Noah Lyles in the 4x100m at the IAAF World U20 Championships Bydgoszcz 2016 (© Getty Images)
The Americas team will start favourites for the men’s sprint relay, which will conclude the first day of action at the IAAF Continental Cup Ostrava 2018.
In their ranks lies an assortment of the world’s best sprinters such as Jamaica’s Yohan Blake, the 2011 world 100m champion, US sensation Noah Lyles, Panama’s Alonso Edward and USA’s Mike Rodgers.
The European team may rank as their chief threat, which will feature an all-Turkish contingent. At the European Championships in Berlin last month, their quartet of Emre Zafer Barnes, Jak Ali Harvey, Yigitcan Hekimoglu and Ramil Guliyev clocked a national record of 37.98 to finish a close second to Britain, and all four of that team are down to compete in Ostrava.
The African squad features five South Africans, among them Commonwealth Games and African 100m champion Akani Simbine. The sole squad member not from South Africa is Ivorian Arthur Cisse, who set a national record of 9.94 earlier this season.
The Asia-Pacific squad contains five Australians: Aaron Bresland, Jake Doran, Jin Su Jung, Matt Lynch and Trae Williams, with New Zealand’s Joseph Miller also a possible starter.
Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF
