Latest news with #2025WorldAthleticsRelays
Daily Maverick
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Maverick
Sensational Team SA take two golds and a bronze at World Athletics Relays in China
It was a magical meeting for Team SA at the 2025 World Athletics Relays in China as the men's 4x100m and 4x400m quartets took gold. On the eve of the 2025 World Athletics Relays staged in Guangzhou, South Africa's sprint star Akani Simbine said the skill in relay running was about 'camaraderie'. And the camaraderie of Team SA was so clear over the course of the week in China that when it came to slick handovers the South African men's relay team were among the best. Being fast is obviously important. But being able to transfer the baton as seamlessly as possible while running at top speed, surrounded by the thundering feet and arms of competitors, is equally vital. And in the men's 4x100m relay final, against strong US, Canadian and Japanese teams, Simbine and his colleagues — Bayanda Walaza, Sinesipho Dambile and Bradley Nkoana — showed both traits as they took gold in a season best 37.61 seconds. Their changes were smooth after being led out by Walaza — the world junior 100m and 200m champion — but by the last leg, Simbine was two metres behind the US' Brandon Hicklin. That's where speed and experience won the day. Simbine stayed calm and relaxed as he catapulted off on the final leg to haul in Hicklin and dip perfectly at the line. Team SA won by 0.05 seconds for their second World Relay gold at this discipline following their triumph in Poland in 2021. Simbine, Walaza and Nkoana were part of the South African team that won silver at the Paris Olympics last year. Team SA not only beat the US, but 2024 Olympic champions Canada as well as Japan, who ran 37.84sec in the semi-final in China. 'Once I got the baton and I saw that the USA was in front of us, I just said to myself, 'I need to catch the guy in front',' Simbine said after the final. 'I knew I could do it, and I just chased him. I feed from chasing, I feed from being able to chase. So it's really great to be able to be in that position and get through it and get to the line first.' Before the event started, Simbine explained the team's approach, which displayed his experience and showed the level of detail the quartet go to in their preparation. 'The big thing with the placing of the guys — everybody wants to be the anchor, because they feel like the anchor gets all the limelight,' Simbine said in an interview with World Athletics. 'But every position works with different strengths, and every athlete has different strengths. As a coach, when you're putting together a team, it's putting together the guys according to their strengths and not according to egos. 'You can have the fastest guys in the world at that time running, but if you don't get the stick around, and you don't have the guys in their best positions running, then it's not going to work out. 'It's the camaraderie and everybody just wanting to be part of the team and starting to believe in a relay culture in South Africa. 'Because before that, we didn't have a relay culture — it was always just 'show up and run'. Now people are actually believing in getting medals and the importance of getting medals from the World Championships or from the Olympics, and making it a priority. That's a big thing for us now.' 400m success Less than half an hour after winning the men's 4x100m, South Africa notched up another victory, this time in the men's 4x400m, smashing the South African record in the process. Gaerdeo Isaacs, Udeme Okon, Leendert Koekemoer and Zakithi Nene produced a fine run, to snatch gold. South Africa went into Sunday's final keen to avenge the defeat they suffered at the hands of Botswana last year. Lee Bhekempilo Eppie gave Botswana an early lead on the first leg, handing over just ahead of Great Britain and NI. By the halfway point, Botswana continued to lead but South Africa was close behind in second, thanks to a 44.24 leg from Okon. Koekemoer maintained South Africa's pace on the third leg with an almost identical 44.23, which carried them into the lead towards the end of that stage with Botswana close behind. Nene then pulled clear on the last leg for South Africa and powered through the line in 2:57.50, smashing the national record they set when finishing fifth in the Olympic final last year. Behind him, 2024 world indoor champion Alexander Doom had navigated his way through the field with a late charge, taking second place in 2:58.19 while Botswana held on for third in 2:58.27. Qualifying The two-day event also served as qualifying for the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo in August. For the first time, the relays included a mixed 4x100m relay, which will also be included in the World Championships later this year. 'It was great to be part of a team that brought an Olympic medal to South Africa,' Simbine said. 'But also, for me to see the next generation of South African sprinters coming through, and be a spearhead and a motivator for that. 'The mixed (relay) is a good idea. It brings a different taste to athletics. Now, it is not just about having the fastest men or the fastest women, it is about having the fastest team. I am going to be watching and supporting, to see how it works out.' Team SA's men's 4x100m and 4x400m qualified for the World Championships while the women's 4x400m also qualified after a superb bronze medal in the final. Team SA consisting of Shirley Nekhubui, Miranda Coetzee, Precious Molepo and Zeney Geldenhuis, ran a national record time of 3:24.84, finishing just behind the USA and surprise gold medallists Spain. DM Results Men's 4x100m South Africa — 37.61 United States — 37.66 Canada — 38.11 Men's 4x400m South Africa — 2:57.50 Belgium — 2:58.19 Botswana — 2:58.27 Women's 4x400m Spain — 3:24.13 United States — 3:24.72 South Africa — 3:24.84
