World Athletics Relays welcome Silesia 21 and show future of World Athletics Championships

The fifth edition of the two-day event will feature Olympic venues for the top eight teams in the mixed men’s and women’s 4x100m, 4x400m and 4x400m races, which will make their Tokyo Games debut after competing at the 2019 Doha World Championships.

Asked at a press conference ahead of the event about Poland’s ambitions to host world athletics, Jacob Chelstowski, a field marshal from the Silesian region, said: “I think the next two days will show and prove that we can organize events, that we have an infrastructure experience, a great team and a big heart for athletics.

“We have a number of procedures and we have to take our time to discuss this issue, but over the past two years we have been able to demonstrate our willingness to participate in several projects, and we also want to learn from them.

“We have the national stadium and I am convinced, and it is also my dream, that we can organize events at this level, like the world championships and the European championships – of course we will do our best to [these events].

“We have to prove that we are capable of hosting events like this.

“We have excellent hotels and facilities, and we have learned a lot from the union visits about what our approach should be and how best to organize things.

“I am convinced that we will organize major events here in Silesia in collaboration with the national and local government.”

Sebastian Coe, Head of World Athletics, said: “I am fully aware that Silesia has shown interest in hosting the World Championships.

“We welcome the initiatives and the interest, in particular from the cities and regions that have defined athletics.

“Poland presented our championships at almost all levels. Been here a few times when they did, and I can fully understand why they wanted to take the next step.

Returning to the challenges of the epidemic, in which Poland presented both the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, held in Gdynia last October, and now the World Relay events, Kuo added: “It was easier to cancel.

“We are aware that this was a model that some sports followed.

“But with the support of the Polish government and local authorities, and the great organizing committee here, we paid for it, and we are very grateful to them.”

The United States and Jamaica – ranked first and second in the latest edition of the 2019 event in Yokohama – have chosen not to send teams to Silesia due to fears of the coronavirus, as happened in Australia and Canada in recent weeks, while India has failed to do so. therefore. to board their flight. In Poland because of the deadly wave of COVID-19 that the country is experiencing.

The United States and Jamaica are among those who have already secured the Tokyo 2020 venues by reaching the relay final at the 2019 Doha World Championships, but several other qualifying countries will face each other at Silesia Stadium in what counts as an essential warm-up for the game. After the long gap of competitive opportunities.

If a country has already filled places in the top eight, the remaining places which will be allocated according to the lists of the best players in the athletics world will be presented on June 29 of this year.

The eight finalists in the men’s and women’s 4x100m and 4x400m races, along with those with the next best times, will advance to the postponed IAAF World Championships in Eugene, Oregon next year.

In a mixed 4x400m event, he will be joined by the eight finalists from Oregon by the four fastest losers in the first round.

Of the 16 teams that competed in the 4x100m for women, Italy and Switzerland have already secured their places in Tokyo.

There will be a strong challenge from a Dutch team with Daphne Schippers, who has twice won a gold medal in the 200 meters in the world, and recently medalist in the 60 meters in European halls, Jamil Samuel, and champion of Europe at 60 meters. hurdles in closed rooms, Nadine Visser.

The hosts will present Iowa Soboda, who couldn’t defend his European title from within 60 yards, at Torun Stadium last month after testing positive for COVID-19.

In the men’s 4x100m, Brazil will defend the title they won in Yokohama, with Paulo Andre Camilo de Oliveira beating future US 200m world champion Noah Lyles by just 0.02 seconds.

Four other countries are already eligible for the Tokyo 2020 Games: France, Japan, the Netherlands and South Africa, whose team members have traveled to Poland for more than 30 hours.

The South African team shows the participation of the Commonwealth and African champion Akane Sembene, who has appeared three times in less than 10 seconds this year.

The 4x400m relay features the women of the Dutch quartet who won the European track and field title in style last month, including 21-year-old European indoor champion Fimk Paul.

Trinidad and Tobago, which concluded the American 4x400m race in Yokohama, would no longer be present in Poland, and Belgium – with Burley’s three brothers, Jonathan, Kevin and Dylan – could become the first European winners.

The event also includes 2x2x400m, 4x200m and obstacle relay.