World Athletics Relays Silesia 2021 | Day 1

[Music] [Music] major international athletics on a truly glorious outdoor stage is finally back at the start of this olympic summer how we've waited for this day welcome to the world relay silesia 2021 [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] well this is a region that is proud of its tourism but it's also a center of industry and fiercely proud of its cultural history too fabulous countryside lakes rivers mountains all blend together to create a true gem right in the center of europe we're in southern poland just outside katowice the capital of the silesian region and the sports facilities here well this is the real cro gem in the crown i suppose the celestia stadium is legion stadium over two days now we're going to see fabulous relay action at the fifth edition of this world athletics relays meeting and the athletes arriving over the last couple of hours myself tim hutchings with you and jenny meadows beside me now and jenny jenny the athletes are desperate for this to get underway after a difficult winter they are but you can see how excited that they all are they've actually got their opportunity here we can see the botswanans they've come to enjoy themselves here not only trying to qualify for that olympic games and of course places up for grabs as well at the world champs in oregon next year but uh yeah they can't wait to get the action underway well of course it's been such a difficult year with the pandemic dominating so much activity all cultures including sports affected throughout the world and there have been some nations who have been unable to travel but the quality of the 31 nations that are here is still supreme and of course relay racing is quite a different art to individual racing and many of the nations that are here a real specialist in getting that batten smoothly around the track from one athlete to the next [Music] well let's take a look at the uh timetable on this first of the two days as you can see we get underway in just a few minutes time with the women's four by 400 meters heats three heats for them as there are for each of those disciplines you can see with heats involved there are two finals that mixed two by two by 400 meters only the second edition of that particular discipline and the mixed shuttle hurdles relay final brings the session to a close that would be a real humdinger it's a fast and furious [Music] well the athletes are heading out onto the track then let out as you can see by belgium with his first of three heats switzerland behind them and spain italy in the blue and the poland the host nation and my word how well do they carry the baton again and again their lead off runner is just 17 years old they make sure they get plenty of experience early on and this meeting is to some degree one that bloods athletes early gives them great experience in a big stadium real pressure and all the procedures of coming into a championships like this is what they have to go through too which is a great learning experience for so many of them plenty of experience here as well though jenny and this polish squad is strong the polish squad is always strong in every event but particularly this women's four by 400 meters the amount of titles and medals they've won over the last few years is absolutely incredible of course they've already qualified for their tokyo olympics later in the summer but i'm sure as hosts of this championship they want to put on a great performance here one thing i must remind you and i might do again a couple of times over the next two days these are not a championships there are no champions winning here there are no defending champions and there are no medals awarded what do you have is previous winners and the winners two years ago in yokohama were indeed poland a bit of a surprise that ahead of the usa and italy but belgium go in lane three here they're not using the first the two inside lanes to uh give the athletes the gentler benz but belgium in three switzerland in four spain in five then italy in six poland on the outside in seven there you can see cynthia bolingo a very experienced belgian lead-off athlete 28 years old european indoor silver medalist but 400 meters a couple of years ago there's a best of 51.69 outdoors she'll be passing over to vervet caulkite and laos your athlete for switzerland is silke lemons gallagher for spain lucudo for italy lucivitz for poland on the outside in lane seven well we had glorious weather here yesterday it was about 17 18 degrees and lovely sunshine over the city but today has been gray and cloudy and uh spits of rain here and there since we uh got up this morning but the stadium is a complete bowl it really is a glorious arena a capacity of 55 000 when it's full it's obviously used for football as well and it is in fact the national stadium even though we're uh a couple hundred kilometers and more from warsaw it's a nine lane track you may have noticed just in case that is over a format that's needed but in this first heat five teams the first two go through by right to tomorrow's final with the next two fastest non-automatic qualifiers in effect going through as well a lot to run for of course uh many of these teams have got their places booked in tokyo already by dinner finishing in the top eight or making the final i should say at the world championships two years ago in doha but uh this is a major opportunity for teams who didn't make that final in qatar to grab a place so teams in this one who have made the olympic games already belgium and poland unsurprisingly balingo with the inside line from lane three we'll get a good view of her opponents on his first leg so poland's lead off athlete then out in lane seven the outside lane effectively as i said just 17 years old she ran the third leg for their quartet that won the european indoor title just a few weeks ago here in poland in toronto in the four by 400 meters bronze medalist back in 2019 and european indoor 4x4 has a best of uh 52.38 although she hasn't run a relay split just outside 51 gallagher just 20 years old all smiles no which is a good 400 meter hurdle of 56.9 400 meter hurdler hasn't run a great deal quicker for 400 on the flat silke lemons 21 year old lead off athlete for switzerland 53.1 is her fastest ever time outdoors that was last year she's the swiss indoor champion though this last indoor season and cynthia balingo as we've seen already good athlete three years ago around 51.69 we'll pass over to vert cacao and laos and there is a distinct advantage in a lane event like this to having those outside you over the uh barriers if you wanted me to hurdles you're too focused on getting that stride pattern right and the barriers themselves to pay too much attention of what's going on around you but in the flat races well of course you can certainly gauge your effort by those around you and if you're in lane three four in a race like this that's just about the perfect draw to uh judge your effort according to your opponents but you still want to get the optimal optimum time out of your legs in a relay well poland's lisa bits on the outside there to write a picture in the red shorts in lane seven running blind in effect but that doesn't matter they are very very competent uh carriers of the baton and one lap races generally and she's easing away here now certainly looks to me like lisa bits of poland's left a picture is building a lead although going well with switzerland's lemons she has moved right up into the shoulder of gallagher of spain there and uh five is gallagher to the right of picture is balingo of belgium she's a judge this world two looking strong as the stagger unwinds in her favor but certainly lucifer is here at just 17. what a raw talent she is building up a big lead for the polls don't think of horse of course the stagger doesn't unwind until they get into the back straight so there was a third bend to unwind just yet but poland certainly handing over in the lead jenny yeah that was a great lead leg um for the polish athlete and poland has started well haven't they and we can see belgium there in lane three actually look like they're gonna take the break in the lead which is a little bit of surprise but maybe we shouldn't have expected too much because balingo is the european indoor silver medalist but this is a polish athlete who's really experienced here she's actually got the lead now and uh interesting to see the polish are really mixing this relay team up they've got abundance of riches reeling they could almost put you know four of maybe 10 athletes onto this leg but uh yeah stretching away now as we come to the end of the second leg yes for poland leading she's the european champion and has a four or five meter lead and it's stretching away from poland from belgium now remember only two teams go through buy right from this in the moment poland and belgium well clear of italy in third and then switzerland in fourth in spain bringing up the rear at the moment yes third leg athlete here for belgium is pauline kaukait and breathing down the neck of the polar king lovely smooth looking athlete to the left of picture there isn't she but she has to gauge her effort in relays it's always so much nicer to be a meter behind somebody on their shoulder with that button in hand and be able to attack them you've got a target so to speak itali italy having a good run here through nadelli on this third leg they come into the straight there's been a fabulous leg from belgium's cow kite onto the shoulder of gachka of poland now down the home straight and challenging the polls and the italians still closing slightly yeah we didn't expect this did we this is going to be run all the way to the wire and of course you've already mentioned it to him some of these women will be running for final spots as well the final of course tomorrow so they'll be trying to register as fast a time as possible they'll want to make sure that they're in that straightforward this time tomorrow into the back straight then still poland in command this is natalia kuzmarek uh belgians camila laos in second place focused on that white vest of the host nation the gap back to italy has grown a little it's about 15 meters now to the italian anchor leg runner follow lonzo she's very experienced follow runs up i'm sure that is a gap that she won't be able to close the time absolutely critical so she must run hard in that blue strip of italy as down the home straight poland they're again challenged by the belgians laos here easing onto the shoulder of cats marek is she going to get there i don't think so cats stay strong holds perform well and takes the win by a meter there 328.10 from belgium the hosts win with italy in third and switz from there just out dipping spain i think they had their own private little battle quite a few meters back but belgium booked their place in the final hence the smiles she might smile because that from camila laos was a superb final leg she almost had the audacity there to catch cosmetic of poland [Music] are the champions from two years ago or the winners from two years ago i should say [Music] one of the mascots there one of the four mascots that uh represent solution zoo the giraffe but here we are this is just the final stretch now and lois is really going for it isn't it you can see the concentration the determination on her face she was hoping to take the win for automatic qualification for both teams there here's the first changeover not quite as delicate a procedure needing the precision there's four by 100 meter relay running but nonetheless every centimeter counts here's the second changeover between poland's hullab overlook and gadga look at that roar from hollow overlook right up alongside her that was a fabulous leg from belgium's third leg runner fouling caulkite that was an insurmountable lead for the italian anchor leg runner ayomide follow but the poles were they are majestic 400 meter runners they never look overly strained when they're under pressure they hold their form so well jenny yeah i'm sure she did feel under pressure you know there's a lot of pressure coming into this event i think especially for the polish women you know they want to obviously win on our home territory but uh the polish um were incredible but the belgiums they really impressed me and i'm looking forward to seeing how they'll shape up in the final tomorrow well let's confirm that result for your season's best of course for poland with 328.11 only half a second or so ahead of belgium though the italians in third place will have to wait and see if that 3304 is good enough to get them through to tomorrow's final so that the first of three heats and uh the athlete's already coming out full of his enthusiasm for the second of these three heats france kenya cuba the netherlands will be next out and the french well on their day they are superb carries of the button their uh ankle leg runner is floria gay 30 years old now but do you remember can you cast your mind back to the european championships in zurich in 2014 where gay went from fifth to first in the four by 400 meters relay on the final leg and she ran an astonishing 49-7 split to take gold for her nation the netherlands though well always very very strong indeed and what a quartet they've got nizan davita and fem cabal bowl there to left a picture yeah world number one at 400 meter hurdles last year in only her second year at the vent the event but she is european indoor champion of course from uh nearby toronto here in poland just a few weeks ago and she took double gold as well as her nation won the four by 400 meters relay i mean that possibly is the favorite team come tomorrow's final jenny that dutch squad yeah um just looking as the women that they've chosen the heats as well there is other women to come into that which will be interesting obviously we're looking forward to watching the mix 4x4 as well so some of the athletes that we think might feature tomorrow in the women's standalone 4x4 are going in that event and this is the lineup here in lane three we've got france in lane four kenya in lane five cuba and in well i'm going to say the outside lane the outside of nine lanes is uh the netherlands netherlands of course have already qualified for tokyo olympics yes kenya i always feel are a sleeping giant in the sprint certainly over one lap but the relatively poor facilities and coaching opportunities in kenya not yet up to the levels of midland long distance running clearly cuba well ahead to varya 25 year old who is herself better known as a 400 hurdler will carry the baton out of the blocks she's run 55 seconds exactly for 400 meter hurdles her uh flat best 52.4 but that was from just a few weeks ago the netherlands lead of athlete is ava hovenkamp only sixth in the dutch indoors and that does to some degree underline the strength and depth the dutch have got she ran 52 83 back in 2017 that is her best i wonder if she's been inspired to come back and run quicker by the strength of her teammates the tender age of 21 must already be a real heroine to so many dutch youngsters france remember going three kenyan four cuba five netherlands in six the cubans well hechovaria will hand over to almanza then vaitya and gomez will be the anchor leg runner amandine brosier for france goes on the first left they're on the inside in lane three world student games uh bronze medalist a couple of years back she has run 5177 that was in 2019 and actually this indoor season she's gone pretty well 52-1 indoors this winter abrahavan camden being introduced to the stadium procedures are unchanged despite the absence of any crowd because of the pandemic surya hechovaria cuba carried the batman out for them vladis mojoki the 26 year old semi-finalist at the commonwealth games back in 2018 he'll be the lead of athlete for kenya actually quite a good long jumper she's jumped 617 in the long jump and then amanda [Music] bit of a secret weapon florida guy if she's a had a good winter on that final leg just four teams then in this second heat remember the first two go through by right to tomorrow evening's final long long hold that from the starter but they get underway remember the teams who have qualified already from the 30 poland and belgium who will join them italy's time 3 30 0 4 in third place [Music] telly what the cuban almanza has gone off incredibly quickly echevarria rather has gone off incredibly quickly and has already passed hoban camp who is leaving her compatriots with a little work to do maybe this was expected from the dutch and hence the strong runners on the second and third legs remember they got lizan zana devitta on the third leg and female on the fourth leg but this is a fabulous opening leg from zurian of cuba beginning to struggle a little bit in the closing meetings there as she hands over 12 months up but the cubans head off with a comfortable lead on this second leg with uh in third place at the moment behind the netherlands kenya has got a commanding lead there hasn't she an 800 meter specialist she actually got a personal best dating back to 2015 of 157.70 which is sheer world class and we can just see she looked up there we've got a screen just around about 150 meters to go so the athletes can just have a little glance see where the teams are behind her what i can tell her they're around about 10 to 15 meters cuba have got such a commanding lead at this point france of course now coming into second place again surprising to overtake the netherlands team lacoste the french champion from last year running almanza down now yes i'll manage that just being run down she held a form pretty well but uh lacoste ran a fabulous second leg there for france and uh for france on this one grave or shana grabo is chasing liz lady vaitya of cuba still out in front the netherlands well they've got a bit of work to do at the moment that's about a 15 meter gap back in third place up to france in second who are being uh chasing hard and cuba being caught here i think cuba's liz nady vatia with 200 to run as grebo virtually breathing down her neck yeah rainbow here the 400 meter hurdle specialist we know hurdle specialists are always going to come home strong and it actually looks like the cuban athlete has just saved a little bit really sensible run here to make sure she comes home fresh and i'm just watching here leanne dis dewitt really chasing down the french athlete he's really holding on and won't wait to be able to hand that baton over really good running their finishing strength from vater of cuba to give them a good lead going into this final leg now what can the secret weapon of femca ball and the netherlands do here i say secret weapon not very secret but she's got a 15 meter gap to make up france in third place with florida gay on this final leg can she latch onto the coattails of fen cabal in that orange of the netherlands looking very smooth indeed paul i know she knows she's only going to get into the first two to make it into the final maybe trying to keep a little bit of powder dry here for something special tomorrow as cuba coming to the straight 100 to run is she going to hang on here though roxanna gomez for cuba closing with every stride is fem cabal the 21 year old former judo player and uh i don't think she's going to have enough trash going to run out of tracks catch q but