The first eight teams to have qualified for the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 in five of the events being contested at the World Athletics Relays Guangzhou 25 have been confirmed following the opening day of competition.

A total of 14 teams in each of the women’s and men’s 4x100m and 4x400m plus the mixed 4x400m in Guangzhou this weekend (10-11 May) automatically qualify for places at the World Championships in Tokyo in September.

In the men’s 4x100m and men’s 4x400m, the top two teams in each of the four heats per event secured spots for their respective World Relays finals on Sunday, while also booking their tickets for Tokyo. In the women’s 4x100m, women’s 4x400m and mixed 4x400m, the first two teams in each of the three heats plus the two teams with the next fastest times all qualified.

Three federations – Great Britain & Northern Ireland, South Africa and USA – each qualified four teams for Tokyo.

The session started with the heats of the mixed 4x100m, making its global debut in Guangzhou, and was followed by the first World Championships qualifiers in the mixed 4x400m. USA lived up to their status as the favourites, winning their heat by more than a second to secure their place in Tokyo.

USA also led the first round in the women’s 4x400m, while South Africa topped the list in the men’s 4x400m. Spain surprised in the women’s 4x100m, running a national record, while South Africa and Japan ran the same world-leading time to win their men’s 4x100m heats.

In the finals on Sunday, teams will compete for prize money and preferential World Championships lane seeding positions. All other teams will race in the additional round to attempt to qualify for Tokyo.

Following the qualification of 14 teams per event in Guangzhou, the remaining two places for Tokyo in each will be awarded based on top lists during the qualification period (25 February 2024 to 24 August 2025).

Teams qualified for Tokyo and competing in the finals on Sunday

Women’s 4x100m
Belgium, Canada, Germany, Great Britain & NI, Jamaica, Netherlands, Spain, United States

Men’s 4x100m
Canada, Italy, Germany, Great Britain & NI, Japan, Poland, South Africa, United States

Women’s 4x400m
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, South Africa, Spain, United States

Men’s 4x400m
Belgium, Botswana, China, France, Great Britain & NI, Kenya, Portugal, South Africa

Mixed 4x400m
Australia, Belgium, Great Britain & NI, Ireland, Kenya, Poland, South Africa, United States