Canada Standard
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Canada Standard
Chinese men's 4x400m team breaks national record at 2025 World Athletics Relays
GUANGZHOU, China, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Team China set a new national record in the men's 4x400m in 3 minutes and 1.87 seconds at the 2025 World Athletics Relays here on Saturday in rain. The competition serves as a main qualification for relay events at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, features 6 events including men's, women's and mixed 4x100m and 4x400m. The top 14 teams in each event (except for mixed 4x100m) will earn berths for Tokyo 2025. According to the rules, the top 14 teams in men's and women's 4x100m, 4x400m and mixed 4x400m consist of 8 spots booked Saturday and 6 spots Sunday. In each event, the top 2 teams in each of the 4 heats qualified for the finals and Tokyo 2025, with the remaining teams competing for 6 other spots per event in the second qualification round Sunday. The Chinese squad for the men's 4x400m, composed of rookies Liang Baotang, Li Yiqing, Zhang Qining and Fu Haoran, finished second in Heat 1, breaking the national record, reaching the final and qualifying for Tokyo 2025. "My mind was blank when I was running, just to do my best," said the fourth leg Fu, who caught up to the second place by surpassing a Spainish runner. Mixed 4x100m is a newly-introduced event for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, yet was not included in Tokyo 2025. In the event's global debut, Team Canada finished first in qualification with a time of 40.90 seconds. The Chinese quartet of Huang Shuping, Kong Lingyao, Chen Jinfeng and Chen Guanfeng qualified for the final by clocking 41.30 seconds. "It's interesting to mix and mingle boys and girls in 4X100m. We are really excited and happy for the introduction of the event," said Chen Guanfeng. Veteran Xie Zhenye led Team China in men's 4x100m, and the squad clocked 38.30 seconds to finish third in Heat 4, only 0.005 seconds shy of Team Italy, who finished second in the heat. South Africa and Japan set a new world-leading mark with 37.84 seconds. Drama unfolded in the women's 4x100m as China's third-leg runner Liang Xiaojing and fourth-leg runner Ge Manqi made a mistake in passing the baton, finishing sixth in the heat. Elsewhere, the United States made a world-leading mark of 3 minutes and 11.37 seconds in the mixed 4x400m. Spain set a new women's 4x100m national record of 42.18 seconds.
New York Times
24-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Norwegian athletes warned against eating meat in China over drug test fears
Norwegian track and field athletes say they have been advised to not eat meat when competing in China due to fears over testing positive for a banned substance. Henriette Jaeger, the national record holder in the 400m, explained that Norway's Olympic federation had encouraged her to avoid meat ahead of athletics events in China. Unn Merete Jaeger, her coach and mother, added this was due to concerns over the use of growth hormones in cattle farming. Advertisement Reuters reported Norway's elite sport organisation, Olympiatoppen, which forms part of the country's Olympic and Paralympic Committee, has stated in its guidelines that it advises its athletes to avoid 'all types of meat' in China due to the risk of accidentally ingesting the banned substance clenbuterol. Olympiatoppen confirmed this was the case when approached by The Athletic. Clenbuterol can increase metabolism and maximum heart rate, and is listed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as a prohibited substance. Jaeger won 400m world indoor bronze in Nanjing, China in March. The 2025 World Athletics Relays take place in Guangzhou on May 10 and 11, while there is a Diamond League meeting in Shanghai on May 3. 'Before we left, we were advised by the Olympic team to try and avoid meat as much as possible,' Jaeger told Norwegian state broadcaster NRK. Josefine Tomine Eriksen, who was part of Norway's 4 x 400m relay team at the 2024 Paris Olympics, added: 'We won't eat meat. I don't want to be a 'veggie', but you have to have some protein, so I'll bring some protein bars from Norway. Maybe some beef jerky.' The Athletic has contacted Olympiatoppen, World Athletics and the Chinese Athletics Association for comment. In July last year, ahead of the Paris Olympics, WADA said it was investigating the risk of meat contamination with banned steroid metandienone in China and elsewhere. This followed two swimmers, a shooter and a BMX rider testing positive for the substance in 2022 and 2023, before being cleared by the China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA), which concluded the four cases were linked to meat contamination. The four athletes had been provisionally suspended before CHINADA closed the cases in late 2023, WADA said. WADA added that it was 'concerned' about the number of cases in China and other countries that were being closed without sanctions due to the food contamination theory. Advertisement WADA has also previously cited Mexico as a country which has had issues with food contamination. American sprinter Shelby Houlihan received a four-year ban in 2021 after testing positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone, which she said was most likely after eating pig offal from an authentic Mexican food truck in Oregon.
