I was looking forward to the World Relays because, this year, two new events were entering the program (after the mixed 4x400 m which made its appearance in 2017). As you may have noticed I am a fan of mixed relays and I like innovation in athletics.
However this time I have to draw the line. While I was waiting for an exciting shuttle relay I was quite disappointed with the result. For unfathomable reasons the IAAf decided to make the shuttle relay mixed. High hurdles is the one event where men and women do not compete over the same distance. Making the relay mixed meant that the women had to run an extra 10 m (without hurdles obviously) after completing their 100 m, in order to handle over the relay. Moreover the final was a clearly anticlimactic event. The jamaican team withdrew due to injury of one team-member and the first australian hurdler false-started and was eliminated. Thus the final was disputed between just two teams.
As I already said I do like mixed relays. But the hurdle shuttle one is the only relay which should be run separately for each sex. The advantage of this is that we could have had two finals with four teams each instead of a single one, which, as it happened, was seriously amputated.
The other new event was the 2x2x400 m, also a mixed one. The first runner runs a 400 m then it's the turn of the second one and then we go back to the first and so on. The final was a nice race, with quite some suspense due to the choice of order of woman and man runner. However I find it a little conservative. I know that the IAAF tries to avoid events that take too long, since they cannot keep the attention of spectators. But to my eyes a 2x4x400 would have been a better event. Each runner would have had to run four 400 m laps and there the tactics of distributing one's effort would play a major role.
Curiously not every nation did present their best team. This was particularly true for the USA. The result was that the US lost three out of the four "classic" relays. The Polish team won the women's 4x400 m while in the men's race M. Cedenio of Trinidad & Tobago managed to cover a 10 m handicap and beat P. Dedewo right on the finish line.
(The US were later disqualified for a lane violation and Belgium obtained the bronze medal). The US women's 4x100 m relay did prevail (just barely) over the team of Jamaica but in the men's race the victory went to Brazil, the US paying, once more, the price of bad baton hand-overs.
However this time I have to draw the line. While I was waiting for an exciting shuttle relay I was quite disappointed with the result. For unfathomable reasons the IAAf decided to make the shuttle relay mixed. High hurdles is the one event where men and women do not compete over the same distance. Making the relay mixed meant that the women had to run an extra 10 m (without hurdles obviously) after completing their 100 m, in order to handle over the relay. Moreover the final was a clearly anticlimactic event. The jamaican team withdrew due to injury of one team-member and the first australian hurdler false-started and was eliminated. Thus the final was disputed between just two teams.
A sad photo of empty lanes
As I already said I do like mixed relays. But the hurdle shuttle one is the only relay which should be run separately for each sex. The advantage of this is that we could have had two finals with four teams each instead of a single one, which, as it happened, was seriously amputated.
The other new event was the 2x2x400 m, also a mixed one. The first runner runs a 400 m then it's the turn of the second one and then we go back to the first and so on. The final was a nice race, with quite some suspense due to the choice of order of woman and man runner. However I find it a little conservative. I know that the IAAF tries to avoid events that take too long, since they cannot keep the attention of spectators. But to my eyes a 2x4x400 would have been a better event. Each runner would have had to run four 400 m laps and there the tactics of distributing one's effort would play a major role.
Swiety winning the 4x400 m relay for Poland
Curiously not every nation did present their best team. This was particularly true for the USA. The result was that the US lost three out of the four "classic" relays. The Polish team won the women's 4x400 m while in the men's race M. Cedenio of Trinidad & Tobago managed to cover a 10 m handicap and beat P. Dedewo right on the finish line.
Dedewo is on the ground (look at Cedenio's left leg)
(The US were later disqualified for a lane violation and Belgium obtained the bronze medal). The US women's 4x100 m relay did prevail (just barely) over the team of Jamaica but in the men's race the victory went to Brazil, the US paying, once more, the price of bad baton hand-overs.
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