The first eight teams to have qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in each the five disciplines being contested at the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 have been confirmed following the opening day of competition in Nassau.

Fourteen teams in the women’s and men’s 4x100m and 4x400m plus the mixed 4x400m in Nassau this weekend (4-5 May) automatically qualify for places at the Paris Olympics. On Saturday, 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 places for Paris.

Three nations – France, Great Britain & Northern Ireland and USA – each qualified four teams for Paris, while another three – Canada, Italy and Poland – qualified three each.

The mixed 4x400m heats got the session started in record-breaking fashion. In this first round alone, eight teams finished inside the previous championship record that had stood for seven years – USA’s 3:11.52 to win heat two topping the lot.

USA also led the first round in both the women’s and men’s 4x100m, while Ireland set a national record to top the list of women’s 4x400m qualifiers and Botswana pipped South Africa in a brilliant men’s 4x400m battle.

Teams will compete for prize money and Olympic lane seeding positions in Sunday’s finals. All other teams will race in the additional round where the top two teams in each of the three heats will also qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Following the qualification of 14 teams per event in Nassau, the remaining two places for Paris in each discipline will be awarded based on top lists during the qualification period (31 December 2022 to 30 June 2024).

Teams qualified for Paris

Women’s 4x100m
Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain & NI, Netherlands, Poland, United States

Men’s 4x100m
Canada, China, France, Great Britain & NI, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, United States

Women’s 4x400m
Canada, France, Great Britain & NI, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, United States

Men’s 4x400m
Belgium, Botswana, Germany, Great Britain & NI, Italy, Japan, Nigeria, South Africa

Mixed 4x400m
Belgium, Dominican Republic, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, United States