it is cuba and the netherlands france back in third place about 20 meters back the winning time 3 27 92 and that is uh about three tenths of a second quicker than poland in the first heat [Music] that's a very impressive performance from that cuban quartet my word did vatia run well to hold that lead and give gomez a real fighting chance and in fact jenny i think possibly ball realized there was such a big gap up to the the leader when she took the bat on that final leg it really wasn't worth trying to bust a gut to get back to her so to speak what i am finding more impressive is that these women can still dance and celebrate after bringing a 400 meters each and they compose as well which is great um really great performance from them and we should have expected it you know if you actually look at the individual athletes they've got great personal best they've obviously never put it together as a squad before but i think you're right tim um the way femke ball runs she's very relaxed and she's quite deceptive she doesn't look like she's actually traveling that quickly um it's just a long floating stride but looking at her face the last 50 meters i think she knew that she'd done enough and she's gonna be busy here this weekend and she may well run in the mix four by four as well um and especially the final of this event which the netherlands would fancy themselves as maybe taking the victory going all the way to line with the polish but the cubans they've uh thrown that into the mix haven't they they have indeed yes fem cabal well she looks relaxed at that speed because she is six foot tall one meter 83 let's confirm that result for you and it was indeed cuba who just kept the netherlands at bay in this qualifying race at least so they go through by right those first two teams cooper in the netherlands france with 330 46 are a little bit slower than italy who were third in the first heat but they are quicker than uh switzerland who were fourth so switzerland definitely will not make it through to the final can you bring up the rear with 339.34 there [Music] let's have a look at the athletes uh in this third and final heat of this opening discipline the women's four by four and media's relay japan coming up first kobayashi will be their lead of athlete botswana behind them then great britain and northern ireland very experienced squad that for the british chile's quartet lead out the final team out germany with nadine they're a lead off athlete we'll be glad to get out on the track and have a stride out these athletes the warm-up track is just outside the stadium of course over the back straight and the athletes all got to feel this track yesterday there was a real pack of them through the middle of the day yesterday practicing their uh batten exchanges more than anything else of course that can be the uh achilles heel so many squads jenny yes it can and i think this is great opportunity as well for all the athletes to come together as a team because there's nothing that you ever really do in the sport as a team so to have a whole competition just focus on the relays i think they'll all have really enjoyed it and you know the feedback that we've had over the years is everyone wants to be at this event you know jenny when i was when i was racing about 100 years ago i used to feel so much more relaxed in cross-country and road racing than track racing did you feel that same contrast between running an individual 400 and 800 and running with a batten in your hand is it a little bit less formal less pressure i would enjoy it more definitely being part of a team but actually i maybe it's my characteristics i wouldn't want to let anyone down so i used to get a little bit more nervous if anything but uh i was such a better 4 by 400 meter runner than individual 400 runner so yeah maybe i should have carried a button all the time i think some people undergo a massive change don't almost a schizophrenic change when they get a baton in their hands they're different animals there were many great athletes back in my day who were so much better so much more competitive and able with a bath in their hands than running individually i think it's just the adrenaline you know sometimes you you see your teammates go off and your heart rate gets elevated and you just don't want to let the side down and i'm sure all these athletes here this weekend will feel the same but um i love seeing those opening images of everyone just enjoying it it's a celebration event and uh yes of course there's qualification places up for grabs as well but uh yeah just such a great atmosphere to be part of and a little bit jealous that it didn't happen when i was an athlete i was always envious of uh the relay runners at championships as well another opportunity to earn a medal when it comes to major championships let's have a look at the lineup stuff there's third and uh final heat japan botswana great britain chile and germany great britain on paper have by far the quickest national record after germany and that german record goes back many many years of course but the japanese on their day very very disciplined when it comes to carrying the baton around the botswana well we'll have to wait and see [Music] [Applause] chilly inside than 31 year old stephanie he's their leader of athletes only a 53.8 athlete but nonetheless we'll give 101 here i'm sure ama pipi of great britain goes in lane five the lead of athlete for them run the third leg for great britain's silver medal winning quartet at european indoors here in poland in toronto a few weeks ago botswana going at lane four now this is an interesting squad dom fang basel is their leader of athlete but mataluku morocco carries the baton home for them and then japan go in lane one kobayashi matsumoto kawata and shantaku is their quartet the monthly monster of course a former world champion for botswana on the fourth leg for that squad interesting to see how she goes here today great britain's squad carries plenty of experience as well the japanese well up against it perhaps a little bit here their lead off athlete kobayashi has a best of 54.6 from three years ago that british squad with all its experience pp zoe clark jesse knight and jessica turner three of the four from that uh tauren quartet took the bronze medal just the first two go through remember from these five teams [Music] so away they go that distance but those distances between the runners of course incorporate a third bend so it's always a little harder to judge how well the athletes are going on the first leg but great britain's aim up pp looks pretty good already closing on savadro of chile and indeed on gunscott of germany i would say this looks like a fabulous leg from pipi [Music] paseli of botswana's got a bit of work to do yet although she's going pretty well compared with chilean german he got break break britain lead certainly at the moment japan some way back on the inside to extreme left of picture but the german is holding her form well here nadine so they come to the changeover great britain have a marginal lead yeah we can just see pippi there just manages to get the baton to zoe clark just ahead of the german squad zoe clark had such a breakthrough from 2017 onwards really went from a young junior athlete to you know a consistent performer in the great britain team and they're extending the lead at the moment but swab from germany is closing in she'll take the inside shorter route now at 200 meters maybe the lead of around about five meters well japan's first leg runner closed really well kobayashi because they're right back in the mix now in third place although these two teams great britain and germany have a lead of what about 15 17 meters on the trio behind zoe clark here running really strongly down the home straight as you would expect holding her form well and that gap back to the japanese holding at about 15 meters at the moment but not much between great britain and germany as jesse knight heads out on this third leg for britain ahead of germany's palace yeah jesse knight another athlete who's really improved over the last few years foreign hurdler she had a big win indoors in 2019 and here she goes she was part of the european indoor medal winning squad in tehran just a couple of months ago they're extending the lead they're probably 10 meters now from the german squad japanese squad still going well they've got a dominant position now in third place but it's all about great britain and germany as we come into the final 100 metres of this third leg well great britain still in the lead and the gap has grown enormously there's the qualifying line behind the german athlete you can see that white box moving down the home straight which we superimposed that shows you the line that the third place team needs to get in front of to get one of the two non-automatic qualifying spots so it looks like we may get only the first two teams from this one because there was quite some gap between that qualifying line moving down the home straight so a few seconds ago ahead of the japanese in third specs third spot botswana with moncho in this final leg down the back straight she of course is closing and will go past shintaku of japan there's that particular pass she's very smooth and powerful is a monthly monsieur botswana but the gap through to the germans is 30 40 meters and surely insurmountable it's great britain's jessica turner now semi-finalist better known as a 400-meter hurdler as coming down the home straight semi-finalists in the world championships back in 2019 eases across the line here from germany they go through okay great britain and germany botswana a long way back and i fear will not make it [Music] no it's interesting isn't it that all the times of the winning heats were all pretty similar 327 and 328. it looks like italy from the first heat will make it through and france from heats too [Music] well the germans are pleasing themselves aren't they that's a good time 329.73 and yeah confirmation there that botswana was some four seconds away from making that final too much to make up no matter what standard of athlete you are but uh yeah all smiles for the for the british athletes qualification was relatively easy and in fact jenny just looking at the first eight teams as you said quite rightly it was uh italy and france who will go through as the two non-automatic qualifiers but the gap behind france to the ninth best team switzerland was absolutely massive it was over four seconds there was a very clear delineation between the top eight in those three heats and the rest great images are they that we're getting i think it's just such a good opportunity to see the physicality of some of these athletes been working hard of course during lockdown but uh yeah the german athlete she was in well qualification place but uh she took it all the way down to line jessica turner there zoe clark emma pippi jesse knight yeah plenty of experience in that british quartet i'm sure more good running to come the japanese well they finished in 12th overall with 335.26 of course are they hoping desperately that these next 12 and a half weeks because that's what it is through to the tokyo olympic games they'll be hoping desperately that pandemic conditions globally but particularly back in japan improved dramatically japan and failing to qualify though unfortunately as i say there are the teams that have made it through cuba poland belgium netherlands great britain and germany all by right with italy and france uh winning themselves a life through to the final by dint of being non-automatic qualifiers just outside 330 those two teams at the bottom everything to play for though come tomorrow there'll be some tired legs which have to be taken into account and there'll be one or two shake-ups in the different squads some fresh legs will be on display as well tomorrow in those finals it's interesting actually looking down the start list of how many athletes have been prepared to double up at these championships not only run a heat and perhaps a final of the four by 400 meter relay but perhaps go in the the mixed relay some athletes are also choosing to do the 4x4 and the 2 by 2 times 400 meters so uh again it just shows there's a real appetite for this uh relay competition format well without much delay the men are just about ready to get out there their engines revving france go in this first of three heats for the men's four by 400 meters relay and it is uh rather a nice uh lineup too in this first heat france against the czech republic with a certain pavel mazlak going in their quartet against kenya colombia and japan and the french of course too can be very very useful indeed han on the opening leg for them has plenty of experience the kenyans well i mentioned earlier how i always feel that kenya have got such potential in the sprints at the long sprints in particular but it hasn't been fulfilled for many many years with any depth on the international state the colombians have qualified for the olympics already and japan have two they are ranked ninth for tokyo so should have representation in tokyo so let's take a take a look at these uh athletes for this first of three heats in the men's four by four underneath there's the french quartet followed out quickly by the czech republic they are proud carries the baton and kenyans as well a lot to run for colombia and finally the japanese men who are almost guaranteed selection or representation in tokyo so the top eight teams the teams who made the final effectively the world championships in doha 2019 have booked their places in tokyo and then it's the next seven teams who make it through next fast is seven teams who will make it through so of course there are teams that have already got a place amongst those seven from but they can be replaced they can be leapfrogged and shunted further down the rankings and uh some teams racing here haven't got into the top 16 yet hope to do so come the end of this weekend therefore book their spots for the olympic games other teams right on the cusp very nervous about their position if they're in say 14th 15th or 16th at the moment and actually if you're in those lower places they're automatic qualifying positions jenny and you're not even here then you're very nervous definitely but uh czech republic you know i'm looking forward to seeing how they go they're a team that you would already think were qualified they're hanging on to this qualification at the moment they're in 16th position of course they've got mashlat the european and world indoor champion on numerous occasions he goes here on their second leg so they'll be looking to book their place into that final of course as you've just said tim you know that also means they're in tokyo but uh you wouldn't want to be in those lower places would you uh especially if you're not here so 14 15 16 i'm sure there's a lot of people nervous around the world watching um this competition stanley kierty matunga is the leader of athlete for uh for kenya he'll pass on to william rayan david sanayakirante and kevin kiptic tonui for colombia john alejandro palazza and the first leg for colombia's gold medal winning quartet in the pan am games back in 2019 he's running 44-82 he's pretty useful athlete palazzo interesting to see how he goes here the confirmation of these uh five teams in this first of three heats in the men's 4x4 meters relay france the czech republic kenya colombia and japan on paper not a great deal between france and the czech republic it'll be interesting to see how much luck goes on leg two for the czech squad he is a legend in terms of indoor racing so the winners back in 2019 in yokohama were the usa they took that win from botswana and jamaica japan then their lead of athlete is ito just 22 years old but he's a 45.79 performer asian champion in the 4x4 back in 2019 as well palazzo as i mentioned a 44-8 performer i was at university in the usa in virginia who benefited from great coaching out there 26 year old mutunga of kenya and up to rayan cabarente and tonui their squad generally around 46 46 and a half seconds their personal bests the czech republic's lead-off man is mikhail dicenski european indoor silver medalist uh in toronto just a few weeks ago in the 4x4 he ran the third leg for them and france with mamadou han 34 years old now the ex senegalese personal best of 46.09 from a couple years back but he's better known as a 400 meter hurdler he's run wait for it over 400 hurdles 48.4 very very classy performer over the barriers that french squad he will pass over to luis prevost nicola coubier and thomas yodier so same qualifying conditions as for the ladies earlier just the first two from each of the three heats will go through by right to tomorrow's final with the next two quickest teams going through the next two non-automatic qualifiers like that getting ready for his second leg journey around this track france czech republic kenya colombia and japan yes again a very long hold in the blocks there for these athletes and what is a a cooling evening it's already pretty crisp but we're sitting here in our coats and a very very different temperature to yesterday where it was a lovely mild evening but the temperatures dropped quite a few degrees from friday as this quintet reaches 200 meters on his first leg the japanese ito he's a 45-7 performer and looking pretty strong just inside him colombia's palazzo has made up ground and is going well possibly leading at the moment maybe since palazzo was there and has rallied as the czechs in lane four with descensuke on the first leg have had a very good run indeed and maybe with this stagger unwinds we will have the czech republic in lane four in the lead the french with a bit of work to do back in lane three and certainly kenya and lane five are struggling at the moment yeah it was colombia wasn't it from japan from the czech republic but at the break it's all change and japan and saito is absolutely motoring down that back straight and now on to the bend and extending his lead we're just seeing there colombia just got much luck from the czech republic right on his shoulder i saw him actually blowing his hands before he got the bat and he was a little bit cold but he's definitely heating this track up now and puffing the cheeks as he's trying to get past into second place but japan in the lead from the czech republic from colombia from france from kenya that's great leg from kintaro sato the second leg for japan who head out with about a seven meter lead over the czech republic as expected certainly much luck had a great run the 30 year old to bring them through to second place but colombia are there and battling wife colombia in this third leg is john alexander solis and he's moving on to the shoulder there of the czech republic's third leg runner to check 200 to run for them as japan continue to stride on their merry way this is very impressive from the japanese remember ranked ninth for tokyo they are assured surely of a place in the olympic games that'll be a race to behold come the final day of the olympic games keep your fingers crossed on that one but japan leading colombia have moved through to second place czech republic in third great run there from colombia's third leg athlete solis yeah it's an inspired performance isn't it by the japanese quartet now we've got kombata what can he do i