Ultimate preview: mixed 4x100m

World lead: 39.62 Jamaica (Ackeem Blake, Tina Clayton, Kadrian Goldson, Tia Clayton) Gaborone, 3 May2026 world list

World record: 39.62 Jamaica (Ackeem Blake, Tina Clayton, Kadrian Goldson, Tia Clayton) Gaborone, 3 May 2026world all-time list

One of the newest events on the international athletics programme will provide the first track final of the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship – and the world record could immediately come under threat.

The mixed 4x100m has developed at breakneck speed since making its global debut at the World Relays in Guangzhou last year, and the record book was rewritten repeatedly when the event returned to the World Relays in Gaborone in May.

Canada's Eliezer Adjibi, Marie-Éloïse Leclair, Duan Asemota and Audrey Leduc opened proceedings with a world record of 40.07, only for Jamaica to respond with 39.99 later that day. Ackeem Blake, Tina Clayton, Kadrian Goldson and Tia Clayton then went even faster in the final, clocking 39.62 in the designated man-woman-man-woman running order.

That victory made Jamaica the obvious early favourites for Budapest. Canada finished second in 40.23 and the United States took third in 40.33, with Germany, Spain and Nigeria completing the top six and earning automatic places at the Ultimate.

But the picture has shifted since Gaborone. Great Britain & NI, who failed to finish the World Relays final but eventually qualified for Budapest through the top list, produced a major statement at last month's European Championships in Birmingham.

Jeremiah Azu, Dina Asher-Smith, Zharnel Hughes and Amy Hunt combined to win the European title in 39.97, breaking the continental record and becoming only the second team in history to run inside 40 seconds.

Germany also showed improved form in Birmingham. Kevin Kranz, Rebekka Haase, Heiko Gussmann and Gina Lückenkemper claimed European silver in 40.11, moving Germany to fourth on the world all-time list, while Spain took bronze in 40.42.

Canada should not be discounted either. Their 40.07 from the World Relays heats remains the fourth-fastest performance in history, while the USA's sprint depth makes them a threat regardless of their final team selection.

The Netherlands and Nigeria also ran 40.20 and 40.24 respectively in the same fiercely competitive World Relays heat in which Canada briefly held the world record. The Netherlands subsequently secured one of the two top-list qualifying places for Budapest alongside Great Britain.

Host nation Hungary completes the nine-team field after receiving an exceptional invitation. They may be outsiders on the clock, but with just one straight final and three exchanges to negotiate at full speed, little can be taken for granted.

And if the leading teams reproduce their best form, the opening minutes of the Ultimate could deliver exactly what the championship was created for: the world's best going head to head, with a world record firmly within range.

Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics