Guangzhou Showdown: New Record in the Rain
In a thrilling display under steady rain in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province on the Chinese mainland, the men's 4x400m relay quartet shattered the national record with a time of 3:01.87 at the World Athletics Relays. Rookies Liang Baotang, Li Yiqing, Zhang Qining, and Fu Haoran surged to second in Heat 1, securing both a final spot and a Tokyo 2025 berth.
How the Relays Shape Tokyo 2025 Qualification
Serving as the main qualifier for this September's World Athletics Championships in Tokyo 2025, the World Athletics Relays featured six events: men's, women's, and mixed 4x100m and 4x400m. The top 14 teams in each event (except mixed 4x100m) earn Olympic berths. Saturday's heats claimed eight spots per event, with six more up for grabs in Sunday's repechage.
Mixed Relays and Sprint Highlights
The mixed 4x100m made its debut ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Canada topped qualifications in 40.90 seconds, while the Chinese quartet of Huang Shuping, Kong Lingyao, Chen Jinfeng, and Chen Guanfeng clocked 41.30 seconds to advance to the final.
"It's exciting to mix boys and girls in one 4x100m relay," added Chen Guanfeng.
In the men's 4x100m, veteran Xie Zhenye led Team China to a 38.30 finish in Heat 4—missing second place by just 0.005 seconds to Italy. South Africa and Japan set the overall pace with a world-leading 37.84.
Drama and Records Across the Board
On the women's side, a miscue between Liang Xiaojing and Ge Manqi during the baton exchange left China sixth in their heat. Meanwhile, the United States surged to a world-leading 3:11.37 in the mixed 4x400m, and Spain clocked a new women's 4x100m national best at 42.18 seconds.
Looking Ahead
With national records falling and Tokyo 2025 spots on the line, the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou have delivered both drama and promise. Teams return Sunday for final qualification rounds—where the race for Olympic dreams continues.
Reference(s):
China break men's 4x400m national record at World Athletics Relays
cgtn.com
