Chaotic mixed relay gets thumbs-up from athletes
ATHLETES declared the Asian Games’ first- ever mixxed 4x400m relay a fun – if chaootic – success, ahead of its planned introduction at thee Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Athletics bosses havee introduced the concept – twwo men and two women on each team, running in whichever order they choose – as they seek ways to freshen up the sport, and boost participation.
The eight teams in Jakarta tried out a range of combinations and strategies, as a bemused crowd struggled to figure out who was winning on Tuesday. “FirsFirst you feel like it’s difficult bec cause how can you run with gi irls?” said Abbas Abbas, of go old-winning Bahrain. “But it t’s very nice especially when yo ou trust your team.
“It’s the first time I’ve raced with h girls!”
The Asian Games race was the format’s debut at a major multi-sports event, ahead of scheduled appearances at next year’s Doha world championships as well as Tokyo 2020.
IOC president Thomas Bach has promised the next Olympic Games will be “more youthful, more urban and include more women”.
It has been trialled at smaller events including last year’s Nitro Series in Melbourne.
Ultimately the countries which ran in the order man-woman-woman-man did best in Jakarta, with Bahrain and India pulling clear of the pack early on.
“We had two amazing girls. Very fast. Very strong. Like men. We ran with four men!” said Abbas’ teammate Ali Khamis.
China’s Yang Lei described the event as “chaos” after a gridlock emerged at the final baton handover, while Japan’s Eri Utsunomiya – giggling at the confusion – said it was “Fun ... just fun.” — AFP