Fraser-Pryce, Blake headline world relays

Inaugural event holds prize purse of $1.4m for 600-plus athletes.

NASSAU:

Jamaican sprinters Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Yohan Blake headline a raft of high-profile athletes who will debut at the inaugural two-day IAAF World Relays this weekend.

Launched by world athletics’ governing body, the IAAF, to increase the appeal of track events to a younger audience, the relays (4x100, 4x200, 4x400, 4x800 and 4x1500m) promise to throw up a high-octane, drama-filled competition.

The 15,000-seater Thomas A Robinson stadium in the Bahamian capital is a sell-out for the weekend’s action, and there is a total prize purse of $1.4 million on offer for the 600-plus athletes from 43 countries, with $50,000 going to winning teams and a further $50,000 for new world records.

Importantly, and perhaps underlying the strength in depth on show, the top eight teams in both the men’s and women’s 4x100m and 4x400m will automatically qualify for the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 23^rd, 2014.

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