The World Athletics Council has postponed next year’s staging of the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China until April or May of 2025. 

This decision was taken with the agreement of both the Guangzhou organizing committee, and the Chinese Athletics Association due to the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic conditions in China.

The decision to delay ….impacts the qualification system for the relay events at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest. 

As a result of the postponement, the World Athletics Competition Commission, upon approval of the council, has revised the qualification system to include the top 8 teams from the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon and the top eight teams from the performance lists.

The philosophy is to replicate a similar qualification system by still qualifying part of the field through direct competition and part through performance in the qualification period.

The host of the 2024 world athletics relays is set to be awarded by the World Athletics Council at their meeting in Rome on November  30.