World Relays Recap + Assessing Allyson Felix’s Comeback Chances For LA2028

The World Athletics Relays wrapped up Sunday with world records, championship records, and the first automatic qualifiers secured for Budapest and Beijing 2027.

Discussed in this episode:

- Jamaica broke their own mixed 4x100m world record — 39.62 in the final

- USA smashed the mixed 4x400m championship record — 3:07.47

- Host nation Botswana won the men’s 4x400m in 2:54.47 — third fastest in history — in front of a packed home crowd described as one of the best atmospheres in recent track memory

- Norway stunned the field in the women’s 4x400m with a world-leading national record of 3:20.96

- The race of the meet: The men’s 4x400m final produced one of the most jaw-dropping relay performances ever. Botswana (2:54.47), South Africa (2:55.07), and Australia (2:55.20) went 2nd, 3rd, and 4th all time. The world record of 2:54.29 — set by the US in 1993 — survives, but barely. All three anchors were shoulder to shoulder on the final bend before Botswana’s Collen Kebinatshipi pulled away with what witnesses described as otherworldly closing speed.

- The split that turned heads: South African sprinter Lythe Pillay ran a 42.66 relay split — a stunning leg for an athlete whose individual PB coming in was 44.31.

- The lane 3 controversy Another story emerged from Day 1 of the World Relays — and it’s a troubling one. Belgian coach Bram Peters posted photographic evidence that the starting line for lane 3 in the 4x400m heats was incorrectly placed, meaning teams in that lane ran short of the full 400 meters.

- Why USATF skipped the men’s and women’s 4x400m – USATF didn’t send men’s or women’s 4x400 teams to Gaborone — and the reasoning is more logical than it might seem.

- Allyson Felix announces comeback – Felix announced via TIME that she’s coming out of retirement to pursue the 2028 LA Olympics at 42, calling it “Project Six.” Felix’s last season best was 50.71 at age 36 in 2022.

Mentioned in this episode: These are the questions I would ask the Enhanced Games … if they would let me by Sean Ingle via The Guardian

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Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Preet Majithia | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@preet_athletics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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