wouldn't want to be in his position because he's got the world 400 meter silver medalist zambano working his way down that home straight back straight sorry but with 200 meters to go japanese athlete is still doing incredibly well and if they can pull this off yes i know it's only the heats but this will be an absolutely emphatic and much much surprised heat wind but i'm actually looking at zimbrano there he's looking behind him and uh tim take us through the last bit of the action well the japanese are going to get home comfortably here with kara butter taking the win but zambrano easing across the line was doing the absolute minimum i saw him up in the crown of the final bend glancing around gauging the efforts of those behind him and he almost teased him down this home straight and through the last 50 or 60 just keeping that gap at about a meter a meter and a half to ensure that he does finish in second place with the rest of his teammates so they go through but japan there well very differing fortunes for their quartet fabulous running from their men very different fortune to their ladies i'm afraid the uh women's squad from japan not making it through colombia was i think was almost running with one hand behind his back he looked very very relaxed indeed as he said quite rightly jenny he improved uh to 44.55 and then 44.15 at those world championships in doha 2019 to take the silver medal but they he never got a sniff really at kawa batteries maybe he could have chased him down if he needed to but however batter that very determined and finished strongly he did he absolutely went through that first 200 meters inspired and sometimes you think people go off a little bit too quick but he left plenty in the tank for that last hundred meters and i brought you back into him because actually it's funny how you saw it differently than me but on reflection i definitely think um the colombians were taking their time so brano had obviously meters to spur it in but i i was a little bit tense i saw the french team closing him down but uh yeah colombia and japan get through and france will just be waiting on a time so i've made a note of it 304 78 that is the time that we're going to look for in the next two heats [Music] well two heats to come japan and colombia go through by right to tomorrow's fine without any trouble france on 304.78 will be chewing their nails for a few minutes well here are the uh athletes moving up for the next heap spain and not lane three south africa will be outside them then belgium turkey and bring up the rear here the netherlands strong squad that from the uh dutch although they haven't qualified for tokyo as yet they're not in the top 16 ranked nations neither are turkey belgium have though they are qualified at least uh by finishing between being on the ranking list between ninth and 16th south africa likewise bonavacya will be on the second leg for the netherlands a leader of man joking as gold from the european indoors over four by 400 meters relay the spanish quartet well i'm led off by oscar huzzilos who is a fabulous performance reigning european indoor champion from toronto the rest of their quartet lucas bua manuel quijaro and samuel garcia garcia there big powerful fella isn't he the south africans they're ranked 10th for uh tokyo so relatively safe i think jenny yeah the interesting fact for me is that the netherlands are not quite qualified yet uh winners of the european indoor championships just a couple of months ago and their squad is following the exact same procedure that they did in tauran first leg dobber second leg bonavesa third leg angela and the fourth leg van deepan so still a very gray dull sky above us as uh dust closes in final preparations for these athletes who have been so keen to get racing after a not just a difficult winter although of course we did have the continental tour indoor series but uh 2020 that was unique very very difficult season for athletes who were training so hard through the previous winter and then suddenly found competition stopped dead for the first two-thirds of last summer probably and uh only a lucky few got to race in the diamond league meetings and other level meetings in that last few weeks of the 2020 summer there is a oscar zilos reigning european indoor champion there's a best of 44.7 outdoors that goes back three years but he's very experienced remember in 2018 at the world indoors he thought he'd won gold he was being interviewed by spanish tv and then i was told that he'd been disqualified for a lane infringement so heat two coming up [Music] so the second of three heats then the dutch on the outside in lane seven it's the same team that won at the european indoors in march in toronto and they're running in the same order too the lead-off man joking dubba 23 years old big fella turkey haven't qualified augustan kaya just 20 years old on the first leg in the european junior gold medal winning squad back in 2019 for turkey dylan borleigh 28 years old now he's the youngest brother with the jonathan and kevin his elder brothers his personal best 45.55 was back in 2018 kevin borla will be on the final leg for belgium the south africans have uh leafy pillai on the lead-off leg for them from zakir nanai mavunda [Music] on the last leg for them and then just for the spain throwing everything in right at the start of uh their team effort they'll be hoping that zelos can give them a bit of a cushion here i suspect he'll need to run out of his skin to give a decent chance for his three compatriots kihara and garcia give them a decent chance of coming home in the first two here remember from the first heat japan and colombia are through by right france we're third with 304.78 south africa the squad with least pressure here as they're in tenth place for tokyo spots so spain's oscar jose los on the inside in the red that with those familiar wide armbands it's moving well who's he lost but so other men outside him joking powering through 200 meters there to left a picture in that orange throughout the netherlands as the season's best of 46.5 indoors this winter run 46-22 for that european indoor goal the race that he dominated in toronto great run it's from the south african pillai on the first leg and that yellow strip my word how he's gone past the two outside and with another bent to unwind as yet but maybe the netherlands with dubba in the lead [Applause] zelos ii ran very very strongly as we'll see as the stagger unwinds for spain although they have got a bit of work to do at the moment and it is indeed south africa who lead into the back straight zakity nene in the lead for them with the netherlands plenty of experience there chasing yeah competitive at the front isn't it and we've got nane here for south africa and he looks really controlled there really relaxed you can just see he's just taking a few deep breaths and you need to save something for this final 100 meters you need to really make sure that you come in with some momentum your team member will be waiting to get that baton and it's the netherlands it's bonnie vaso who does hand over the baton in that really significant first place he's handed over now to ramsey angela again as we've said the same format the same structure of that european indoor winning four by 400 meter team just a few months ago in tauran but he's being followed all the way by the south african down that back straight well that was a brilliant leg from bonnevachia to uh take the netherlands into the lead as they come around the crown of this final bend south africa breathing down the next but in the figure of oscar man bundler also going well back there is belgium with jonathan sakura on the third leg for them kevin borley will take over can he close the gaps that leading pair as the netherlands take over just a meter or so down on south africa belgium in third turkey in fourth and then spain back in fifth with a bit of work to do at the moment now does the south african athlete here run a kg race just keep it steady down the back straight this is marvin de garli a little glance up at the big screen there to see what's going on behind him he won't be too worried about the dutch so much of the gap behind the netherlands athlete tony van deep in there van deep and swings wide now belgium no complete danger kevin bauley in third place is kicking hard the 33 year old european champion way back in 2010 in barcelona he's fighting so hard let's get to the south african de galle but i don't know if he's going to get there or is he it's the netherlands south africa and belgium short by a meter of an automatic qualifying spot with a bit of a surprise inspired run there by uh by south africa we expected the netherlands to win that we expected spain to actually feature a little bit more but uh it shows how much they actually wanted to win because vandepan absolutely went all the way to the line there to make sure that he took the win south africans the guarantee that they're going to be in tokyo now they were lying in 10th place they know it they're happy some great runs especially the first couple of legs but um yeah that was such a competitive race and uh here we see that last hundred meters and yes we're looking at who's going to win the race we're looking at the dutch squad coming away with the win but kevin borley that is very reminiscent of when he did win that european title and i don't want to say it but it was 11 years ago now he came through that last 30 meters from fifth position to take that win and uh it was rolling back the years there has he just finished so so strong but couldn't quite get to the south africans for that automatic qualification for the final it was a superb leg from borlei i can't wait to see what sort of split he got he does finish strongly remember in 2010 albeit 11 years ago moved from fifth to first in the last 50 meters to take that european crown in barcelona but the south africans delighted with their end result albeit second place to the dutch there 303-03 to 303079 belgium very close behind in third well it's a cool evening and they're getting the athletes out nice and quick after their warm-ups nearby poland great britain italy germany and botswana in this third and final heat of the men's four by 400 meters relay botswana with the commonwealth champion izak makwala on the first leg for them choosing a similar tactic to the spanish with oscar who's their best athlete on the first leg for the uh iberian nation squad will it work better for botswana great britain plenty of experience for them the quartet or a british quartet took bronze medals at those european indoors in poland two very experienced they're ranked 12th for tokyo they will go on the inside in lane three so they will surely be okay for a place in tokyo germany they have not qualified for togo tokyo yet tobias langer their lead off athlete will have hand over to marvin schlegel torban juncker emmanuel sanders who's your money on jen oh pressure question absolutely i wasn't ready for that one um oh gosh can i just sit on the fence uh well it's up to you it's gonna be competitive you know this is what the whole championships is about isn't it um you know just trying to get those qualifications but uh poland haven't yet qualified which again is surprising so i'm gonna say that they're gonna make the final um great britain already have qualified of course has of italy botswana you know you look down those names you think surely they've got a chance and uh germany have been so good at relays over the years um so efficient of course so um i'm gonna say great britain i'm gonna put my um yeah i'll i'll say them if i have to say somebody but um yeah i think we can probably see poland taking them um all the way to the line as well great britain kevin metzger goes on the third leg for them former triple jumper metzker 46-71 back in 2020 and 47-2 this winter the italians lorenzo benatti on the opening leg for them just 19 years old but he was a european youth champion back in 2018 young man who is trying to find his feet in his senior ranks he was eighth the following year in the european juniors and they went out in his heat of the european indoors uh just a few weeks back bernardi will hand over to sibilios lopez and acety and there is maquala what an athlete here is a best of 43.72 he's a member of that very special club of athletes over one lap who have broken 44 seconds 35 years old now commonwealth champion and reigning african games champion he's a got a wonderful temperament he has and he's 200 meters is impressive as well isn't it 19.77 so sub 44 for the four and sub 20 for the 200 um he looks like he looks very relaxed as well doesn't he an interesting tactic to put him out on that lead leg hopefully get them a lead and the rest of the guys can go and hopefully have inspired runs and hold on to that front position toby it's longer there for germany had some warm-up races in gran canaria recently indeed many of the german athletes are training down in the canaries in recent weeks for a bit of warmth there's bernati 46.3 his best from last year great britain's uh joseph bryant just 22 years old coached by matt elias who was a great 400 meter hurdle and a great relay runner himself just a few years ago season's best of 46.81 briar this winter and the polish lead of athlete gadget drozynski 45-9 performer that was back in 2017 so when he was just 21 a former biathlete by the way is drozinski he's got a place in the final in his sights so the third and final heat of men's four by 400 meters relay then poland going three great britain in four italy and five germany in six botswana in seven and the first two go through by right [Music] so away they go then those long pink socks of uh bernardi the italian right in the center of the five are not hard to uh miss are they not hard to spot i should say but makwala has gone off harder this is what the botswana squad will have been hoping for build up a bit of a lead a bit of a cushion for his compatriots liango scotch marcilo and detero nanzamani will be behind him but makwala here having a great run the german is rallying too tobias langer just easing away from bernardi the italian that long flowing hair great britain going okay here joseph briar has run a solid leg he hands over with the poles inside and drozinski also having had a good leg competitive isn't it behind botswana obviously 10 meters or so lead but all the other nations looking to break simultaneously there as poland have just crept into that second place there collac strong really tall competitor for the polish athletes but uh yeah they're all really together are they really i'm just looking at james williams for great britain he just can't get past anybody as the german athlete is trying to come out wide so he's the italian athlete and it's all to run for here down this home straight well has the gamble paid off for the botswana as they lead by a few meters here from the pack it's almost a middle distance race there in that second leg as they head out for leg three oh and the brits have gone down and the third leg athletes kevin metzger has got a real challenge now the 23 year old he's way way down and that may have discovered britain's chances of a place in the final as botswana blast away out in front look at the tall german here torbjorn juncker easing past he's dwarfs the athletes from italy and poland as he eases past and into second place but this is surely a forlorn chase from kevin metzger that was a real shame for the british core tent mexico that has got to carry on running hard but it's a very very tough ask for him and indeed for dwayne cowan on the final leg botswana then handover with about a 20 meter lead the italians have had a fabulous leg there from brian lopez poland in third germany and fourth great britain bringing up the rear and way way back now as metzker struggled down the home straight on his leg but uh it's academic relief great britain they're way way off of qualifying spotters botswana continue to lead 200 meters to run poland are chasing them down though italy in third germany and fourth and the gap is closing with every stride it's amani for botswana here on this final leg 100 meters to run can he hang on they're ranked 11th for tokyo in a way so botswana is safe surely for the olympic games and they're going to hang on i think as the italians here through a chatty vladimir chetty eases through to second place past poland shunted back to third germany in fourth and great britain come home in fifth place a real shame that for the british quartet these things happen it's part of the cut and thrust of relo racing i'd like to see the incident again not quite sure what happened but what a shame yeah it was great wasn't it um you know not great for great britain of course but we can say if they can you know take anything from that they are qualified of course already for tokyo but the italian competitor on that final leg of chetty was fantastic to get past the polls and it was carol zaleski as well he was a lead leg runner in the 2018 world indoor championships when poland broke the world indoor record so he had an inspired run on that last leg so here we are we're just about seeing the incident james williams tries to come across he tries to come across the german competitor and you can just see his legs just get taken out as kevin what a shame you know former triple jumper of course and uh kevin metzer making his uh gb debut here in the four by 400 meters and uh he'll be desperately disappointed well fabulous judgment from that botswana quartet and indeed from the italians and look at the guts here from vladimir to the 23 year old italian easing past head rocking from side side catches the polish uh anchor leg manzillowski and that is no mean feedback zalewski is a 45.1 performer [Music] machete a former european junior champion back in 2017 has done his nation proud there as they nab a spot in the final but and zamani looks as cool as a cucumber after winning that one with his three compatriots well it was a significant um run by the italian as well on fourth leg to get that crucial second position i'm just looking down the information system here poland 305 04 so from my reckoning that means that poland won't actually take a place in the final those uh next two spots would be taken up by belgium who were in third position in heat two and by france who were in third position in heat one there it is botswana in italy go through by right poland 305 04 germany and great britain way way back that is so disappointing for that british quartet the ladies are qualifying the women qualifying without any trouble let's have a look at that instant again when great britain had a problem that's not it that is the squad of mascots now italy there watch to the left there oh and i'll tell you what i think actually as you can see that the british athlete are in the wrong positions the incoming athletes they should have seen that coming down the home straight because it's the positions of the waiting runners are decided by the team positions at 200 meters at halfway around the leg and as they go through that then the judges get the waiting athletes who are ready to go out on the next leg in the right order and they came down the home straight out of sync so to speak the british and german athletes there so there are the qualifiers netherlands japan south