Marathon race walk mixed relay to debut at Paris Olympics
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World Athletics and the International Olympic Committee reveal details of a new event that will be staged at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games: the marathon race walk mixed relay.
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The Olympic rings are set up at Trocadero plaza that overlooks the Eiffel Tower, a day after the official announcement that the 2024 Summer Olympic Games will be in the French capital, in Paris, France, on Sept. 14, 2017 (AP)
The race walking team event, which will make its Olympic debut at Paris 2024 Games, will feature one male and one female athlete who will complete the marathon distance in four legs of almost equal measure, according to the format released on Saturday.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC), along with the Governing body of World Athletics, agreed on the format, saying the 42.195km marathon distance was chosen owing to its "existing popularity in athletics and link to the traditions of the Olympic Games".
The new mixed relay will feature 25 teams, where every athlete will complete two legs of just over 10km.
"We're excited to have another mixed relay on the Olympic program to showcase the skills of both our female and male athletes in one event," World Athletics CEO Jon Ridgeon said.
"This format is designed to be innovative, dynamic, and unpredictable. We believe it will be easily understood by fans," Ridgeon added.
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The male athlete will start for the first section, which will all be a little over 10km, before "passing the baton" to their female counterparts. Once this second passage is completed, the male athlete having started will resume the race for the third quarter, before its female pair completes the race.
The event, which will take place on August 7 at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, will last for approximately three hours and be held on the same course as the individual race-walking events.
The team qualification pathway for the event will be published soon, World Athletics said.
This event will "bring exciting competition," but most importantly, "it will ensure total equity in the number of male and female participants across the entire program. athletics at the Games for the first time," Ridgeon said.
The Paris Olympics will be held from July 26 to August 11, 2024.
World Athletics and the International Olympic Committee have agreed on the format for the new race walking team event that will make its debut at the @Paris2024 @Olympics.
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) April 8, 2023
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