Entered for the host nation in both the men&rsquo;s and mixed 4x400m is Steven Gardiner, the Olympic and 2019 world 400m champion, and he&rsquo;ll hope to help his team improve on their two runner-up finishes in this event on home soil in 2014 and 2015.
Zambia heads to Nassau as the fastest nation in the world so far this year, having clocked a national record of 2:59.12 to win at the All-African Games in Accra in March. Botswana was second and Nigeria third in Accra, and they could all clash again in Nassau.
Canada&rsquo;s entry list includes world 800m champion Marco Arop and 19-year-old Christopher Morales Williams, who ran 44.49 for the fastest ever indoor 400m in Arkansas in February.
Also among those seeking Olympic qualification will be recent major finalists Japan, who finished second at the last World Relays, plus India, Italy and Poland.
Jess Whittington for World Athletics

The World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 offers USA’s 4x400m men the chance to maintain an unbeaten run in Nassau, but there are a number of nations ready to challenge for top spot

WRE Bahamas 24 preview: global medallists in men's 4x400m rematch

The US women&rsquo;s 4x400m squad will be hoping that a return to Nassau for the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 will be a lucky omen.
For the first three editions of this competition &ndash; all of which were held in the Bahamian capital &ndash; USA won the women&rsquo;s 4x400m. But ever since the event has moved out of the Caribbean, the women&rsquo;s 4x400m title has been won by other nations.
<div><a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-relays/bahamas24/where-to-watch" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/66341327d6042ffd2e3b73cc.jpg" alt="World Relays where watch banner small" /></a></div>
In 2021 &ndash; a year in which USA and Jamaica opted not to send a team &ndash; Cuba was the surprising victor, finishing just ahead of Poland and Great Britain &amp; Northern Ireland.
Normal order was restored soon after, with USA winning Olympic gold later that year and then winning world gold in 2022. But it&rsquo;s the Netherlands who head to Nassau as the reigning world championships indoors and out, following their victories in Budapest in 2023 and Glasgow in 2024.
Granted, their World Championships victory last year came after the USA was disqualified for a baton exchange that occurred outside the zone. But the Dutch squad triumphed again at this year&rsquo;s World Championships, beating the USA fair and square.
Femke Bol and Lieke Klaver, the world indoor 400m gold and silver medallists respectively, always pack a powerful punch for the Netherlands. Meanwhile, Alexis Holmes &ndash; who anchored the USA to mixed 4x400m victory in Budapest just moments after Bol fell &ndash; is the standout performer on the USA women&rsquo;s 4x400m team.
Jamaica is the only team to have reached the podium in this event at the past three outdoor global championships, so they cannot be overlooked. Great Britain &amp; Northern Ireland, meanwhile, have earned three global bronze medals in the past two years, so will also be keen to challenge again.
World 400m silver medallist Natalia Kaczmarek and 2018 European champion Justyna Swiety-Ersetic feature on Poland&rsquo;s team, but both have also been selected for the mixed event.
Canada has been quietly consistent in recent years, placing fourth at the past three global championships. Although they&rsquo;ve missed out on medals, they consistently outperform their pre-event form on paper.
Belgium has been creeping ever closer to a global championships podium finish, placing seventh at the Tokyo Olympics, sixth at the 2022 World Championships, fifth at the 2023 edition, and fourth at the recent World Indoor Championships.
Other teams to look out for include African Games champions Nigeria, France and India.
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics

The US women’s 4x400m squad will be hoping that a return to Nassau for the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 will be a lucky omen

WRE Bahamas 24 preview: Netherlands and USA seek more 4x400m success

Three global championships have been held since the last edition of the World Relays, and each one has produced a different winner of the men&rsquo;s 4x100m.
All three of those gold-medal-winning nations will clash at the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 in what looks set to be one of the most competitive races of the weekend.
Italy pulled off a surprised triumph at the 2021 World Relays in Silesia. At the time, it seemed as though they benefitted from a depleted field, given that the pandemic meant that relay powerhouses USA and Jamaica did not send a team.
<div><a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-relays/bahamas24/where-to-watch" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/66341327d6042ffd2e3b73cc.jpg" alt="World Relays where watch banner small" /></a></div>
But at the Olympic Games later that year, with all countries fielding their best squads, Italy proved their relay success was no fluke as they powered to victory in 37.50.
The four men who stood atop the podium on that occasion in Tokyo &ndash; Lorenzo Patta, individual Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs, Eseosa Desalu and Filippo Tortu &ndash; have been named on Italy&rsquo;s team for this year&rsquo;s World Relays.
Like any team lining up in Nassau, their main goal will be to ensure their qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where they&rsquo;ll be aiming to defend their Olympic title.
But a strong US squad also heads to Nassau highly motivated to perform well in the men&rsquo;s 4x100m.
The sprints superpower struck gold in the 4x100m at the World Championships in Budapest last year. World 100m and 200m champion Noah Lyles anchored the US to relay victory ahead of Italy in the Hungarian capital last year, but he is the only member of that victorious quartet who&rsquo;ll be in action this weekend.
The other members of the USA&rsquo;s World Relays squad are certainly no slouch, though. Olympic 200m silver medallist Kenny Bednarek, world 200m leader Courtney Lindsey and NCAA medallist Pjai Austin &ndash; all of whom have identical 100m PBs of 9.89 &ndash; add strength to the US team.
All four men who carried Canada to 4x100m victory at the 2022 World Championships &ndash; including Olympic 200m champion Andre De Grasse &ndash; will also be in action. The Olympic silver medallists will be keen to make amends after missing out on the World Championships final last year.
Jamaica has earned just one medal &ndash; 2023 world bronze &ndash; from the past three global championships, but there&rsquo;s no denying they have the speed and depth to challenge for major titles. Their squad for Nassau includes three sub-10-second sprinters, including world indoor bronze medallist Ackeem Blake, world finalist Ryiem Forde and World University Games champion Kadrian Goldson.
Great Britain &amp; Northern Ireland, who took world bronze in 2022 and finished just 0.04 shy of the podium at last year&rsquo;s World Championships, have also fielded a strong team of numerous sub-10-second performers. World bronze medallist and 2023 world leader Zharnel Hughes will be joined by the likes of Reece Prescod, Eugene Amo-Dadzie, CJ Ujah and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake.
Olympic bronze medallists China head to Nassau as the fastest nation in the world this year. Their quartet of Su Bingtian, Xie Zhenye, Wu Zhiqiang and Chen Jiapeng clocked 38.28 at the East Coast Relays last weekend, and all four of those sprinters will be in action in Nassau.
Many other teams will be hopeful of claiming a place in the final &ndash; or at least a position in the top 14 placed teams that will earn Olympic qualification.
Nigeria won the African Games title last month, while Thailand took a surprise victory at last year&rsquo;s Asian Championships. Japan placed second at the last World Relays in 2021 and finished fifth at the World Championships last year. Brazil, meanwhile, were the surprise winners at the 2019 World Relays.
South Africa, France and the Netherlands all have the potential to earn a place in the 4x100m final too.
The main goal, however, will be to simply get the baton around safely.
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics

Winners of the past three global men's 4x100m titles will clash at the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24

