Besides bringing glory to their nations, athletes taking part in the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou from May 10th to 11th will also earn places in the Tokyo 2025 World Athletics Championships and win money for themselves.

The programme for the World Athletics Relays Guangzhou 25 includes six events:

Women’s 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay
Men’s 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay
Mixed 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay

Qualifying criteria for the Tokyo World Championships

The top 14 teams in each of the men’s and women’s 4x100m and 4x400m, plus the mixed 4x400m relay, will secure their place at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 in September. The remaining two places in each event will be awarded based on the top lists during the qualification period (25 February 2024 to 24 August 2025).

On the 10th of May, the top two teams in each of the four heats will advance to the final on day two, while at the same time securing their qualification for the Tokyo World Athletics Championships. All other teams will compete on day two in the additional round where the top two teams in each of the three heats will also qualify for the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25.

In the finals on day two, 11^th May, teams will compete for prize money and obtain preferential World Championships lane seeding positions.

Prize Money Structure

The top eight teams in each event will be awarded the following prize money:

For the Women’s 4x100m and 4x400m, men’s 4x100m and 4x400m, and the

Mixed 4x400m, the prize structure will be as follows:

1^st: US$40,000

2^nd: US$20,000

3^rd: US$10,000

4^th: US$8000

5^th: US$6000

6^th: US$4000

7^th: US$3000

8^th: US$2000

Richardson, Talou, and Jackson, among other sprinters, in Budapest. Photo by Justin Lagat

For the Mixed 4x100m, the structure will be as follows:

1^st: US$ 28,000

2^nd: US$14,000

3^rd: US$6000

4^th: US$5000

5^th: US$4000

6^th: US$3000

7^th: US$2000

8^th: US$2000

The mixed 4x100m relay will debut globally at the World Athletics Relays Guangzhou 25. The running order will be woman, woman, man, man. Records for the 4x100m mixed relay will be recognised as of 1 January 2026 (with the inaugural performance to better the recognised world best performance as of the end of 2025).

The mixed 4x100m relay will be contested at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest in 2026.