The 4x100m universal relay, a symbol of Paralympism
It's THE event the public has been waiting for! Indecisive, twirling, collective, the 4x100m universal is the only relay event in Para athletics! Created in 2018, it features four athletes with four different disabilities on the track.
No room for improvisation
Both on the track and in the regulations, the 4x100m universal relay is subject to a number of rules that each team must respect, failing which it will be disqualified from the race.
As a result, each team must be mixed, with two women and two men starting as follows:
The relay is started by a visually impaired athlete, followed by an amputee sprinter. In third place is a person with cerebral palsy, whose role is to launch the last stage of the rocket, a wheelchair athlete, into orbit. It's up to the coach to find the perfect combination by selecting the most complementary sprinters to cross the finish line in first place!
As with its Olympic counterpart, the relay is a pivotal moment in the race. On this universal 4x100m, you won't see any baton sticks in the runners' hands, as the relay handover is done by touch in a dedicated 40-meter zone for wheelchair athletes and 30-meter zone for others.
The first Paralympic medal for the USA
For the first Paralympic final in the history of this universal relay in 2021, the Americans dominated their opponents and set a new world record in 45"52. Will they be able to repeat the feat in Paris? Whichever nation wins, the 4x100 m universal relay is sure to be an eagerly-awaited and popular event, where the values of Paralympism - determination, equality, inspiration and courage - can be seen even more clearly than elsewhere.
Sylvie Talmant, coach of the French Para athletics team, answers Paris 2024's questions.
- Is it easy to put together a relay?
The 4x100 m universal relay is a complex race in itself, but so is being the relay coach (laughs). First and foremost, we have to deal with athletes who have qualified for the Games. This limits our choices. Not to mention the conditions imposed concerning gender diversity and the four types of disability. When you meet all the conditions for this relay, you realize that there aren't 150 possible options! Then you have to juggle the individual objectives of each athlete. As the relay often comes quite late in the schedule, it's sometimes complicated for some athletes to be at 100% of their physical capacity, as they've been blunted by their respective races. But once they're in it, you can feel the cohesion. Everyone has a role to play and takes it to heart.- How do you prepare?
In terms of preparation, we set up specific relay gatherings. We took advantage of them to test all possible compositions, like mathematicians. The aim of these meetings was to work on the technical aspects of the relay: skill and attitude. Because there's no secret. Relaying is all about automatisms and habits. Seeing your partner coming, appreciating the speed, it's a multitude of details that you need to grasp to gain maximum time over your opponents. In France, we are fortunate to have the best in the world in this domain, thanks to Jo Maisetti (coach of the universal 4x100 m relay), who set the world record with the French athletics team in 1990.- How does the relay take place?
As with able-bodied runners, the relay handover is a crucial moment in the race, even if it's done by touch and not with a baton. You have to adapt to each person's handicap to ensure that you lose as little time as possible in the process. For example, Angelina Lanza (200 m specialist, category T47, left-arm handicapped) has to take and give the relay with her right arm which, from a technical point of view, is not the "right side" as it is on the outside of the track.
The last relay handover is also tricky, as the trajectory must be optimal to launch the wheelchair athlete. In short, you have to play with each person's handicap to achieve maximum fluidity.- Can we see the French relay on the podium at the Paralympic Games?
Our ambition is obviously to win a medal. It would be great for the relay athletes, but above all for the French team as a whole. We consider this medal ambition to be credible, even if it's still a relay race with a degree of uncertainty. But that's also the beauty of this race!- Which athletes will make up the relay?
First of all, we need to qualify the relay for the Games! Incidentally, we already have some names in mind for the relay, but we can't give them out just yet, as some of them still have to meet the Olympic minimums. But we've anticipated this.- What role has the universal relay played in Para-athletics?
As proof of the race's appeal, athletes sometimes put themselves forward to take part. We're also seeing more and more nations setting up relays at competitions. It's a popular race! There's been a real craze since it was created in 2018. It has this unifying side that brings together four athletes, but we realize that this influences even the whole French team, which always pushes hard behind.
They've already taken part in the 4x100m universal relay and loved it!
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Nantenin Keita, Paralympic champion in the T13 400m in Rio
"I had a great experience with the relay at the 2021 European Championships (bronze medal). As far as I'm concerned, I love team events! So, of course, I'd love to repeat the experience! I'll sign up right away if I have to! (laughs) It's still a young discipline that needs to make its mark, but it's already doing very well. -
Mandy François-Elie, T37 Paralympic 100m champion in London
"I really enjoyed the experience (editor's note: she won two medals at the European championships). After that, you have to realize that it's not easy to create perfect coordination with your three partners, but you know as well as I do that you have to train and train again and again. The universal relay is a bit of a special race. Technically with the tricky relay handover. Especially for me, who has trouble with my arms, but with repetition, you get better! As for taking part in the Universal Relay this summer, yes, of course I'm a candidate! -
Angélina Lanza, European champion in the 200m and long jump in category T47
"My experiences with the relay have all been great. Especially as it's brand new for us since the race has only existed since 2018. You have to understand that it's complex for us to work on this relay throughout the year, because everyone has their own personal goals. In fact, it's very special to juggle personal and collective goals during competitions, as some athletes, including myself, do one event after another. At the end of the day, we don't see our partners very much, so we don't have much time to realize what's going on. We're all in our own bubbles. The "France" training meetings enable us to perfect our skills in this exercise, but it's only sporadic. And then, this relay is another opportunity to educate the public, who can find it hard to keep up with the numerous classifications".