WRE Bahamas 24 preview: clash of global title-winning teams in men's 4x100m

There&rsquo;s so much to race for at the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 and in the women&rsquo;s 4x100m, athletes from 30 teams will be battling it out for Olympic places, prize money and bragging rights.
For all five of the events in Nassau, the top 14 teams in each will automatically qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Since the last edition of the World Athletics Relays, either the United States or Jamaica have won the three major global titles on offer, and they&rsquo;ll renew their rivalry this weekend (4-5 May).
<div><a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-relays/bahamas24/where-to-watch" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/66341327d6042ffd2e3b73cc.jpg" alt="World Relays where watch banner small" /></a></div>
Jamaica claimed the Olympic crown ahead of USA in Tokyo, before USA won world gold in Oregon and retained the title in Budapest, both times beating Jamaica.&nbsp;
In Nassau, the US team will feature four of the athletes who helped their nation to top of the podium in Budapest: individual 200m silver medallist Gabby Thomas and Tamari Davis, who both raced in the final, are joined by heat runners Tamara Clark and Melissa Jefferson. Mikiah Brisco, who formed part of a US team that ran a world-leading 41.94 in Gainesville earlier this month, and Celera Barnes add further strength to the squad.
While the Jamaican team also boasts much quality, just two of the team members from those three global finals return. Natasha Morrison and Remona Burchell both ran in the heats in Tokyo, while the consistent Morrison &ndash; also a world relay gold medallist in Beijing and Doha &ndash; led off for Jamaica in Budapest last year.
The squad is not lacking speed, however, and their teammate Alana Reid, the&nbsp;world U20 200m bronze medallist,&nbsp;set a national U20 100m record of 10.92 last year.
But in Nassau it will be far from a two-way fight. Great Britain bagged bronze in Tokyo and Budapest and the squad this time includes returning team members Asha Philip, Imani Lansiquot, Bianca Williams and Annie Tagoe. Lansiquot has already run 11.02 &ndash; just 0.03 off her PB &ndash; this season.
The other medallist from those three major finals is Germany, the 2017 World Relays winner. Two of the four 2022 bronze medal-winning team members are in Nassau: Rebekka Haase and Gina Luckenkemper.
Italy won at the last edition of the World Relays in Silesia in 2021, and two members of that team &ndash; Anna Bongiorni and Irene Siragusa &ndash; return to defend the title.
Other teams who will be pushing for the podium as well as Olympic places will be Poland, featuring world indoor 60m silver medallist Ewa Swoboda, and Cote d'Ivoire, with multiple major medallist Marie-Josee Ta Lou, plus their fellow 2023 world finalists Netherlands and Switzerland.
France, with Gemima Joseph who recently ran a 100m PB of 11.04, will want to secure that spot for the home Olympics.
The Canadian squad stars the new national record-holder Audrey Leduc, who ran 10.96 just over a week ago, while the Australian team includes Torrie Lewis, the 19-year-old who won the 200m at the Diamond League meeting in Xiamen, alongside her fellow area record-setting teammates Bree Masters, Ella Connolly and Ebony Lane.
The host nation&rsquo;s squad features 60m hurdles world champion and world record-holder Devynne Charlton and Charisma Taylor, who finished sixth in the 60m hurdles and the triple jump on the same day at the World Indoor Championships.
Ecuador's 4x100m women made history in Silesia as they achieved their nation&rsquo;s first ever Olympic relay spot by finishing fifth at the World Relays. Three years on, Angela Gabriela Tenorio and Gabriela Anahi Suarez are back, hoping to help their nation now secure a place for Paris.
Like Cote d'Ivoire, teams from Austria, Estonia, Hungary and Liberia are competing at the World Athletics Relays for the first time.
Jess Whittington for World Athletics

There’s so much to race for at the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 and in the women’s 4x100m, athletes from 30 teams will be battling it out for Olympic places, prize money and bragging rights

