06 Feb 2024

The Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) will send relay teams to the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 to be held in Nassau, Bahamas, on May 4-5.

BAA vice president, Oabona Theetso said in an interview that men’s 4x400m, 4x100m and a mixed 4x400mn would represent the country at the relays event.

The relays are a qualifier for the 2024 Olympics that will be held in Paris, France.

As the organisation, he said they would also want to try the women’s 4x100 to give them exposure.

“The last time the men’s 4x100 competed at the relays, they did not qualify. So this time we believe that they will get it right because they know what is expected of them,” he said.

Asked why the 4x400 men’s relay is qualification process afresh, he said Botswana had a doping case, which affected the relay team. He said their last year performance and results would be nullified.“We start from zero because the assumption is that, the athlete competed and helped the team to do better in rankings by then,” he said.

Meanwhile, according to World Athletics, five relay disciplines, the men’s and women’s 4x100m and 4x400m, plus the mixed 4x400m and 32 teams will be entered in each of those.

It says top eight teams in each discipline at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 will automatically earn entry to the World Relays Bahamas 24.

The host country may also enter one team in each discipline, regardless of any entry conditions.

The remaining teams up to 32 will be determined through the top lists in the qualification period January 1, 2023 to April 7, 2024.

It says from October 1, 2023, the World Athletics have been maintaining a weekly list of relay teams qualified and the top 14 teams at the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 will automatically qualify for places at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.  According to World Athletics, teams will have two opportunities to qualify in Nassau and if unsuccessful on the first day, they will be given another chance on the second day.

 The remaining two places in each relay discipline will be awarded based on top lists during the qualification period between December 31, 2022 to June 30, 2024. Ends