africa belgium botswana colombia france and italy going through 304.81 the slowest time well we can take a look at the uh band playing now the kwk stasic brass orchestra actually uh grew up amongst the history of mining in this region founded back in 1971 originally amateur musicians but now they play all over the world they play at festivals not christmas and traditional feasts of miners and the 60 in the full brass orchestra that had a string section introduced a few years ago and there's the mascots jenny's favorites they are my favorites [Music] so the next event the women's 4 by 100 meters relay the three heats of course [Applause] ghana coming out first they haven't qualified qualified for token neither have the czech republic italy very excited they were seventh in the world championships in 2019 so they have indeed qualified japan coming out as well as brazil who are in line for a place in tokyo they're 11th ranked achievement will be the lead of athlete at chiang pong for ghana native ali and uh they're a quartet i love that strip that the ghanaians are wearing jenny colourful isn't it so the same principle applies for this one it's the first two automatic qualifiers from each heat and then the next two fastest from the three heats japan will be in lane six hanai aoyama their lead-off athlete will pass over to kodana saito back in 2019 in yokohama usa were the winners taking the win from canada and kenya usa announcing their inability to appear at these uh relays quite a few weeks back to canada just a couple of weeks ago it's uh perfectly understandable under the circumstances that prevail and we focus upon the teams that are here italy well finalists in doha very lead off athlete johannes some great images here the preparation that goes into this a lot of these athletes will meet up regularly for national sprint squads you can just see that they they put a marker down so everybody has different markers that they choose to do they have to get used to the incoming speed of the runner who they're going to receive the baton from very nervous moments for a lot of them and a lot of nations have a lot of technicians working with them they'll be studying the footage they'll be sometimes grabbing their own footage sometimes going off these photos all these images and then they'll go back to their to the practice track have a look at it they'll certainly do that overnight make some final adjustments and preparations and of course it has been a little bit more difficult for a lot of the athletes to meet up to to practice those technical skills but they're all coming here of course hoping to put on a good show so the czech republic joanna kaiser over kodama for japan he's on the second leg [Music] so brazil go on the outside they're called japan in lane six and of course 4x100 meter racing reload racing while it leaves far less room for error than four by 400 meters as we see the italians on the opening leg for them it does make uh give teams without quite the same speed in the four individual runners a chance of qualifying simply by slick batten changing the technical aspects of getting that pattern changing right raising significance czech republic we saw justin ivana kaiser over on the opening leg for them in ghana with their laid off athlete gemma [Music] two years ago it was actually usa from jamaica and germany with the first three teams with brazil in fourth and uh italy and australia in fifth and sixth fastest time in the world this year 42.70 by uh an american university squad anything down there around 43 and a half high 43s is very very quick indeed ghana in three czech republic four italy five japan six brazil in the seven the first two go through by right good running from the japanese oyama second to right now the changeover is so critical looks smooth from the japanese brazilians are good relay runners too also going well the italian center of picture in blue the third second leg runner for them gloria hooper that long second leg so important italians leading at the moment goodness me certainly uh the czech republic got a lot of work to do back in lane four because the italians oh the poor changer from the italians there they lost two or three meters on the brazilians and that was that that was the victory gone as the brazilians bring it home now rosangelo santos taking it there from italy and japan [Music] terrible change over there from the italians they had it in the bag so to speak but the changeovers have to be right it's like you can lose a sprint race with a poor start you can lose a four by 100 meter relay with one poor changeover and the batten speed of the brazilians was superb it roared past the italians a couple lanes inside them was an interesting race wasn't it their first runner the lido thrift from japan was out of the blocks and they were leading actually after that first leg um but it all changed on the third leg of course with the italians showing the dominance but uh exactly how you called it prior to the race tim you know it is about slick button changes not always you know necessarily the speed of the athletes on the four legs and uh a great time 43.56 seconds from the brazilians if italy can uh sort that out tomorrow they look like they can vastly improve of course and we're just going to take a look at japan 44.17 seconds so that's the fastest time so far that's not qualified automatically here we go this is the second change this is from leg two to leg three see the japanese changeover wasn't quite as slick as the first one and this is what we're going to focus on this is the italians uh fourth leg runner just has to have another look doesn't she um it's great if you can just actually shout your incoming runner tells you you know you don't have to actually have a have a visual change like you do in the rest of the relays but just have to have a little bit of a a look she couldn't quite feel the button in her hand and yeah that that cost the victory there it looked like a momentary delay didn't it the split second delay but actually with the brazilians maintaining the momentum it actually cost them probably three or four yards huge margin in sprinting terms well there's confirmation that brazil and italy do go through despite that poor change the italians making it through okay japan 4417 only a meter or so off it enough to wait and see if they go through with that two more heats to come ghana and the czech republic some little way back so the athletes out for this second heat of three and the women's four by one of them is really then poland coming out ranked 16th ford tokyo right on the cut ireland in 24th place way off for tokyo place at the moment ecuador the netherlands what a squad they have got more of that in a minute and zambia bringing up the rear they will be in lane seven so brazil and italy the two teams through from the first heat japan's uh time in third place 44.17 indeed fourth place ghana 44.85 though i fear that will be a little way outside what is likely to get a non-automatic qualifying spot daphne slippers well the second or the third fastest athlete in history over 200 meters i think the second fastest in history over 200 meters former world champion skippers he's had a fair share of injuries these last couple of years but it is nonetheless a very strong quartet that the dutch are putting out skippers on the second leg the long back straight leg which uh i know that might sound a bit strange but they talk about the back straight leg being the longest because you can take the batten early going into that first bend at the changeover and uh or coming out of the first bend i should say and then hand over late going into the second bend and actually you can maximize the power and speed of a really strong 200 meter run up for example down the back straight and in effect give them about 120 meter leg to run which is uh quite some advantage if it's done well skippers will receive that batten we hope from jamilah samuel and we'll pass on to nadine visser and uh van hoonenstein [Music] foreign ecuador in 40th place on the world rankings just to reiterate that the top eight teams in the world rankings have guaranteed their spots by tinder making the final in doha 2019 then the next eight teams are in likely spots to make the tokyo games but they can be shunted out of the top 16 and lose a tokyo slot this weekend poland 16th for tokyo they are very much in need of a quick time this weekend first of all they need to make the final with uh marika popovich on the opening leg for them it's cold now jenny it's a cool evening you were talking before we came on air about maybe putting some gloves on this is far from ideal conditions for uh for sprinters yeah i was watching mats like before i think i mentioned it the 4x4 he was actually blowing on his hands and uh yeah it won't be too bad for the athletes of course they've managed to warm up and they've gone through the preparations just asked him isn't it sat here but uh yeah this is a fascinating um heat uh of this woman's four by 100 meters only um well i was going to say only the netherlands in fact it's quite surprising the netherlands have not yet qualified for tokyo they've sit in ninth position so of course get into this final would guarantee that being in ninth position you would actually think they're not going to drop out of the top 16 but uh yeah really looking forward to seeing what island can do as well they've had some really good indoor performances we're looking at molly scott here she was the lead-off runner back in 2018 when the irish team won a silver in the world juniors i'm sure all people in ireland and irish athletics celebrated that one well there's uh poland [Applause] handing over to adamek sokolska and krasovska hardly a breath of wind in the stadium it is sheltered because of the bowl and it's a deep stadium too with all the stands covered from uh above so heat to them poland on the inside really need a strong run here they'll be chasing that irish quartet molly scott for ireland who's gone off well chasing the uh tenorio of ecuador in the blue in the center there but the irish have lost a little bit of ground not a great change over there from the polls leading at the moment of the dutch quartet as you would expect skippers down the back straight eases into the bend and hands over to visa that's a nice change over this is raw skipper roars visa on her way ecuador inside them are going well not a bad change from ecuador but poland on the inside have really used that stagger well and down the home straight it's the netherlands from poland ecuador in third place ireland in fourth 43.29 there by the netherlands that the third fastest time in the world this year it looked pretty slick and i don't think there was a great deal of holding back there skippers ran a superb leg and had a great change over to visser and marie van hoonenstein doing all that was needed to carry the baton home safely there already qualified for tokyo for all intents and purposes netherlands and that's a very comfortable win indeed well i suspect there's been a lot of frustration from daphne skippers this last couple of years jenna you know she suffered a lot of injuries after uh three or four years of quite superb sprinting over 100 and 200 meters taking global medals and indeed a world 200 metre title and tonight well she's looking fit and strong and clearly delighted to be back in the emotion there was almost palpable from this as she completed that third leg and handed over here to nadine there she's in orange look at skippers here yelling screaming viscera on her way they had a comfortable lead they did there was no weak linking that team at all was there all four of these athletes have got medals at major championships whether individual or in the relay and uh a well-drilled team you see the polish athlete there really closing her down but 43.28 seconds that was faster than the brazilians registered in the first one that was a fabulous leg from uh the polish final leg athlete there boy so heat two then won by the netherlands poland were closing but uh about 0.36 for seconds that down ecuador in third place setting a national record 43.86 and that is a clear indication this is a fast surface because conditions aren't ideal tonight it's cool there's not much breeze but it's uh how the sprinters love a bit of sun on their back and warm conditions island 44.53 well we're just hearing that there's bad news for a team from heat one when uh brazil we thought had taken the win now watch this run a left left a picture there that foot on the line i'm afraid and another one from the outgoing final leg runner for brazil santos right on the line and that wasn't necessary they were in the lead that is such a shame [Music] so let's have a look at the adjusted result brazil disqualified very very sad news for the south american quartet italy then the winners and japan promoted to a qualifying spot for the final ghana in third and czech republic in fourth and so to heat three spain denmark switzerland and france just four teams in this one switzerland well they are wonderful carries with the baton fourth of the world championships in 2019 to secure their spot for tokyo so no pressure on their quartet here tonight there's ricardo she will hand over to salome corda cornelia halbir and cynthia reindler that swiss quartet will be the best of 42.18 our very classy indeed italy remember winning that first heat after brazil's disqualification 44.02 from japan's 4417 the netherlands winning the second heat 43-28 from poland's 43-6-4 and at the moment the teams in uh seventh and eighth places zambia and ghana on 44 81 and 44.85 those are vulnerable times jenny they are and um you know i've got to go back to that run by the ecuadorian team and you said beforehand they were ranked 40th and they could well have got themselves into a final position for tokyo a national record 43.86 seconds i don't think any of us would have expected that before but i actually watched the faces beforehand and they look like they were here to do some serious business they must have known something and the rest of the world didn't know and uh yeah i'm sure in third position they're going to qualify for that um final but let's see well it was a national record by two one hundreds of a second but who cares it's a national record one one hundredth would do kramer be the lead off athlete for the danes they're ranked 20th in the world they need a a great run here she'll hand over to asteroids glenna franson meta gravesgaard and eder kosdoft there's carl's grav's guard graves guard i should say on the third leg and spain well maria isabel perez estella garcia paolo sevilla and christina lara as severe she on the third leg practicing her run out of the uh changeover zone 20 meter changeover zones for the athletes the baton has to be transferred within that zone so obviously the athlete receiving the baton just inside that yellow line has 20 meters in which to accelerate timing that acceleration perfectly for the incoming athlete to reach them and pass over the baton smoothly and so often you see athletes head off too early accelerate away and the incoming tiring athlete can't reach them or conversely they go off too late and the incoming athlete almost runs into the back of them and uh there's a huge slowing of the batten speed [Music] france then go on the outside in this third and final heaps of the women's 400 meters relay orlan on the first leg for them one hand over to leduc and richard minga switzerland with ricardo dicha then cora halbir and ryan at their quartet see how well drilled they will be let's watch their baton changers carefully in the red there second from the outside denmark well there's the shy retiring matilda looking forward to uh heading out of the blocks and handing over to her teammate glenna franson they are ranked 20th in the world at the moment at denmark not yet inside of a tokyo spot and spain 21st so on paper closely ranked with denmark so netherlands poland italy and japan guaranteed spots in the final at the moment ecuador most certainly with that national record they are the third fastest of the uh teams from the two heats we've seen so far even though they finished third in heat two they're faster than italy and japan who were first and second in heat one spain in three denmark in four switzerland in five france in lane six [Applause] nobody really showing at the moment the echelon hasn't changed at the first changeover very much indeed the spanish outgoing athlete went off far too early and i think that might have been a questionable change over the spanish to the right of picture there dear oh dear now what's the switch second right in the red good change over for them chasing the french hard the french are pretty useful on this third leg for france the swiss have got a bit of catching to do she didn't go off really early enough minga of france and the swiss made up a meter or so but she's coming back at them ryan of switzerland chasing her but the french are going to take this coming through strongly take third places denmark there about three meters behind the swiss and spain in fourth place [Music] well france taking it in 33 04 from switzerland in fact just checking excuse me 43-51 for france that would have been the second in the first heat that would have been good enough to win the second the first heat but france and switzerland definitely go through denmark in third with 44.25 denmark with that run do ease into the top eight jenny yeah it looks like ecuador will take a position in the final and so will denmark so 44.25 for third place is enough for the danish squad i'm sure they're delighted the automatic qualifiers netherlands france poland switzerland and then italy and japan ecuador one of the non-automatic qualifiers along with denmark spain were the ninth fastest team they just miss out by well thirteen one hundredths of a second with ireland the 10th fastest let's have a look at that spanish changeover in that third heat the changeover between leg one and leg two look at the uh bottom of picture and it's oh right on that outgoing zone line i don't know if they'll get the benefit of the doubt from the judges but it's uh academic actually in a way spain were ninth fastest didn't quite make it through to the final whatever outcome the judges decide good final exam from the french uh last leg runner zara richard minga although certainly reinhard switzerland was closing chasing really hard well it's amazing what technology we've got uh at this moment things changing all the time of course in the sport but uh we can see some of the splits for the last hundred meters and some of these women are running well all of them are running um below 11 seconds of course they've got the benefit of momentum from starting off on that exchange but the french athlete 10.47 was the fastest on that last 100 meter leg shows what a difference a rolling start can make doesn't it you know if you're you're going through the start of your 100 meters in effect from that changeover zone virtually flat out it's uh only making up what seven eight nine meters perhaps on somebody who would have been coming out of blocks yeah probably almost a second so yeah maybe eight eight tenths or or so but um yeah it actually benefits those people maybe 200 meter athletes who need a little bit more time to get up to their