The European indoor athletics championships in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, have gotten off to a bittersweet start for the Spanish team, which landed a respectable fourth place in the inaugural mixed 4×400 relay. This event marks the 38th edition of the championships, which first kicked off in Vienna back in 1970. The Spanish quartet of Manuel Guijarro, Carmen Avilés, Bernat Erta, and Daniela Fra put up a good fight, although they were at a disadvantage from the start, having been assigned lane 1 on a track with two very tight curves that hindered their progress.
Guijarro, who took the baton first, managed to climb up to fifth place after posting a decent 47.20 split, despite being last off the line. Avilés then took over and had the Spanish team within striking distance of a medal, but a minor stumble on the final bend prevented her from making up more ground, crossing the line in 52.40. Erta, the third leg, kept the leaders in his sights and handed over to Fra in third place, having posted the fastest split of his leg in 45.70. Fra ran a solid 51.82, but it wasn’t enough to secure a spot on the podium.
As expected, the host nation took gold with a time of 3:15.63, thanks in part to Femke Bol’s 50.33 anchor leg. Belgium claimed silver in 3:16.19, while Great Britain snatched bronze in 3:16.49. Spain finished fourth with a time of 3:17.12, having been forced to cover too much ground on the outside lanes.
Spain Without Its Stars
The Spanish team’s technical directors made the strategic decision to rest their top 400-meter runners, who will be competing in individual events, as well as in the men’s and women’s relays on Sunday. The concern was that they would have had to compete in up to five races in just four days, which would have been an excessive competitive workload for such a demanding event.
The mixed 4×400 relay made its debut at the 2017 World Relays in Nassau, Bahamas, but it wasn’t until the 2019 World Championships in Doha that the first official world record was set, courtesy of the American team. This, however, was the first time the event was held at an official indoor championships. The winning time by the Netherlands won’t be a world record, as that distinction will go to the first team to break 3:12.44.
The 4×100 Mixed Relay: The Next Challenge
In 2022, World Athletics introduced a rule requiring relay teams to follow a predetermined order, which wasn’t the case previously, resulting in chaotic and unpredictable duels between men and women. Now, the race starts with a man, followed by a woman, the second man, and the second woman, who crosses the finish line with the baton. The new World Athletics ‘Ultimate’ World Championships, set to debut in Budapest in 2026, will feature the 4×100 mixed relay for the first time, presenting a new challenge for Spanish sprinters, who have certainly made their presence felt in Apeldoorn.
