With the World Relays set to return to the Bahamas 2024, the prospect of new world records is already on the minds of potential participants, including Americans Noah Lyles and Kenny Bednarek.
Six-time World Champion Noah Lyles of the United States took to Twitter to suggest that he and fellow American 200m medalists Erriyon Knighton and Kenny Bednarek should collaborate to shatter Jamaica’s 4x200m record, tagging both in the tweet. “Yo @ErriyonK @kenny_bednarek, we should go break that 4x200m world record,” Lyles tweeted on October 27.
Kenny replied to Noah Lyles
In response, Bednarek said, “Count me in. About time the Olympics and World Championships include it too.”
The current 4x200m world record stands at 1:18.63 and was established by Jamaica’s Yohan Blake, Nickel Ashmeade, Warren Weir, and Jermaine Brown during the inaugural event in 2014 at Thomas Robinson Stadium in the Bahamas.
This particular event is a standout in the biennial early-season relay meet, sharing the stage with niche competitions like the Mixed Shuttle Hurdles and the 2x2x400m Mixed Relays. These specialty events are complemented by the ever-popular 4x100m and 4x400m relays, which often serve as qualifiers for subsequent Olympic and World Championships. In the upcoming edition, it’s projected that 14 of the 16 countries represented will aim to qualify their national relay squads for Paris.
This marks the sixth iteration of the World Athletics Relays. The first three editions took place in Nassau, while the 2019 and 2021 events were hosted in Yokohama, Japan, and Chorzow, Poland, respectively.
The 2024 World Relays are slated for May 4-5.