acceleration but uh yeah we can see the danish are delighted there well rightly so ecuador the stars of that particular qualifying series of races with their national record fifth fastest of the uh all the teams there 14 teams the brazilians very sadly disqualified after winning that uh first heat so frustrating for them but but you have hang together as a team so here's the turkish team he wins four by 100 meters wheeler is next the call room under the stands where they're keeping warm i'm sure they'll be well aware that it's a not the warmest day for a may day there's a few long-sleeved hops on isn't there it certainly are there's a few one up here in the uh high in the stands oh this is the polish national song and dance ensemble [Music] i'm totally one of the most recognizable artistic ensembles in the world founded back in 1953 [Music] well their work is a treasure trove of polish culture which the ensemble has presented and showcased for nearly seven decades can you believe they perform in over 200 concerts a year well that diverse and colorful costumes come from the various regions of poland and uh pretty special visual experience that france switzerland and denmark with denmark qualifying with that small queue as a non-automatic qualifier spain weren't disqualified but they were in fourth place and unfortunately unable to make the final a little way back in that third heat let's have a look at some danish celebrations bringing home the bacon that's what the ladies did tonight look and that's what we live for that's what we want to see i was actually watching them from the commentary position i was looking down onto the track and there's a big um results board here and the big queue came up for the first two teams who qualified automatically and they would i think they must have been looking and thinking where's the small queue where's the small queue and that was the reaction once they saw it those are the eight teams that have qualified for the final netherlands france poland and switzerland by right ecuador with that national record going through as a non-automatic qualifier as did denmark we saw that celebration italy and japan go through as well japan one of the uh the beneficiary of uh brazil's sad disqualification from the first heat they're originally in third with the that's on 44-1-7 but then got elevated to second so the big fellas are out next three heats of the men's four by 100 meters relay turkey will be first out [Music] so turkey the czech republic the netherlands spain these are the squads in this first heat of three ghana and ukraine the men's four by 100 meters relay even less time for these big fast fellas to get things right and uh ample time in which to get things wrong as we see so often in major championships when the pressure is on with no pressure the delicacy and precision required to hand over that bat when moving at over 20 mph is a very very high indeed the demands but in a championship situation with teams around you bodies battling away on either side of you crowds roaring lights flashing it uh can be very very difficult indeed now there is a special athlete for turkey ramel ghouliev former world champion at 200 meters he's a sub 10 second performer at 100 as well and he's on the final leg for turkey they have got the inside lane which is lane three in this particular race six teams going this one by the way turkey czech republic the netherlands spain ghana and ukraine and they're ranked 15th in the world at the moment turkey so just inside the qualifying a grouping of 16 but they would love to embed themselves more deeply into that top 16 teams the netherlands going in lane five will have seen their uh women's quartet qualified very impressively indeed they are eighth from the world championships back in 2019 you just had to make the final in doha even if you were disqualified or failed to finish you still receive that uh ranking to qualify you guarantee a spot in tokyo those little strips being put down on the track it's what the outgoing runner will be watching and when his incoming runner reaches that strip then he will start his acceleration so they watch that mark when their teammate reaches it coming at them at as i say over 20 mph then they head off hand flipped out backwards and whether it's the upstroke or the downstroke in the exchange of the baton then you hope it goes smoothly well the czech republic of uh iffy police pull up on the second leg from them their lead off athlete will be zdenek stromzek on the third leg for them around that second burn and he'll hand over to the very experienced uh jan velez on the anchor leg jen you're running plenty of four by four hundreds but uh are you familiar with the pressures of four by one hundred i am familiar but only at club level and that was enough for me tim um yeah you've got plenty more time to have a visual change at club level but the speeds that these guys are going you don't want that visual we saw obviously the italians already you know you don't want to actually have to take a look you don't want the baton to slow down it's not about like we say the speed of the athletes it's the speed of the baton during this 400 meter lap so ukraine on the outside they haven't qualified for tokyo they're in 21st place kostritsa their lead off athlete ghana in lane seven they are in 12th place so uh have one foot on the plane to tokyo sappho and sean suffolk very experienced goes on the lead off for them spain go in lane six jose gonzalez will hand over to ratamar then gomez and lopez on the uh third and fourth legs ranked 30th of spain they need a wonderful run these next two days they've got to make the final if they want to go to tokyo the netherlands in lane five vancouver burnett garria and cherandi martina on the final leg from them one of the senior statesmen of the dutch squad but a fabulous sprinter some 10 second man at 100 of course good at 200 as well the czech republic well they haven't qualified for tokyo but very nearly have a a foot on the plane so to speak they're 17th ranked schedule on the final leg for them you feel with an athlete of ghoulia's caliber just stay there give him a fighting chance get that batten to him smoothly and he can really hunt people down on that home straight run but so little room for error when you've got about 10 seconds of running to do they can't work miracles these fellas you've got to get the baton round smoothly turkey in three czech republic four netherlands five spain and six ghana seven ukraine in lane eight first two go through by right again that's the qualifying conditions in all these uh relay qualifying races through today not a bad change over there for turkey quite safe oh and one athlete has gone down there and i think it's the czechs who have had a disaster i'm afraid who's in the lead here ghana going well also going pretty well ukraine on the outside look two at the netherlands the levelings in five and then orange strip looking strong surely they lead at the moment and they've got so much experience on this final leg and the figure of trendy martina ghana are battling away here though huanda joseph paulanda coming through does he get it on the dip is very tight indeed ukraine in third place on the outside it might have been the netherlands who just hung on it doesn't really matter it was very very tight indeed but they look like uh on paper at least two teams that get through without any trouble barring judges spotting any indiscretions the netherlands and ghana 38.79 for the netherlands [Music] 38.79 as well they lose by eight one thousandths of a second that was the winning margin for the netherlands over ghana 38.782 for the netherlands 38.790 for ghana well it was fast and furious wasn't it and i was actually watching on the back straight that second changeover from uh the netherlands team two to three it was tight really tight but uh it's come up as an official result 38.79 and it was close all the way to the line as well wasn't it just eight thousandths of a second as you say so here we go this is lucky on the inside we're watching here jenny at the bottom oh you just see turkey were okay it was the check baton i think that hit the deck yeah it was and uh yeah we're just looking here you know we talked about the turkish athlete um you know ghouliev he just had too much running to do but the ghanaian team came all the way back to the netherlands team and as we say it was just thousands that split them in the end but both of those teams secures their position in that final tomorrow yeah you can see gully over there resigned to jogging across the line virtually he knew it was a hopeless chase unfortunately what a shame for the czech republic ian vale but indeed uh the third league man jan yurka never getting a sniff of the button when it was dropped between legs one and two and you have to accept these little knots philosophically as a relay athlete they happen you can't be screaming your teammates you have to hang together as a team there is a win for the netherlands 38.79 by eight one thousandth of a second they took the win in the first of three heats in the men's four by 100 meters relay over ghana ukraine 39-06 we'll see if that is good enough to get them through spain and turkey bringing up the rear so germany lead out the athletes and the teams for this uh second hit zimbabwe they haven't qualified for tokyo germany have unofficially with a 12th ranked position poland at 28th can you believe you think they'd be a little bit higher denmark they're down in 40th in the world rankings a lot of work to do to them brazil well they were fourth in the world championships in 2019 they are certainly going to be in tokyo as indeed surely of that japanese quartet because they are the bronze medalists from doha 2019 and the totally different quartet it is though for japan to those who took the bronze at the world championships and see how they uh how they go it doesn't really matter i suppose because they have their spot yeah it gives a lot of people an opportunity doesn't it it's not just the four that obviously compete in that final it takes around about eight competitors to be part of that squad and sometimes you just have to accept you don't get a run sometimes you're used in a heat and another athlete will be brought in for that final but whoever does fill those japanese spots uh they're guaranteed a position as you say tim well brazil won the last edition of these uh relays with rodrigo donasimento leading off their quartet on that occasion indeed three out of the four who took uh fourth of the world championships in 2019 are in this brazilian quartet they uh have really very much got their a squad out camilo there for that brazilian squad poland well they go in lane five and uh kopeck on the second leg for them marching out measuring out his tape positions you wouldn't want to lose concentration would you when you're measuring out those tape positions it's interesting now they all just use how many feet in shoes i guess it's easier than actually getting a tape measure out what it is yeah and if there's a little bit of bend involved yeah more technical isn't it it's so straightforward and quick not high-tech but effective no and it's what you learn at school and what you learn at club athletics and if any young athletes are watching this you know the pros do it exactly the same way sadly i think not enough schools are really showing youngsters these days in the uk certainly where you and i from jenny where to put the tape down on a sprint relay but most of them i think have never earned a pair of spikes and we hope that will change in years to come so that tape going down you're being seen being put down when the incoming runner reaches that that's when the outgoing run up begins their acceleration from the crouch position denmark well they're in lane six good lane draw but they're in 40th place they really are on with an outside chance of qualifying for tokyo kamanga is on the second leg for them and take the button from the uh lead off runner simon hanson [Applause] so let's take a look at each of these squads japan very very well drilled quartet they are so much better as a sum of all their parts than as individuals ryuki sakai their lead off man rodrigo donasimento for brazil they too fourth at the world championships in 2019 quite a little rematch this really with the third and fourth places in lines eight and seven respectively from the world last world championships denmark seymour hansen their lead off man commander dearback musa and xiao nielsen their quartet poland i always feel that the polls are great relay races but actually it's their 400 meter runners who do the great relay racing isn't it they don't quite meet the best standards in the sprint relays zimbabwe go in lane four joshua hartman dennis almars and marvin on the anchor leg for the germans we've seen drop battens we've seen disqualifications because of lane infringements in the heat so far from the women and the men let's hope this goes smoothly this second of three heats in the men's four by 100 meters relay brazil and then seven causing quite an upset a couple of years ago and they beat the usa into second place well away they go these are amongst the longest holes in the under the starters orders that i've ever known but they get away smoothly and i don't think we've had a full start yet so it's going well now i didn't see anything go wrong there japan on the outside moving well the world championship bronze medalist quartet with the fourth places inside then the big guns on the outside in seven and eight brazil and the green japan under a little bit of pressure brazil have them in their sights in the green there left a picture going well in lane three as germany as well they're in third place shortly at the moment not a bad change over there from denmark down the home straight it is brazil though if he's right away from the japanese brazil and germany in second place great run that from the germans not quite sure what happened to the japanese was that a bad last changeover for the japanese because they were right up alongside the brazilians and then halfway down the home straight they were five meters down tim i was watching all the action behind and i was looking at the danish squad and i thought you know in 40th position whether they could do what the ecuadorian women did and get through but uh they had a great run certainly much better than they were supposed to be placed brazilian was 38 44 from the german quartet 38-70 them two will progress to the final and here's the rest of the results japan 38 98 denmark 3906. yes the danes i thought they ran well setting a national record they're 39-06 they've taken almost half a second off their national record that danish squad brilliant brilliant stuff in fact just checking they have taken more than half a second off that's a danish time 3906 their previous national record was 39.61 wow you just know sometimes you know i was actually watching the danish runner the third leg runner has he actually handed the button over and very like daphne skippers he was celebrating he was putting his fist in the air he knew they were going well and uh amazing to see another national record isn't it just yeah the japanese dreadful change over there and the brazilians well were handed three meters on the plate and the germans with a good change over storming down the home straight lovely final leg there from marvin shulter germans 38.7 position the second fastest time of the day actually quicker than the netherlands the winner of the first heat in brazil well by two or three meters the quickest of all of them so far 38.44 japan well they are the fastest of the non-automatic qualifiers so far with 38.98 coming third in that one and then fourth in that one denmark are also in a hot seat at the moment one finger on a place one hand on a place in the final ukraine will definitely not make it they unfortunately are seventh fastest so far with 39.06 with one heat to come well i wouldn't mind being picked up by the mascots would you that's one way to celebrate a national record i think they struggle to pick me up these days jenny running i'm getting done out here there it is brazil winning from germany japan in third a national record for denmark fabulous stuff from the danes in fourth place that surely deserves a place in the final but there are more teams to come in this third heat seven or six teams to come in heat three who will be uh trying to ease into tomorrow's final italy first out they are in lane three belarus botswana portugal south africa and last but not least the french squad who i think came out a bit early did they were they second out they were eager they wanted to get the marks in place we'll count down to the first final there just over 13 minutes until that mixed race the two times two by 400 meters just two athletes per team in that one and their recovery after running a 400 is just the length of their teammates uh run following run fascinating some people call it a glorified training session but it will be very very interesting to see it unfold here so teams we know through so far just to reiterate that for you brazil germany [Music] netherlands garnet japan denmark are the sixth fastest but brazil germany netherlands and ghana definitely proved by gender being in the first two in their heats fittingly they are the four fastest teams japan's 38-98 wouldn't have got them a qualifying spot in the uh heat that they didn't compete in so far he won south africa well they were fifth in the world championships in doha they have very much qualified for the olympic game three of the four from that world championship team are here legs one three and four are all the same only leg two that's uh he is the new man in that south african quartet they go in lane seven we'll be chasing france outside them portugal are in lane six brazilians is in uh on the lead off leg and the french on their lead off man amore golota looks like he's running in the full body suit i don't blame him it's a chilly evening i really thought when we landed here on thursday stepping off the plane late at night it was pleasantly mild and then yesterday was glorious warm sunny all day the athletes loved their time out in the sun here on the track kick and going through the motions and enjoying the empty stadium well tonight it's an empty stadium but the temperature could hardly be more different third and final heat the men's four by 100 meters coming up with the first final of this first day just a few minutes away for the french quartet will be the lead of man he'll hand over to marvin for them the south africans with that strong squad thundo bloodluck akane simbine on the final leg for them and what form he has been in recently under 10 seconds 100 in the southern hemisphere season the south african season portugal plaza antoinette and santos [Applause] 24th ranked the portuguese they need a fabulous run here tonight and tomorrow botswana well manewa tobogo mafibe and massasa excuse me on the final leg yuri zapalotni they are ranked 48th the bella russian squad they really are uh outsiders for a likely tokyo promotion so to speak and italy on the inside at 10th ranks jenny they uh a good squad the italians and i suspect will go well here yeah great leg runner on the last leg filipino tattoo let's see what he can do let's see if the