Men's 4x400m relay breaks national record and qualifies for Tokyo2025

The Portuguese men's 4x400 meter relay team today broke the national record and qualified for the final of the World Championships in the specialty, also guaranteeing a historic presence at the Tokyo2025 World Athletics Championships.

The quartet made up of Ericsson Tavares, Omar Elkhatib, João Coelho and Ricardo dos Santos ran the distance in 3.01.78 minutes, beating the previous maximum by 11 hundredths (3.01.89) and ensuring Portugal's first presence in the men's 4x400 metres relay at the outdoor World Championships.

The Portuguese team also qualified directly for Sunday's final in the World Relay Championships, which are taking place in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, after finishing the first qualifying round in second place in their series, behind Botswana, finishing in eighth place overall.

In the women's sector, Beatriz Andrade, Lorène Bazolo, Arialis Martinez and Íris Silva achieved the best national time of the year in the 4x100 meters, with a time of 44.18 seconds, but, having finished in 13th place overall, they will have to compete in the second qualifying round, on Sunday, to reach the final of the event.