WRE Bahamas 24 preview: rivalries renewed in women's 4x100m

In a Nassau church 24 years ago, Charisma Taylor&rsquo;s mother heard a sermon on charisma, which the pastor described as the &ldquo;giftings of the spirit&rdquo;.
The sermon struck a chord, and a few months later, a baby girl was named after it. From day one, Charisma was graced with the name of a star, her mama&rsquo;s winning smile, and a loving family. Only time would tell how this movie played out.&nbsp;
Flash forward to 2024: Taylor has embodied her birth name, proving her gifts of the spirit and dazzling onlookers as she qualified for the Paris Olympics in the hurdles. Moreover, she may do it again as part of the Bahamian 4x100m team at the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 on 4-5 May. Taylor is a key player in a team of dynamos including Devynne Charlton, who is another Olympic Games hurdles contender.
&ldquo;We are a fast group of women, and we&rsquo;ve done a lot together to build camaraderie,&rdquo; says Taylor, who not only finished sixth in the 60m hurdles final at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow in March, but also finished sixth in the triple jump final on the same day.
This will be her first World Athletics Relays, and she is very excited to be in her native country in front of a home crowd. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m blessed to be able to call The Bahamas home,&rdquo; she adds. &ldquo;My family is also very important to me, so I look forward to seeing them when I&rsquo;m there.&rdquo;
<h2>The countdown to Paris&nbsp;</h2>
The noun &lsquo;charisma&rsquo; denotes extraordinary personal power or charm. Like an Olympic gold medal, everybody wants charisma, and yet few people have what it takes to get it. But when you dig a little deeper into the power behind Charisma Taylor, you&rsquo;ll find that her success comes not from her unique name, luck, or god&rsquo;s grace, but instead a lot of grit and determination.&nbsp;
Taylor&rsquo;s countdown to Paris began when she was just seven years old and she had her first foray into track and field. She grew up in Nassau with three brothers who would help fuel her competitive streak. The next 17 years would be a hamster wheel of rigorous training, sacrifices and a commitment to continually improve her body and mind.&nbsp;
To this day, she maintains strict daily habits to make sure her body performs at its peak. &ldquo;For diet, I make sure to get protein in like eggs or peanut butter. Greek yogurt and granola,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;For dinner, I&rsquo;ll cook some rice and chicken. Also, I try not to go to bed too late as it disrupts my training sessions.&rdquo;
However, there were some bleak days for Taylor when the end goal was foggy, and the biggest challenge in her running career so far has been the transition to becoming a professional athlete. &ldquo;Running in college is different to running as a professional,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;In college, you have people looking out for you like massage therapists. In the professional world, you are on your own. You must pay for everything. It&rsquo;s demanding. And it can be very disorientating if you&rsquo;re injured.&rdquo;
Taylor isn&rsquo;t sponsored by a big brand yet, so racing at this elite level is a big sacrifice for her both personally and financially. She trains four to five hours per day, every day except weekends, and while the Bahamian government helps her with rent, she still needs a part-time job to make ends meet.
One thing that helps her maintain some work-life balance is her fluffy three-year-old mini poodle named Tommy Bahama. She also found a new hobby in fishing, which is popular near where she lives. &ldquo;I can go out and fish for hours. It&rsquo;s a great way to clear my mind and detach from everything else.&rdquo;
<h2>Bring on the Light</h2>
This summer won&rsquo;t be her first visit to the City of Light. Her favorite competition so far was in Paris in February for an indoor track meeting. &ldquo;What got me was the crowd &ndash; how supportive they were,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;I was walking back to the hotel and everyone in the street came up to me congratulating and smiling.&rdquo;
France offers Taylor far more than just a shot at Olympic glory. After competitive sports, she sees a future for herself as a pastry chef. &ldquo;I want to go to culinary school, hopefully in France, because they have a fantastic culinary programme and I want to come back to The Bahamas to open my own bakery or many bakeries,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;I really want my dream to come true and I&rsquo;m saving up my money!&rdquo; She already runs a bakery side hustle called The Pastry Chateau. For that, she has an Instagram account of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thepastrychateau" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@thepastrychateau</a>, on top of her account as an athlete that has almost 5000 followers.&nbsp;
Taylor obtained her master&rsquo;s in business administration from the University of Tennessee in May 2023 and, prior to that, she received her bachelor&rsquo;s in hospitality management from Washington State. Thanks to her athletic prowess, she received a full scholarship for both her undergrad and MBA. With two degrees, a can-do mentality and more than a little discipline, Taylor has plenty of options to find success in more traditional vocations. But she has put all that on hold to pursue her passion for sport and make her country proud.&nbsp;
Taylor moved to Tallahassee in Florida in July 2023, primarily to benefit from the wisdom of coach Leevan Sands, an Olympic medallist who coaches at Florida State. &ldquo;He has been a role model for me since I was in high school, and everything has come full circle now,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;For him to coach me is a blessing.&rdquo;
Another one of her role models has been her teammate, Charlton. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen her progress from high school to college and beyond. She overcame many challenges to become a world record-holder and yet, she&rsquo;s so humble,&rdquo; she says.
Taylor has now become a role model herself, showing that a bit of charisma &ndash; or rather, her strong work ethic &ndash; will get you everywhere: a spot at the Olympics, multiple degrees, and an allure that people naturally want to follow.
Her advice to young up-and-coming Bahamian athletes chasing their Olympic dreams is to never get despondent. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t let current circumstances dictate thoughts about the future,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;We have seasons for a reason. The bad ones will come to an end. Keep pushing towards your goals and don&rsquo;t let anything get in the way.&rdquo;&nbsp;

Charisma Taylor is getting ready to race at the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24

For Taylor, a bit of Charisma will get you everywhere

Multiple global gold medallists &ndash; including Noah Lyles, Femke Bol and Bahamian stars Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Steven Gardiner and Devynne Charlton &ndash; will be among the athletes in action at the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 on 4-5 May.
The competition holds extra significance, as it is the main qualifying event for relay events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Competition takes place at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium in Nassau.
The programme features five relay events:
Women&rsquo;s 4x100m and 4x400m Men&rsquo;s 4x100m and 4x400m Mixed 4x400m
One team per nation can compete in each event and a maximum of eight athletes can be entered for each team. Among those entered, any four athletes may then be used in the composition of each relay team apart from in the mixed 4x400m, where a maximum of six athletes (three men and three women) may be entered with a single substitution allowed after the first round.
<h2>Prize money</h2>
The top eight teams in each event will be awarded the following prize money:
Team 1st US$40,000 2nd US$20,000 3rd US$10,000 4th US$8000 5th US$6000 6th US$4000 7th US$3000 8th US$2000
If a team breaks a world record, a prize of US$50,000 will be awarded, subject to record ratification.
<h2>Olympic qualification</h2>
The top 14 teams in each event at the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 will automatically qualify for places at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The remaining two places in each discipline will be awarded based on top lists during the qualification period (31 December 2022 to 30 June 2024).
Olympic places are up for grabs on both days of action in The Bahamas. On the first day, the top two teams in each heat will advance to the final on day two, while also securing their qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
In the finals on day two, teams will compete for prize money and obtain Olympic lane seeding positions.
All other teams will compete on day two in the additional round where the top two teams in each heat will also qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Entry lists for the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 were published last week and are available <a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-relays/bahamas24/news/press-releases/entry-lists-world-athletics-relays-bahamas-24" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
The Facts and Figures document for the event, edited by Mark Butler, has also been published and is available <a href="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/662fcf028537ec8e9856255b.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Multiple global gold medallists – including Noah Lyles, Femke Bol and Bahamian stars Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Steven Gardiner and Devynne Charlton – will be among the athletes in action at the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 on 4-5 May

Key info for World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24

Entry lists for the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 confirm that 893 athletes from 54 countries will descend on Nassau for the global event on 4-5 May.
<a href="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/662655e2724a353830a20cb2.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Entries by event and country</a> <a href="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/662655fa724a353830a20cb5.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Entries by country and event</a>
A total of 32 teams are entered for the men&rsquo;s 4x100m and 30 are entered for the women&rsquo;s 4x100m. There&rsquo;ll also be 32 teams for the men&rsquo;s 4x400m, 27 for the women&rsquo;s 4x400m and 30 in the mixed 4x400m.
Noah Lyles, who anchored the USA to victory at last year&rsquo;s World Championships, features on his country&rsquo;s squad in the 4x100m alongside world 200m leader Courtney Lindsey and Olympic silver medallist Kenny Bednarek.
Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs, who featured on Italy&rsquo;s victorious teams at the Tokyo Olympic Games and at the last World Relays earlier in 2021, is also entered for the 4x100m.
In the women&rsquo;s 4x100m, four of the six women who featured on USA&rsquo;s triumphant squad at last year&rsquo;s World Championships &ndash; including world 200m silver medallist Gabby Thomas &ndash; have been named for the World Relays.
Jamaica and Great Britain &amp; Northern Ireland &ndash; who joined USA on the podium at the last World Championships and Olympic Games &ndash; have also fielded strong teams for the women&rsquo;s 4x100m.
The same is true of the women&rsquo;s 4x400m, but the Netherlands &ndash; who struck gold in Budapest last year and at the World Indoor Championships last month &ndash; will have the star power of Femke Bol in their squad.
The men&rsquo;s 4x400m could be one of the most open races of the entire event. World and Olympic champions USA have a strong team, but Olympic 400m champion Steven Gardiner will represent the host nation&rsquo;s team. Belgium, featuring world indoor champion Alexander Doom, will be coming off the back of their victory at the World Indoor Championships, while the likes of France, Netherlands, Botswana and Great Britain could also contend for victory.
The mixed 4x400m is also expected to be highly competitive. Gardiner and his fellow Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo feature on the host nation squad, but world record-holders USA and Olympic champions Poland both have formidable teams, as do the Netherlands, Olympic silver medallists Dominican Republic and world silver medallists Great Britain.
Olympic qualifying places will be up for grabs on both days of action in The Bahamas. On the first day, the top two teams in each heat will advance to the final on day two, while also securing their qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. In the finals on day two, teams will compete for prize money and obtain Olympic lane seeding positions.
All other teams will compete on day two in the additional round where the top two teams in each heat will also qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Start lists will be published on Friday 3 May, while team line-ups will be confirmed nearer to the time of each race.
World Athletics

893 athletes from 54 countries will descend on Nassau from 4-5 May

Entry lists for World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 published

USA Track &amp; Field has announced a team of 28 for the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 on 4-5 May.&nbsp;
Four women who helped USA to gold in the 4x100m at the World Championships in Budapest last year will lead the sprint relay quartet. Finalists Gabby Thomas and Tamari Davis will be joined by Tamara Clark and Melissa Jefferson, who ran in the heats in Budapest.
Triple world champion Noah Lyles anchored USA to the men's 4x100m title in Budapest and tops the men's team. Lyles, who won 100m and 200m titles before getting relay gold, will be joined by Olympic 200m silver medallist Kenny Bednarek and Courtney Lindsey.
Mixed 4x400m world champions Alexis Holmes, Matthew Boling and Ryan Willie are joined in the longer relay pool by Bryce Deadmon, Chris Bailey and Champion Allison.
Quanera Hayes has a gold and two silver medals from indoor and outdoor World Championships 4x400m competition, while Lynna Irby-Jackson and Kendall Ellis were top of the podium at the Tokyo Games after running in the heats.
USATF for World Athletics 
<h3>USA team for Bahamas</h3>
Women 4x100m: Celera Barnes, Mikiah Brisco, Tamara Clark, Tamari Davis, Melissa Jefferson, Gabby Thomas 4x400m: Kendall Ellis, Quanera Hayes, Alexis Holmes, Paris Peoples, Na&rsquo;Asha Robinson, Jessica Wright
Men 4x100m: Pjai Austin, Kenny Bednarek, Kyree King, Courtney Lindsey, Noah Lyles, Kendal Williams 4x400m: Champion Allison, Christopher Bailey, Bryce Deadmon, Jacory Patterson, Demarius Smith, Willington Wright
Mixed 4x400m: Matthew Boling, Lynna Irby-Jackson, Bailey Lear, Ryan Willie

USA Track & Field has announced a team of 28 for the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 on 4-5 May

Lyles and Thomas among global champions on USA team for WRE Bahamas 24

When astronauts are asked what the most beautiful place on earth is as seen from space, they often pinpoint The Exumas thanks to the mesmerising turquoise shades that envelope them. With more sea turtles and superyachts than people, it&rsquo;s best known for its captivating waters.&nbsp;
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/bahamas/samson-colebrooke-14654424" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Samson Colebrooke</a> grew up here, training in a place called the &ldquo;Onion Bowl&rdquo; in Moss Town, Great Exuma. The name comes from the fertile soil in Exuma, which is great for producing onions.&nbsp;
Remarkably, Colebrooke found the tools and space in his remote, oceanic home to become a top sprinter. After all, he only needed 100 meters &ndash; his specialty &ndash; a distance in which he clocked his personal best of 10.01 back in July 2019.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Today, the 26-year-old is thrilled to be part of the men&rsquo;s 4x100m squad at the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24, taking place on 4-5 May. His main goal for the event is to make it to the finals and advance to the Olympics.
If he qualifies, Paris would be his second Olympics. He finished seventh in his heat at the Tokyo Olympic Games in the 100m with a time of 10.33. At the 2022 World Athletics Championships, he ran the same distance in 10.23, finishing fifth in his heat.&nbsp;
<h2>From paradise to Purdue</h2>
Asked what he loves most about The Bahamas, he exclaims: &ldquo;Everything! When it comes to training, the weather is great. Plus, friends and family. Coming back to The Bahamas relieves a lot of stress.&rdquo;&nbsp;
He holds deep appreciation for the flora and fauna, and his favourite way to relax is much the same as a tourist would &ndash; by going to the beach, listening to the sound of waves, and feeling the warm breeze on his skin. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s why I love Exuma so much,&rdquo; he says.
As a child, Colebrooke was very active. &ldquo;I used to run around a lot. I loved to dance,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I spent my days on the beach in Exuma or catching crabs at night, hiking.&rdquo;&nbsp;
He remained in Exuma until grade 11, when his track and field talent brought him to Nassau. The move paid off &ndash; he received an athletics scholarship to Purdue University, one of the top 10 public universities in the United States.
&ldquo;Ever since I first stepped into Purdue, it was all about love,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I met some of the best professors. They helped push me both mentally and physically.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Although he had a very positive experience there, living on a sprawling campus and the Midwestern weather was a culture shock. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re going from a small island like Nassau to Purdue with over 10,000 students,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;And the cold was a shock. You can&rsquo;t be outside for more than a minute. But I was able to muscle it.&rdquo;
He's had to train in extreme weather, but the biggest challenge he&rsquo;s encountered during his running career so far was finding the right support. &ldquo;The financial and emotional support necessary to race is huge,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Family tries to help where they can, but it was mostly government assistance that kept me going.&rdquo;
<h2>Forging a sunnier future</h2>
Colebrooke graduated from Purdue in 2021 with a bachelor&rsquo;s in criminology and a minor in religious studies. As a result, he has taken interest in sociology and criminal justice issues at home in Nassau, which are topical right now. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m drawn towards understanding why kids become delinquent,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re acting up because of the environment they grew up in. Being in the streets is the only time they have peace. How can you fix it if they don&rsquo;t feel wanted or welcome in their own home? Peer pressure is a powerful thing. I think the solution comes from strengthening the family and our social fabric. Creating an environment where families listen to their kids. All that anger and pain must be released somehow.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Part of the solution also might involve sports. Ever since Colebrooke moved back to Nassau last fall, he&rsquo;s proven himself a natural leader and strong role model for the next generation. His daily routine involves training every morning with his coach Demetrius Cash and then coaching young athletes in the afternoons. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t see myself leaving The Bahamas because the coaching is what&rsquo;s keeping me in the game. It&rsquo;s inspiring being around the kids that I&rsquo;m coaching and being there as a role model. The kids keep me going.&rdquo;&nbsp;
After his competitive sports career, Colebrooke plans to coach track full-time. &ldquo;I have a passion for it. I want to dive into the art of sprinting, distance running&hellip; everything to do with track. I&rsquo;d like to start a programme coaching elite athletes or coaching at a D1 school.&rdquo;
His advice for young up-and-coming Bahamian athletes chasing their Olympic dreams is to aim high. &ldquo;I know what it&rsquo;s like to be in their shoes being on an island trying to make it and move up the food chain,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;No matter where you came from, no matter what your environment is, you can always strive for the best.&rdquo;

The Bahamian sprinter is thrilled to be part of the men’s 4x100m squad at the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24, where his main goal is to make it to the finals and advance to the Olympics

Samson Colebrooke, racing for a brighter future

World Athletics Relays

<h2>World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24</h2>
&nbsp;

The Bahamas is proud to host the World Athletics Relays at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium in Nassau on 4-5 May 2024.
&nbsp;
This event is the crucial Olympic qualifying event for the world&rsquo;s top-performing athletes from more than 40 countries. We invite you to follow these athletes on their sensational journeys from tropical paradise to the Olympic Games Paris 2024. It&rsquo;s time to Chase the Sun&nbsp;&ndash; in every sense of the word&nbsp;&ndash; from Paradise to Paris.

First 40 relay teams qualified for Paris 2024

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

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

World Athletics Inside Track Podcast back in The Bahamas

Charlton donates world record singlet and bib to Museum of World Athletics