button gets to him first and foremost well the italians failed to finish two years ago in yokohama let's hope this uh qualifying hit goes well for them they're on the inside belarus in second botswana third in lane five rather portugal in six south africa seven in france in lane eight [Applause] [Music] good running for botswana in the light blue third from left at the moment in lane five not a bad change from botswana either they're well up in portugal at the moment going well on the inside of the italians this second leg for them is uh jacobs and that's a good change from the italians again they're in the blue to write a picture moving through well ahead of what's one of the south africans looking pretty strong to the second to left with france outside them but the italians have had a really crisp race with some nice changeovers now the south african simbine down the home straight can he get there no he can't can't close down the italians who take the win from south africa big gap back to the french there the french foreign leg athlete muhammadu fall throws the baton down in frustration in third place but it was four or five meters down on the south africans and from the italians that was a brilliant brilliant run yeah the italians were on the inside weren't they i guess they had the benefit of being able to see all the other teams outside them 38.4 seconds from 38-49 for south africa oh well how close is this going to be to take that position for the final on the non on the next to next fastest times france 39.07 now i think i'm pretty sure we had a 3906 from the danish squad yes that's right that was the national record and i'm just looking back the ukrainian squad also recorded 39.06 in the first round um and japan were 38.98 so we can say that the japanese are definitely going to take that position in the final and then who is it going to be between the ukraine and the danish with unfortunately france missing out on that final just by 100th of a second well it's almost as though farl the final leg athlete for france knew that that was going to be for him and his uh teammates missing out on a place by 1 100th of a second that's almost literally the thickness of a vest great running there though from italy 38.44 and that's uh from italy the fastest of all of them better than brazil better than south africa i think it all came down to the changeovers they were really slick they lost no time at all with that baton and torture we were looking forward to that last leg weren't we we're looking forward to actually seeing the last two competitors the italian athlete tortu and sambini from south africa and uh come that final when they're going all the way to the line it's going to be a tight one well that's the second fastest time in the world this year from the italians 38.44 only a chinese squad on the 20th of march went quicker but it's better than the canadians who've run 38.49 back in uh in fact last weekend 24th of april any other squad so no wonder the italians are celebrating it's not a national record their national record is 38.11 about three meters quicker but 3844 is crisp four by 100 meter running yeah it certainly is the beginning of may on a on a cold evening um that bodes really well a couple of months time in in tokyo in nicer weather more practice under the belts those technical skills as well as honing in their individual skills of course yeah they should be delighted so italy very very impressive there next event on the track the first final of the night something to really relish [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] well many of you may not have seen an event like this before it's the two by two by four hundred meters relay two athletes per squad slovakia coming out first the slovak republic they're athletes danielia ledecka and patrick dotamore so they run 400 meters twice each of them very very tough with the less than a minute's recovery naomi correa and ferguson chariot is that kenyan pairing for slovenia anita horvath and zan rudolph really this is uh perhaps the one event where middle distance run runners the 800 meter performers can just get their uh finger in the pie so to speak because the running 400 was such a short recovery twice is very very tough indeed that was the portuguese [Applause] the polish pairing getting a cheer from the officials and other workers in the stadium joanna yoswig and patrick dilbeck they were fourth in 2019 the best placed of any team here and belarus completing the lineup of the six teams they were fifth in 2019 in yokohama with ilana villacanovich and elia canabukau would you a fancy something like this jim i'd love to have a go at someone it's not that i could run 400 meters very well but it's just i just like the challenge of it it is a challenge isn't it and we talked about the nerves of the four by 100 meters i think these athletes might be the most nervous athletes and we just see your swig there do a big breath out this is a training session this is tough it's actually a session that i used to do as an 800 meter athlete i would run a repetition of a 400 meters have somewhere between 30 seconds and 60 seconds recovery and do another i call it a split 800. and looking down the start list here we've got 400 meter athletes we've got 400 meter hurdlers and we've got 800 meter athletes taking on this challenge so it's one of those spectacles that everyone enjoys but i'm sure they're all a little bit nervous i bet they're nervous because it's going to be painful how do you run it do you run your first 400 flat out and hope that in the 45 or 50 seconds recovery you've got you recover enough to put in a half decent performance in the second one surely not you have to give what 95 96 on your first run and produce absolutely 101 percent on your second run i hope they even out you'd actually think that you could come back stronger on the second one i think and the biggest thing is not to get carried away so if we look down the list you know as an 800 meter runner i'm looking at um you know just vig from poland she was fifth in the rio olympics and second recently at the european indoor championships but she'll be up against some women who have a faster 400 meter personal best than her um interesting slovenian pairing they're the only team to actually feel the team from slovenia so they must fancy the chances and horvat the lead-off leg the female athlete is around a 51-22 which is very very quick for a 400 meter athlete so don't get too carried away don't go with the pace work out you know i'm sure they've done a training session to work out what sort of case they should go but very interesting we can sit back and enjoy this one tim well it was held for the first time in yokohama 2019 as we see these lead off ladies ledecka for slovakia and across now to belarus villacanovich let's go from the inside out it's ledecica for slovakia kenya's korea slovenia's horvat portugal's elvora poland schalvik there she is a 157 performer at 800 meters she has real speed and strength in the belarusian villacanovich now this is a 400 meters but you wouldn't expect most of them to run what jenny much quicker than around 53 is something like that well i'm actually surprised how slow this has gone off i'm just gonna say that but i didn't want to i'm glad you were it looked about 15 seconds for the first 100 meters which would be about 50 and 60 seconds for 400 so just looking at 200 it's about 29. so this would definitely fade the 800 meter athletes and uh yeah surprised i thought we were looking around about 55 seconds so tentative let's just say it's been a tentative start it has and i suspect it's because they're unfamiliar with this sort of territory it's a strange challenge i mean as an 800 meter runner did you ever do two four hundred so with just a minute's rest career it is on the shoulder of yosvik as they come down the home straight but none of them look really that stressed considering they've got they've just supposed to run a 400 i would have thought it somewhere around 1995 yeah it's basically a time that you were registered through 800 meters but here we go kenya um are still up there and poland in fact i'm just looking at that caption it's it's not quite right so polish afric he's interesting he's a 400 meter hurdler but actually took the indoor 800 meter title indoors just getting overtaken there by the kenyan athlete um sorry rotage um he was fifth in rio um spectacular 800 meter runner 142.54 so it really does favor the 800 meter runners at the front well again i'm a little surprised at the lack of urgency in these men on their first leg easy it's easy to say from up here but they are the ones who can judge it best from down there it's a cold night as uh well the kenyan athlete cody takes over in the lead very marginally from yosvik of poland and they have got a handover again to their male compatriots who will run their second leg that will be the final leg of course as they go into the back straight naomi korea beginning to work a little bit harder now yosvik with that long raking stride looks very comfortable almost cutting a stride there in the slipstream of korea 200 meters to run going well at the moment i think it's uh slovenia's uh anita horvath and she's making ground on that leading pair i wonder if they're aware that the ground they've made up so far has kind of been thrown away by allowing chasing runners to close up it shouldn't be as tactical as this is my opinion as you can see coming through horvat of slovenia is catching a courier of kenya yosvik though has pushed away hard through this last 115 hands over to a compatriot uh with a big lead there patrick dolbeck now the final leg yeah i don't think we're going to see too much lactic acid produced are we and dopic has got a big big lead there um like i say a 400 meter hurdler turned 800 meter athlete so we're gonna think that he's going to be coming home really really strong and we're just watching the kenyan athlete there coming into second position that's rotage fifth in rio olympic games he actually got a bronze at the world championships in doha two years ago but the polls are away and this looks like an emphatic win for them well dobeck is seven times the polish champion at 400 meter hurdles and they are tough fellas the 400 meter hurdlers it's a very very vicious event and he's working hard he'd stay clear there's chasing going on behind vicious chasing from chariot rotic he gets second place there but he doesn't have time to close up and dobeck poland take the win from kenya and in second place there in third place rather was slovenia wrestling bringing up the rear portugal just coming home but that was very comfortable indeed for poland yeah that is the purring that we thought would win that slovenia did fancy the chances though didn't they like i say this was the only team that they fielded here at this world relays and jan rudolph came home really really strong on that second 400 meter leg just to close in there on third position well and the prize money for that one we haven't mentioned the prize money yet twelve thousand dollars for the winning pairing six thousand per second and then it drops down to two and a half thousand per third there is prize money for all the different uh finalists at these relays poland 3 14 92 ahead of kenya slovenia belarus portugal and the slovak republic it's a comfortable win by the bigger chunk of a second there poland over kenya 1600 meters and 340.92 there was a lot of tactile running going on there which really surprised me jenny i've not seen it before i was expecting it to be a little bit more flat out guts out on the track you know really giving it everything i mean the world mile record 343 and that's that's over that's uh over 1600 meters and uh the winning time there was 340. it is a tough challenge and maybe the athletes thought it was going to be a little bit tougher and uh it was interesting actually how they started on the curved line and we saw straight away josephine come across as an 800 meter specialist she knew to do that she dominated but this was the pairing that we did think would would take the uh the victory we're just seeing these changeovers that's the second change over there quite a few bodies in the way of these athletes as josvik here on the third leg kicked hard through the last 115 that built the winning lead for the polls over horvat and slovenia and uh zan rudolf all he could do was chase hard but dobeck very very competent carry by him judged it well looking up the big screen and coming home there without too much trouble the victor in fact the mascot hardly let him get across the line that might have been his biggest challenge of the evening trying to slow himself down he's not a small fella either vic i'd like to i'm sorry um dobeck i'd like knows who the mascot is he's been working out a little bit the old cheetah well i think that's a a smile of elation and maybe a little bit of a relief as well you know when you are hosting an event like this and you are you know one of the favorites it's hard to carry that tag isn't it so i'm sure the polish um do wear will be really really pleased that they've managed to uh do what they were supposed to 340.92 well the all-time best time is 336.9 to exactly four seconds quicker so that gives you some idea of the caliber of that run and it did become effectively a tactical affair certainly the ladies were holding back significantly i thought in their legs well the kenyans are pleased aren't they they're capturing the moment selfies can you take a selfie tim any good at selfies no all for my camera refuses so just looking in the last four by 100 meters of relay for men portugal there with our disqualified unfortunately there you can see that changer outside the yellow line that was an awful effort from the portuguese what a shame and i think the incoming runner knew it look he was uh powerless to do anything about it so an adjustment there with the disqualification of portugal it was uh delvis santos who was going out maybe a little too early italy winning from south africa france botswana belarus and portugal disqualified well let's have a look again then at the uh qualifiers for the men's 400 100 meters relay final tomorrow night italy the quickest along with brazil but just a few thousand south africa germany netherlands gun japan and denmark [Music] well the mixed relay athletes out now for the first of uh three heats netherlands czech republic portugal france spain turkey and kenya and the mascots are they gonna take up a lane so i'm hearing there is no official result yet been issued for that two by two by four hundred meters relay there we believe might have been a disqualification and can you believe it's portugal again disqualified what a shame portugal disqualified poland were the winners from kenya and slovenia with the belarus and slovak republic in fifth place portugal their duo disqualified i'm afraid you haven't seen the offense yet but uh dorothea evora and jiaokuello were their duo so a lot of hard work for a lot of disappointment for them i'm afraid great shame [Music] so the next event on the track the 4 by 400 meters mixed relay we have three heats and jenny yet again this is something that i think is a fantastic innovation for the sport the two by two by 400 meters that we've just seen is not an olympic event but this is one that is being introduced to major championship global championship programs it took place in doha 2019 and it will be in tokyo later on this summer men and women mixing it up in a four by four hundred yeah and it's a good addition i'm just looking actually watch the dutch squad tony van deepan and we can also see the french athlete brosia there a lot of these athletes have already competed in the individual 4x4 for men and women already this evening so this is the second time some of these athletes are going round this 400 meter circuits and again all the teams want to be there it's another opportunity to represent your country try to compete for a medal so this is a great innovation and it looked really really good in doha and i think a lot of the teams are really taking this event seriously hence you know they're all deciding to compete here this weekend well it is may the first the olympic games you may have heard me say earlier just over 12 weeks away the athletics at the olympic games that is and that makes it a very very long summer and athletes have to gauge their peak the intensity of their plateau of great performances it's a little too early for that just yet so this is a weekend for some of these athletes of good hard training mixed with racing the french have uh two athletes two ladies two women on the first two legs unusually ahmadine and elisa trinkler lane three the czech republic we've had problems in their four by one hundred meters race kenya go in lane eight jared mamani will hand over to joan toronto then mary mara and spain going in lane six julio arenas their lead off athletes the french with that uh unusual strategic decision woman woman man man their quartet that's their running order most quartets go man woman woman man indeed portugal well they they're going woman man woman man so there are various uh permutations possible their lead of athletes vera barbosa the czech republic gun man woman woman man and uh kersek their leader of athlete martijn and then the netherlands on the inside now vardenberg is the lead-off man he'll handle defense who we saw runner 400 earlier of course like lava and uh tony van deepen so they're going man woman woman man jenny in your opinion is there a a right or wrong order it's a tough one isn't it it is but looking at three heats the majority have gone man woman woman man it's just this first heat where we've had a differential from that so uh i mean i guess we'll see how it works out well of course it doesn't mean that france in lane five after two legs will be quite a long way down on the other teams and they're gambling their men on the third and fourth legs will make up that deficit again an extraordinarily long hole in the blocks for the athletes time to go and have a cup of tea virtually netherlands on the inside czech republic sir kersek has gone blasting off of course you would expect him to because outside him portugal have vera barbosa so you get these dramatic contrast these huge gaps appearing because some of the athletes are men running up 45-46 second pace and others are women running at 52-50 second pace or even slower they're all giving 100 but on the outside here going well is jared mamani of kenya being chased down by enchu of turkey inside him spain's uh julio arenas now the take over there between spain and turkey almost identical andrea gimenez for spain and the two late the ladies for uh spain and turkey the women who have gone off but leading at the moment in lane two is the uh netherlands female well she has the opportunity here jenny to build up a big big lead on those other ladies behind her yeah she does and it shows how seriously these nations are taking this that some of these athletes are competing so much over the weekend but if you could just see there with about 150 meters to go in the green of portugal we've actually got de santos here the portuguese male athlete who's trying to run some of these women down of course they've opted for that change of format as femke ball now hands over to clavia she got the dutch 200 meter indoor record this year she's in great form she actually got the 400 meter record as well until femke ball traded it with her and here we go this is another change in tactic now this is a french athlete almost what 70 80 meters behind here onto this third leg and he'll be hunting these women down seeing how far he can get that space reduced on this third leg so femme cabal run a great leg lee ka klava now on this third leg for the netherlands out in front and a very healthy lead it is two spain going well in second place with uh ari lorena bocesa running wide that down the outside is the czech athlete lada vondrova and a pack behind this leading pair and good running that from the french athlete on this third leg that's christopher aliali and thomas jordier now for france what sort of inroads can he make on this leg surely the netherlands aren't going to be caught jen well i was going to say it looks like the netherlands have got this water stitched up it's in the bag with 200 meters to go an athlete like van deepan no one's going to catch him but fascinating into third place there we're just trying to catch the frame here um turkish athletes coming into third place there they're all of course trying to run for those positions in those finals those non-automatic qualifications as the dutch athlete van deeper can just really just take his time coming over the line and it's a fight for that third position oh and who got that one i think it might have been well hard to tell it was a blue vest i thought maybe the french you know what i really like about this event is you're not just looking at the front you're looking all the way back what is happening through the field because people are trading places all the way and maybe a little bit of cramp there for uh tony van deepen i'm not surprised but the netherlands win it from spain it was indeed the french who took third place remember the qualifying is just the first two teams through by right to tomorrow's final again two non-automatic qualifier spots so the netherlands winning that one pretty impressively so we talked about the tactics didn't we and you know france adopted something different with two women going first then the two men going in third and fourth oh we're just looking here at the kenyan squad off just before the changeover that looked nasty i'm sure that's a bit of a graze of the arm but they did actually manage to complete the race yeah up and running again there we see but yeah the french team they did actually manage to come back into third position uh after that um difference of running order compared to the others so i don't know if we can say it worked or it didn't work but uh they did okay so just images there of van deep and he looked like he was really relaxed and i think almost when he came across the line he just got a little bit of cramp at the end but the spanish team have qualified for that final so they can enjoy themselves this evening go back to the hotel maybe decided they're going for the same format tomorrow is there any other athletes to come into that squad and the french of course face the anxious weight now they'll have to watch the next two heats to see whether they can qualify on a positional time so the athletes for this second heat coming out belgium italy poland south africa japan colombia cold for them i bet and the slovak republic bringing up the rear [Applause] so a little bit more straightforward this one in fact the next two heats have all gone for the same order man woman woman man so not as much dramatics expected on this one well just hearing that the two by two by 400 meters portugal have been reinstated there must be an appeal and a review of uh the video evidence and portugal have been reinstated to finish in fifth place 351.6 so slovak republic for a little while in fifth place but a back to sixth i'm afraid in that one spain setting a national record by the way in that uh mixed relay first heat 318.98 almost a second behind the netherlands with that world lead 318.04 and france in the fastest non-automatic qualifier spot at the moment 320.95 well the shuttle hurdles final the mixed final coming up in 30 minutes from now that'll be at two minutes to the hour the second final of this uh first day of course tomorrow it's finals all the way seven disciplines seven finals here in this uh the glorious facility there's a slight mist across the arena now such as the uh drop in temperature but the poles well i suspect they'll be strong in this one roshenyak goes on the first leg for their material they've chosen to go for man woman woman man the italians in lane two likewise man woman woman man indeed as you pointed out quite rightly jenny every squad in this race opting for that format i wonder why can you think of the the sort of the thinking behind that if every athlete's giving their all it shouldn't make a difference should it because at the end of the day it's for athletes running 400 meters but i think experience teaches you that so maybe it's a format that other people have adopted at the beginning and then people seem to think the best teams were doing it that way so yeah out of the three heats it was just that first heat with france and portugal deciding to uh break the mold well 31804 sets the standard by the netherlands with spain a a fabulous national record 318-98 so slovakia on the outside in this uh second the slovak republic oliver on their leading legal land over to ivette oliver emma zapler and then semen colombia go in lane seven palazzo john alejandro palazza who has already raced this evening on the opening leg for them japan in lane six there's been a change for their final leg athlete suzuki will carry the baton home once ikeda takes it out of the blocks south africa with uh khanna kazuel already raced as well on the fourth leg poland well they've just had a rather successful experience in the two by two by 400 meters and davide on the final leg for them that's a good squad from the italians belgium jonathan sakura interesting athlete only a youngster trains with the ballets cynthia bolingo he'll hand over to and then camille laos and kevin boley on the final leg for the belgians again strong squad that from the belgians well the team who were third in the first heat france from 320.95 and in fourth place turkey 320.98 so those the times to watch belgium italy poland south africa japan colombia and slovak republic well away we go then four laps of the track four different athletes the order being man woman woman man this is a new discipline and uh an innovation that has been widely received very positively hence its acceptance into the world athletics championships as in doha two years ago and it will be in tokyo in late july early august this summer good running here from palazzo on the opening leg for columbus dark glasses and all the japanese working hard there is a kedar just inside him left of picture yeah great start there by colombia from perez he was a lead off for the fourth position when they were fourth in the men's four by four in doha but all changed there and really interesting for a lot of these women who received the baton at high speed by the mender but everyone seems to have got the batten no problems as we break on the second leg is the italians yes the italians that lead this is athlete trevison she was third in the world relays uh back in the last edition in the women's 4x4 italy have hosted a great squad in that event for a number of years and she digs in deep here trying to get a really good lead for her teammates going into that third leg travis and finishing superbly here japan in second place being run down now is that belgium coming through to second place but trevisan has run an astonishing look she hands over with seven or eight meters lead belgium is who take over in second place camille laos now for them she's already raced this evening japan in third place here giving a good account of themselves that's uh mayu koyabashi for japan easing past laos of belgium who must be running on tired legs that's perhaps forgivable poland back in fourth place at the moment lazavska in fourth place for them and moving through really strongly to the slovak republic around the outside there's a real pack there chasing down the italians who are enjoying this alice mangione running superbly well to maintain that lead as laos now kicks hard in her second run of the evening but the italians that has to be 25 meters lead brilliant run from then and this should be a relative breeze for davide ray on the final leg for italy belgium it is who take over in second place with kevin borle yeah borle is a great relay runner we've already seen him compete of course in the four by four heats earlier this evening but you wouldn't think that he could run down ray ray has gone under 45 seconds to 400 meters twice in his lifetime he's the italian national record holder but i'm saying that i hope reyes actually left himself a little bit here he has a quick look over his shoulder as the chasing pack comes around sembrano there from colombia coming from fourth into third position trying to pass the pole and it's kevin borlay in second but it is ray from italy who takes the win in 316.50 that is very quick is quick yes the italians they're enjoying that one that's a time that almost makes it into the all-time top 10 for the italians belgium having a great leg there from kevin ballet finishing in second place just waiting for those times to be confirmed at least 316.5 in fact fastest time in the world this year of course belgium 317 22 and in third place colombia 317 61. as i mentioned that is a world leading time for the italians comfortably winning that from what was a strong belgian squad well we could just see the pain can't we lyce is having to do exactly the same as the dutch athletes that's actually due to van deepan and the lingo looks like she's in a little bit of pain there this is a true 400 meter lactic in those legs and uh i hope you saved enough for day two the first four as we see this first change of the first four in that second heat are the four fastest times of the day they're all faster than the winner of the first heat the netherlands can you believe this was a major contributing factor the brilliant running of giancarlo trevesan on the second leg for italy handing over to her teammate alice mangione the italians just never gave anybody else a chance they really put together a wonderful team effort belgium with balingo and laos and borla and jonathan sakura on their opening leg put out a very strong quartet but the italians well almost in different class here no wonder that please that was quick the world best i don't know if i can call it a world record 309.34 by the usa that was in uh in doha actually at those world championships late in september 2019 but that's a top-notch time and a great win from the italians in that second heat so the third and final heat then the team's uh coming out belarus lead them out brazil will be right behind behind them botswana enjoying these relays then the irish all smiles there phil healey and charlene horsley germany dominican republic and great britain and northern ireland bring up the rear well great britain need a a bit of luck after uh that's a bad luck in the 4x400 earlier on the baton was dropped and it is a strong british quartet rubber youssef lavia nielsen emily diamond and lee thompson and loving nielsen has been in great form recently jenny so a lot of hopes back in the uk on this one and the irish squad what great seat tom so experienced a 400 meter hurdler yeah fourth in rio um devastating to be in that fourth position but you know unquestionably it was uh the performance of his career i don't actually think he was too disappointed although it was just 500 away from that bronze medal but again you know on paper this is a very strong irish quartet so um i'm sure a lot of them will have seen the screen seen the sort of times it takes to you know get those non-fastest um times into that final so uh i'm sure a lot of them will be thinking oh my goodness 317 is going to take if you're not actually in the first two to try and get to that final on a time so um yeah there's only one way to do it and it and it's eyeballs out as they say just don't leave anything on the track as we can just see the alison de santos he's just trying to get himself in the right frame of mind world finalist over 400 meter hurdles still a teenager indeed when he did that 48.15 his personal best for the 400 meter hurdles so i'm sure he's gonna show quite a lot on that last leg here nervous moments these for the athletes waiting to take over all these teams going for the man woman woman man format and germany well they will be in lane six henrik claus at their lead of athlete will hand over to lunatill and then hannah mergen tala on the third leg we'll hand over to johannes trevz on the anchor leg for them i can tell you that japan have definitely not made the final they are the third quickest of the non-automatic qualifiers and yet they are faster than spain who have made it and uh you can argue that there are draws for these races seeding and of course to some degree a tactical element in the racing but that is tough for japan the two teams in the non-automatic qualifier spots at the moment are colombia and poland they were third and fourth in that second heat that is the caliber of that second heat where italy set that superb season's best 3 16 52. so the target time for the third team in this one is 317.92 and that is a poland the host nation so the third and final heat of the uh mixed four by 400 meters relay great britain on the outside rubber youssef on the outside real character rubber loves to don that british vest lavia nielsen will be on the second leg dominican republic with jan carlos martinez on the opening leg helen over to annabelle medina ventura marillady paulino alexander ogundo germany as i said klauser we'll hand over to luna teal hannah murgan tala johannes trebs johannes thrifts and then the arch for that strong shot chris o'donnell on the opening leg phil helium leg two charlene moordsley on leg three and thomas bart 400 meter hurdler surely a reliable carrier of the baton on the anchor leg botswana zibane on the opening leg for then i'll hand over to alexander kilmanovich zubko well several of these teams are looking at their national records are well capable of getting inside the time of the second non-automatic qualifying squad [Applause] [Music] oh well not much break in the echelon at the moment rubber youssef of great britain on the outside has to gauge this effort neatly himself being chased there by dominican republic sir john carlos martinez and the powerfully built vasilevskiy of belarus on the opening leg for them he's got a bit of work to do at the moment in lane two top of picture rubber youssef still moving well down the home straight grimacing now so important these last 50 or 60 meters keep that stride length going lavia nielsen takes the batten maybe not in the lead good run there for brazil i think they're in the lead anderson freitas enriquez run superbly hands over to mourinho yeah it was very tight wasn't it on the change and brazil did just maybe have the lead fractionally but here we go island i did think they had a good squad when i looked at the individual athletes this is phil healey she's had another great season indoors great over 200 meters fantastic over that 400 meters as well and she's just got lavier nelson there from great britain right on her shoulder as they enter that last 100 meters so it's ireland great britain and brazil one two three at the moment what a run this is from phil healey boy oh boy she's easing away from the other pair although the brazilian coming back and now mourinho has run his fantastic final 100 there to hand over in the lead ireland in second great britain in third on this third leg for great britain is emily diamond but brazil with this third leg athlete guys coutinho don't have a big lead ireland chasing hard charlene maudsley on this third leg for them and now beginning to make their presence felt the dominican republic with metal lady paolino looking strong yeah paulino she's a national record holder both at 200 and 400 and isn't she showing it she's got a personal best of the 400 meters at 50.31 seconds and that's real real world-class showing but i've got to say the irish athletes mosley has done very very well to still be really on her shoulder which is 50 meters to go and in fact she's actually taking the lead as she hands over to thomas barr in the lead for ireland brilliant from mordsley barban takes over in the lead great britain are back in fourth place at the moment but this is the tightest yet brazil on the shoulder of ireland dominican republic in third great britain in fourth for great britain here lee thompson sizing up the opposition bar with outside him the brazilian alessandro santos he's kept him at bay at the moment there's a real knack to keeping your effort for the home straight in these relays but going faster not enough to not give the others any real hope as barr kicks into the straight dos santos from brazil now lengthens his stride thompson for great britain trying to get through and on the inside dominican republic coming through sue ogando it's brazil dominican republic island of great britain in third and fourth the winning time 316.49 that is quick it's quicker than italy it's the fastest time in the world this year wow such a competitive third and final heat absolutely brilliant racing from every one of the quartet down the home straight well that's what we want to see isn't it we want to look at these times look at island they've actually run one of the quickest times here this evening and they will take a place in tomorrow night's final well that time from brazil has been adjusted quite substantially 316.49 came up which would have made them quicker than uh italy but uh it's been slowed by four one hundredths of a second can you believe and that means that italy are still the fastest of all of them brazil the second fastest dominican republic the third fastest ireland belgium ireland the uh fourth fastest of all of them without a third place great britain the sixth fastest with that fourth place those heats got quicker and quicker from heat one to heat two and then from e2 to e3 they were brutal weren't they and i'm just trying to work out the finalists and i think ireland will qualify on a on a time and i think belgium yeah belgium have got through because they qualified by right anyway the teams that are qualified by right are italy brazil and dominican republic belgium netherlands and spain but listen to this netherlands were ninth fastest spain were 11th fastest and pity were groups the teams who have got through as the non-automatic qualifiers are ireland and great britain but colombia and poland much quicker than two of the automatic qualifiers but don't go through there's that final change over what a leg it was from the brazilian dos santos that final leg was scintillating wasn't it we saw um desantos actually you know visualizing before he even took to the track thomas barr ran very very well he held everybody off ran a really first well judged first 200 meters and he did well to actually hold lee thompson from great britain and northern ireland off as well but uh bars efforts are definitely worth it because they've made that place into the final well the seeding could be called something that was leaving a bit to be desired but i'm sure it looked alright on paper before those three heats great britain fourth in their heat but the sixth fastest of all the teams the irish know they've qualified they were the fourth fastest of the day and yet not even an automatic qualifier can they believe 316.84 personal best for the irish that it effectively i suppose means it's a national record the dominican republic uh likewise in third place they qualified by right though but that was a very very strange series of races jenny and all the more exciting for it it was each one got better didn't they and uh you know what i'm going to call it i think that could be the race of the weekend come that final tomorrow week it is very close well isn't it funny that you know we had a athletes in the two by two by 400 meters earlier who ran tactically and it was full up to the track but didn't really get your hackles up and and you know there was so much being held back and yet in this wow every athlete was giving 101 and uh the times and the the way that it is panned out when you look at the summary is is spectacular and you have to say you feel sorry for japan who ran tenth fastest but didn't make the final even though they're quicker than one of the non-automatic qualifiers well we're going to show you the result of uh heat two from that uh mixed four by 400 meters relay it was the one where italy in fact we're gonna show you heat one heat two heat three how about that in the chronological order uh just to wrap up those three mixed four by four hundred meter relay heats netherlands three eighteen zero four setting a personal best spain a national record three eighteen point nine eight not quite sure what a personal best is if it's not a national record and it's not a season's best but in a way we'll clear that one up before tomorrow so netherlands and spain did make it through okay from that first hit from the second heat the qualifiers were italy and belgium by right but uh colombia not making it through colombia were the seventh fastest but still didn't make the final and heat three there it is brazil dominican republic island great britain well those times would have uh graced a final pretty well frankly brazil and dominican republic by right ireland and great britain are the two non-automatic qualifiers well one final to come but there are the qualifiers for that mixed four by 400 meters relay final tomorrow evening and what a beauty that promises to be italy brazil dominican republic ireland belgium great britain netherlands and spain just two nations outside of europe making that mixed four by 400 meters relay and italy and brazil pretty much inseparable not a great deal between the dominican republic and ireland it will be special i wonder if there'll be many swaps of squads sometimes field only journey with relays that athletes who qualify from the heat deserve to be able to go through and represent the team in the final but of course team tactics sometimes mean replacements are shifted in yeah and it depends obviously which events other athletes have been doing during this weekend there's been two times when i've run in the final and it's been amazing and times when i've just been used in a heat and of course athletes who can run a little bit quicker have been put in for that final but uh i think the main thing is everyone feels part of it this weekend and uh yeah what a show we just saw [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] well the mixed shuttle hurdles relay it's a commonly held event in north america in the usa i've commented on this many times but at a global level it's relatively new it was introduced to two years ago in yokohama when there are only two teams germany one of only three today poland are in the trio of squads fighting out for victory [Applause] that hasn't been rehearsed or anything i did get worried i was thinking why is there only three competitors ah they're determined to enjoy themselves it's fabulous stuff a hurdles relay don't think i've ever seen it staged in the uk have you i haven't there's an opportunity for somebody to set a president and kenya of all nations not renowned for their sprint hurdling but they are putting out a squad here priscilla tabunda michael mojioki and zuku nusra and wiseman mukobe all squads are going for woman man woman man that is the way it is uh the rules dictate two years ago in yokohama usa won from japan there were only two teams in the final can you believe indeed today there's prize money for four squads but only three teams are making it here and of course there is uh it's apt to remind you that the pandemic has reduced attendance to some degree in uh disciplines here and there at these relays these are fifth world relays but for that there would be a much bigger turnout and many federations being very very sensitive and cautious knowing that their uh athletes have to prepare with minimized risk of catching covid that means reducing travel where possible and indeed mixing on all circumstances be it airports planes hotels and so on germany poland and kenya then so we are guaranteed a new winner you'll notice i'm trying to avoid saying champions because there are no medals at these uh world relays there are no champions there are winners and it is uh an exercise relay running that enables a lot of athletes to pick up enormous experience if they're youngsters and enables well-experienced athletes to polish their baton handling skills so let's explain to you how it works the uh athletes obviously four per team just use the home straight the women start on the uh finish line in effect and run down towards the 100 meters finish towards their the men and the women have to run their 100 hurdles as per normal and then an extra 10 meters to get to the men's start line because of course the high hurdles discipline for men is 110 meter hurdles the men then run left to right towards the finish line and as they pass a cone so the lead off for the next athlete to go out has to judge their start and they can be disqualified there are officials at each start line uh so they have to be very cautious they don't go off early but as they reach a cone then the next athlete can head off and run their leg the third athlete of course is a woman and then the final leg athlete running from left to right and the normal direction down the home straight is a man are you with me yes i follow you this is the only event of course where we don't use a button there is no handover the athletes are in the blocks and they start on his or her own judgments one the once the incoming athlete crosses the line fascinating watching this event two years ago it was the first time i've ever actually seen it and one of the biggest challenges i think is for the third and fourth athletes to actually change the blocks so of course the first female and the first male have got their blocks set up but then the second female second male have got to you know get their own measurements change the blocks in less than 30 seconds and and get going over the hurdle so uh definitely no room for nerves or um you know any sort of premonitions on things like this monica zapalska we saw just turn the lead of athlete for germany that is susannah hulse hollis and kenya's priscilla tabunda is their lead off athlete but of course this is a very technically demanding discipline the sprint hurdles and uh what is it rock paper scissors i'm sure they'd sorted that out before then i hope they had anyway i'm not sure but anyway the all-time list is topped by the usa with 54.96 and that was uh us quartet back in 2019. germany poland kenya then good start there from monica zapalska of germany at the top she's going well at the moment leading from hulu's of uh poland kenya's uh to bunda with a bit of work to do at the moment as they come through to the first change so to speak and it is germany who get away in the lead as you would expect this is eric balneuvik looking really strong at the moment bounivoid leading from kilian christoph kilian of poland who is closing a little bit kenya still with some work to do through zuku now back to the ladies once again anna weigled for germany in the lead left up picture poland trying desperate to get back to them with claudia vojnik and she does close the gap a little bit there's a lot resting on this final leg as rookia for kenya closes in that third leg and now germany and it is still gregor traba he's a useful performer i don't think he's going to be caught here damien giukia is very very fast indeed stumbles at the last barrier he was closing in fact i'm not sure he'd have got their anyway kenya bringing up the rear behind germany and poland mukobi of kenya running a strong leg there so make sure that kenya were not out of sight in third it place exciting wasn't it and i'm just looking at the polish athlete damien chickier he enjoyed that well he did but zapalska all credit to her on the far side there because she ran a superb first leg and uh her start was pretty much what wrapped it up for the german she was very very quick the uh her opponent hoolig of poland was never able to get back on terms still amita at the start like that and if you're of equal ability through the rest of the race well you'll finish a meter ahead and germany never had a big lead they could never relax no it went all the way to the line didn't it and such an interesting dynamic again i don't think um hurdlers would ever expect to be in a hurdles relay with you know a mixed turtles relay especially in europe as we've said so i think a lot of these nations are getting used to this event and definitely embracing it and one of the things i noticed is there wasn't too many hurdles clattered was there i think it's quite unusual obviously to have a female hurdle and a male hurdle right next to each other and it must affect your sight line surely i mean even in training you probably would never have two different heights of hurdles lined up next to each other no absolutely absolutely and we were talking earlier one way at lunch about whether it's off-putting for the ladies to be hurdling over a barrier that's several inches higher well it didn't seem to affect any of the teams you can see them all there with the national flags getting some good early season preparation done and yeah flags all around well poland taking second place kenya third and uh earning some prize money on the back of that and rightly so that does conclude the uh racing on the track on this first of two days at these fifth world relays what an evening it's been vicious competition as athletes were and teams were vying for places in tomorrow's finals and not forgetting that tomorrow evening the actual action begins at 7 20 local time that's central european time 6 20 in the uk and you can make your adjustments wherever you're listening i hope on the back of that but it is finals all the way tomorrow over four by one hundred four by four hundred four by two hundred uh mixed races i've been through today and kenya enjoying themselves it's been a long long few days for many of these athletes who have traveled from afar as reading that the south african athletes for example traveled for nearly 30 hours to get here a journey that should have taken no more than what normally about 10 hours something like that that's commitment isn't it there's the athletes heading up in that first leg you can see uh zapalska left a picture hurtling marginally ahead of zuzanahoolish hoolish hitting that barrier that would have been costly in fact it was pretty tight at the line but germany got away the quick up through their second leg runner eric belnovite he's experienced bountyvite tall too just makes an adjustment to the stride and effect to take in those barriers lovely side on shot that look at that graceful oh his coach will want to keep that and have a very very thorough review of it i'm sure and that's interesting that we just get the visual of the crash mats at the end of course there's not enough runoff for those athletes so not only have they got to power their way down 10 hurdles but they've also got to meet a crash mat at the end this is running to victory for the germans just skimming that ninth barrier clattering that final barrier but dipping impressively enough at the line to take the win and the time 56.53 from germany to poland's 56.68 and uh ken is 59.89 and that time from germany to win is the fifth fastest time in history it isn't often run this discipline we have to acknowledge that but it's uh building and it's great fun the athletes love it and i think in a packed stadium the crowds would be roaring those athletes on and really enjoying it backwards and forwards so to and fro on the home straight i can see that going down well in the uk can't you so much action in under a minute um it was great oh and some emotion though that's what we like to see this is what we've come for shows what it means to a lot of these athletes just getting that opportunity to to compete and to put on the national vest it's been so long for many of them and the first time of course we have to acknowledge that a lot of people will be making the debuts at these championships eric belnive there yeah second leg runner for germany that shuttle hurdle relay overcome with emotion germany the winners then 56.53 their time ahead of poland 56.68 not a lot in it kenya taking third place bringing up the rear in that mixed shuttle hurdles relay no medal table of course to conclude proceedings at this the end of this first day of two here in the solution stadium this is not a championships medals are not awarded it is uh racing pure and simple well this is heat two of the women's four by 400 meters chaplin's relays holding on and won't wait to be able to hand that baton over [Music] well cuba that beating the netherlands in that uh heat of the four by 400 meters relay that was one of the big turn-ups of the day jenny yeah it was we didn't expect that uh looking forward to seeing what the cubing team can bring tomorrow well the men's four by 400 meters relay as ever producing special running the netherlands were the fastest with 30303 from japan and south africa brazil disqualified unfortunately in the women's four by 100 meters first see they can see that foot treading on the line there of that runner to the left of picture several strides in fact right along that line [Music] and the netherlands qualifying very comfortably in the women's four by 100 meters winning in 43.28 ahead of france and poland [Music] brazil and italy coming very close times going through in the men's four by 100 meters relay 38.45 for brazil for italy brazil 3845 eight one thousandths of a second star in fact seven one thousand so it's slower a second slower and uh good times all the way through including denmark qualifying with a national record poland winning the first uh final of the evening that was the uh two by two times two by four hundred meters and poland's joanie josvik and uh dobeck coming through to take the win ahead of kenya and slovenia taking third place [Music] and italy settling a worldly time the mixed four by 400 meters of 316.52 it was 1 100th quicker than brazil who were to win heat 3. well the last final of the night and for many people the most exciting perhaps is the almost chaotic frantic racing of the mix shuttle hurdle relay germany winning that one from poland and kenya germany's time one of the fastest in history so let's have a look at some of the uh qualifying squads for tomorrow's finals and remember it is finals all the way the women's four by 400 meters cuba poland belgium the netherlands great britain germany italy and france it has a familiar ring to it that one but the cubans will be a real danger indeed they were the quickest of all of them let's take a look at the men's qualifiers in the uh long reload they're four by four hundred meters well the netherlands uh comfortably the fastest 30303 japan outperforming themselves looking very strong indeed south africa and belgium comfortably qualifying botswana colombia france and italy with great britain to surprise non-qualifiers and that one after dropping the baton in their heat [Music] in the women's four by 100 meters relay yet again the netherlands performing supremely a couple of meters quicker than france poland switzerland ecuador italy japan and denmark making it through as well how delighted were they with that non-automatic qualifier spot to make it through to sunday's final ecuador 2 setting a national record and the men's four by 100 meters relay italy where the fast is 38.45 from brazil it came down to thousandth of a second south africa impressive too just a few hundred slower germany netherlands ghana japan and denmark all qualifying it's gonna be very very tight that final not a great deal between those eight teams and the mixed four by 400 meters reload which i think is a fabulous addition to the portfolio of athletic disciplines italy the fastest by 1 100th of a second from brazil the dominican republic in ireland qualifying impressively belgium and great britain along with the netherlands and spain will be in action once again on sunday where i'm sure we'll see quite a few tired legs after the exploits of this first day some athletes with two races under their belts already and let's have a look at the timetable for day two here in katowice in the capital of silesia there it is at 7 20 local time 6 20 in the uk uh amend it's mixed 4 by 400 meters relay but it's finals all the way as you can see concluding with the long relays the traditional conclusion the women's 4 by 400 meters and the men's four by 400 meters it's been a great first day here a wonderful evening in the salisha stadium the uh production team and all the officials done a wonderful job do hope you've enjoyed it too and to remember tomorrow finals all the way jenny the highlight for you might be a strange one but it's the women's four by one ecuador fifth place um qualifying for the final they came into it ranked 40th amazing results yeah i think that's fair enough um one of my big questions and i'd like to talk to people about it is why in the the two by two by 400 there wasn't more aggressive running going on it became a tactical affair which you don't often see over 400 meter running but we'll perhaps find out overnight and uh give you the reasoning tomorrow but from all of us here in this leisure stadium until day two tomorrow's sunday it's a very very warm goodbye in a cold evening from jenny meadows myself tim hutchings and everybody else bye bye for now we'll see you tomorrow do join us remember finals final finals from start to finish on sunday [Music] feel no pain i only gained red hot blood running through my veins mine shark like a razor blade i'm a knockout there's no doubt [Music] [Applause] ain't no man put me to the test ain't no doubt that i'm the best you

Channel: World Athletics

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Keywords: World Athletics, worldAthletics, IAAF, Athletics, World Championships, track and field, World Relays, Silesia, Poland, Relays, world athletics relays, track, live, stream, watch, livestream, 2021, day 1, day

Id: lMIwBPnHnWc

Length: 205min 30sec (12330 seconds)

Published: Sat May 01 2021