Unpredictable New Mixed 400m Relay Set to Intrigue Tokyo

The unpredictability of how teams choose to run their athletes promises to keep fans guessing throughout the event. (Getty Images)
The unpredictability of how teams choose to run their athletes promises to keep fans guessing throughout the event. (Getty Images)
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Unpredictable New Mixed 400m Relay Set to Intrigue Tokyo

The unpredictability of how teams choose to run their athletes promises to keep fans guessing throughout the event. (Getty Images)
The unpredictability of how teams choose to run their athletes promises to keep fans guessing throughout the event. (Getty Images)

Tokyo’s athletics program will see the inaugural 400 meter mixed relay event kick off on Friday, where teams of two men and two women will compete for Olympic gold against each other offering fans unpredictable and intriguing match-ups.

The United States will be the favorites for Saturday’s final, assuming there are no baton blunders in Friday’s heats, having claimed the 2019 World Championships in Doha. Jamaica are also expected to feature prominently.

But there is a level of unpredictability to the race, since there are no gender rules governing the order in which athletes race.

In the Doha world title race, for instance, Poland went for men in the first two legs and women in the last two while the rest of the teams ran the first and fourth legs with men.

The move gave Poland a sizeable lead after the second leg, but they saw that cut back in the third before losing it completely in the fourth as the American Michael Cherry took a lead he never relinquished, helping his team set a world record time of 3.09.34 minutes. Jamaica came second and Poland eventually finished fifth.

The unpredictability of how teams choose to run their athletes promises to keep fans guessing throughout the event, though the man-woman-woman-man running order is favored by most teams.

Germany boast this year’s world-leading time after they posted a 3:13.57 minute performance in June at home, according to World Athletics data, followed by Ukraine and Nigeria.

Kevin Borlee, Belgium’s 2011 World Championship 400 meter bronze medalist, told Olympics.com that the event has expanded the potential pool of countries that can offer genuine competition in Olympics relay racing.

“With the traditional relays you need at least four athletes of the same gender,” he said earlier this year.



Joao Pedro Brace Sends Chelsea into Club World Cup Final

Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Semi-final - Fluminense v Chelsea - MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US - July 8, 2025 Chelsea's Joao Pedro scores their second goal. (Pool via Reuters)
Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Semi-final - Fluminense v Chelsea - MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US - July 8, 2025 Chelsea's Joao Pedro scores their second goal. (Pool via Reuters)
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Joao Pedro Brace Sends Chelsea into Club World Cup Final

Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Semi-final - Fluminense v Chelsea - MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US - July 8, 2025 Chelsea's Joao Pedro scores their second goal. (Pool via Reuters)
Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Semi-final - Fluminense v Chelsea - MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US - July 8, 2025 Chelsea's Joao Pedro scores their second goal. (Pool via Reuters)

Joao Pedro marked his first Chelsea start in spectacular fashion on Tuesday, scoring twice to fire the Premier League side into the Club World Cup final with a 2-0 victory over his boyhood club Fluminense.

The 23-year-old Brazilian forward, signed from Brighton & Hove Albion for 60 million pounds ($81.5 million) last week, curled home a fabulous strike in the 18th minute before sealing the win with a brilliant finish following a counter-attack early in the second half.

Chelsea will face Real Madrid or Paris St Germain, who meet in the second semi-final on Wednesday, in Sunday's final.

"I’m pleased about everything, to be honest. It's a great achievement," Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca told DAZN.

"It's been a fantastic season. To finish top four in the Premier League, win the Conference League title, now in the final in the Club World Cup. We are so, so, so happy.

"We knew with Joao Pedro that we have a player that is able to do what he has just done."

The semi-final took place in brutal conditions in New Jersey, with an afternoon kickoff in scorching heat that prompted a National Weather Service warning. Temperatures soared past 35 degrees Celsius with over 54% humidity.

Chelsea started the game in control against a Fluminense side who adopted a conservative approach, with a deep five-men defense, inviting their rivals to hold possession and trying to counter attack.

The English side struggled to find their way through against Fluminense’s defensive block, but they broke the deadlock in the 18th minute thanks to Joao Pedro's shot from the edge of the box into the top corner of the net.

The Brazilian refused to celebrate his goal, a gesture of respect for Fluminense, where he came through the academy before making his professional debut as a 17-year-old. His journey took him to Watford in 2019 and Brighton in 2023 before joining Chelsea.

Fluminense, who stunned Champions League runners-up Inter Milan in the last 16 and Al-Hilal in the quarter-finals, nearly equalized when Hercules burst unmarked into the box following a slick one-two with German Cano, only for Marc Cucurella's goalline clearance to preserve Chelsea's lead.

The Brazilian side thought they had earned a lifeline when referee Francois Letexier awarded a penalty for Trevoh Chalobah's handball, but VAR overturned the decision.

Just as Fluminense appeared to be building momentum in the second half, Pedro delivered the knockout blow in the 56th minute, taking a fine pass by Enzo Fernandez before dribbling past Ignacio and smashing in an unstoppable shot off the underside of the crossbar.