- Sainz tops times as Russell crashes in Mexico GP practice
- Three moments from King Charles Pacific tour
- Commonwealth announces Ghana foreign minister as new secretary general
- Gaza ministry accuses Israel of storming hospital, reports two children killed
- King Charles III departs Samoa, wrapping Pacific tour
- G7 finalize $50 bn Ukraine loan backed by Russian assets profits
- Ex-Abercrombie CEO pleads not guilty to sex crimes
- Unfulfilled talent? Two-time champion Alonso clocks up 400th F1 race
- Guardiola praises 'incredible' mentality of Man City stars
- Chelsea boss Maresca wants more 'leadership' from captain James
- US issues historic apology for Native American boarding school atrocities
- Moody's cuts France outlook, opening door to credit downgrade
- Drone sparks fire on Kyiv residential building, one dead
- Gaza ministry says two children die in hospital in Israeli raid
- Wood brace fires Forest as Leicester boss Cooper loses reunion
- Dodgers draw on Bryant's 'Mamba mentality' for World Series
- 'Fascist' row overshadows glitzy night on US campaign trail
- Modern art museum breathes new life into downtown Warsaw
- Russell tops crash-hit Mexico GP practice
- Fils, Shelton set for friendly fire in Basel semi-finals
- Internet blackout hits Mozambique capital after election protests
- Yankees, Dodgers poised for World Series blockbuster
- 'Catfish' predator who drove US girl to suicide jailed for life in N.Ireland
- NASA astronaut hospitalized after return from ISS
- Biden apologizes for Native American boarding school atrocities
- Mexico rules out designating drug violence as 'terrorism'
- Emery wants no let-up from Aston Villa
- Boeing exploring sale of space business: report
- G20 affirms commitment to transition from fossil fuels
- Shami misses India's tour of Australia as Easwaran named as potential Rohit cover
- BHP, Vale agree to pay $30bn damages for Brazil dam disaster
- 75 sickened as McDonald's severe E. Coli outbreak expands
- Turkmenistan's 'Gateway to Hell' lit gas pit faces closure
- Kickboxing takes Senegal by storm despite tight funds
- Waymo ramps up robotaxi push with $5.6 bn in funding
- Elon Musk all-in for Trump as Moscow denies secret Putin talks
- Covid lessons learned? UN summit mulls plan for healthy planet, and humans
- Borthwick unveils new contracts for leading England players
- Sexual assault scandal rocks Spain's 'most feminist' govt
- France must make 'credible' progress on deficit: finance minister
- Stock markets diverge going into weekend
- BHP, Vale agree to pay $30bn compensation for Brazil dam disaster
- Verstappen says 'definitely' his intention to remain at Red Bull
- Mbappe can launch Madrid career in first Clasico
- A monumental dump and Obama the rapper: an offbeat US campaign week
- Biden to apologize for abusive Native American boarding schools
- Pressure is part of manager's life, says troubled West Ham boss Lopetegui
- Gaza ministry says Israel forces detaining hundreds at hospital
- Hirscher confirms return from retirement at World Cup opener
- IMF raises concerns about effects of Sudan conflict on neighbors
Lyles, Bol, Jacobs headline world relays with Olympic places up for grabs
Double world individual sprint champion Noah Lyles heads up a raft of top track stars who will compete in the World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas on the weekend, with Olympic qualification up for grabs.
Lyles added a third world gold in Budapest last year after anchoring the US team to victory in the 4x100m relay.
He will be joined in the Caribbean by Olympic 200m silver medallist Kenny Bednarek and in-form Courtney Lindsey, while four women who helped USA to gold in the 4x100m in the Hungarian capital will also be present: Gabby Thomas, Tamari Davis, Tamara Clark and Melissa Jefferson.
Lyles posted a wind-aided 9.96sec 100m victory in Bermuda on Monday, Davis winning the women's short sprint in 11.04, and both will be seeking to guide their teams smoothly into competition at this summer's Paris Olympics.
Some 893 athletes from 54 countries will descend on the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium in Nassau over the weekend.
Among them several other multiple global winners including Dutch 400m hurdler Femke Bol, Italy's Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs and a trio of Bahamian stars in the form of Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Olympic 400m champion Steven Gardiner and world indoor 60m hurdles gold medallist Devynne Charlton.
Jacobs heads up an Italian quartet that should remain unchanged from the last worlds lineup, featuring Roberto Rigali and Olympic champions Lorenzo Patta and Filippo Tortu.
Recently-crowned world indoor bronze medallist Ackeem Blake has been included in the Jamaican men's team, but world and Olympic gold medallists Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce, Shericka Jackson and Elaine Thompson-Herah are all missing from the women's roster.
- Bol heads strong Dutch quartet -
Bol leads an incredibly strong Dutch women's 4x400m team also featuring world champions Cathelijn Peeters and Lieke Klaver.
Other big names present include South African 400m world record holder Wayde van Niekerk, reigning world 800m gold medallists Marco Arop of Canada and Mary Moraa of Kenya, and Botswana's sprint star Letsile Tebogo, a surprise double world medallist from Budapest.
The two-day programme will feature five relay events: the women's 4x100m and 4x400m, the men's 4x100m and 4x400m, and a mixed 4x400m featuring two men and two women. One team per nation can compete in each event.
The top 14 teams in each event will automatically qualify for places at the Paris Olympics. The remaining two places in each discipline will be awarded based on top lists during the qualification period (December 31, 2022-June 30, 2024).
Olympic places are up for grabs on both days of action in the Bahamas. On the first day, the top two teams in each heat will advance to the final on day two, while also securing their qualification for the Paris Games.
In the finals on day two, teams will compete for prize money and obtain Olympic lane seeding positions.
All other teams will compete on day two in the additional round where the top two teams in each heat will also qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Also up for grabs is prize money, with $40,000 to be awarded to the winners, while the eighth-placed team take away $2,000.
The 2024 Relays are the sixth edition of the World Athletics competition, which return to Nassau for the first time since 2017.
The event made its debut in the Bahamian capital in 2014 and saw two more editions there until it went to the Japanese city of Yokohama in 2018 and then Silesia, Poland, in 2021.
Miller-Uibo, the 400m gold medallist from Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, is happy the relays are back on home turf.
"It's wonderful competing here because there's no other feeling like hearing your home crowd cheer you on. It makes you want to bring your best," the Bahamian said of the electric atmosphere at the national stadium.
"I think we have an amazing team for the mixed relay and I'm hoping we can qualify the Bahamas for the Olympic Games."
P.Mathewson--AMWN