Great Britain, the USA, and France each qualified four teams for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after the events contested on Day 1 at the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 in Nassau, Bahamas, on Saturday night.
The United States would have qualified all five teams for Paris if not for a disqualification in the men’s 4x400m. The top two teams from each of the four qualifying round one heats secured spots for their respective World Relays finals on Sunday, in addition to reserving their places at the Games.
USA qualified teams in the men’s and women’s 4x100m, the women’s 4x400m, and mixed 4x400m events. Three other nations—Canada, Italy, and Poland—qualified three teams each for Paris, following the opening day of competition on Saturday.
Read more: World Champion U.S. cruises into women’s 4x100m final at World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24
The action continues on Sunday at the Thomas A. Robinson Stadium with teams competing for prize money and Olympic spots. The top two nations from each of the heats in the five disciplines contested on Sunday will battle for top dollars and seeding positions for the Olympics.
Meanwhile, the rest of the teams will race in an additional round where the top two countries in each of the three heats will also qualify for Paris 2024.
Most of the countries fielded strong teams on the opening day of competition to guarantee their spots in Paris, while a selected group of nations held back some of their top names in reserve.
Notably, Jamaica, which missed out on qualifying teams in both the women’s 4x100m and 4x400m, was without several of its top athletes, including Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shericka Jackson, and Briana Williams.
Teams qualified for Paris
Women’s 4x100m
Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain & NI, Netherlands, Poland, United States
Men’s 4x100m
Canada, China, France, Great Britain & NI, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, United States
Women’s 4x400m
Canada, France, Great Britain & NI, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, United States
Men’s 4x400m
Belgium, Botswana, Germany, Great Britain & NI, Italy, Japan, Nigeria, South Africa
Mixed 4x400m
Belgium, Dominican Republic, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, United States
