World Athletics and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have agreed on a new event in the race, the mixed team relay, which will make its debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In the mixed relay Marathon Race Walk, 25 teams, each consisting of a male and a female athlete, will cover the marathon distance (42.195 km) in four stages of approximately the same distance.
Each athlete completes two sections of just over 10 km each, alternating between male, female, male and female.
The marathon distance was chosen because of its existing popularity in athletics and its link to the traditions of the Olympic Games.
The event takes place on the same route as the individual walking events, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in central Paris, and lasts approximately three hours. The requirement that each athlete complete two legs adds an endurance component to the race.
The team qualification path for this new event will be published soon.
“We are delighted to have another mixed relay on the Olympic program to showcase the qualities of our male and female athletes in one event. This format is designed to be innovative, dynamic and unpredictable. It will also ensure full gender parity in the Olympic athletics program for the first time,” said Jon Ridgeon, CEO of World Athletics.
The Mixed Relay Marathon Race Walk will take place on Wednesday, August 7, 2024 at 7:30am, six days after the 20km individual running events kicked off on Thursday, August 1 with the Paris Olympic athletics program.
The full Olympic athletics program spans 11 days, from August 1 to 11, ending with the women’s marathon on the final day of the Games.
Source: El heraldo

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