Six NSWIS Athletes Selected for World Athletics Relays in China

Australia’s fastest sprinters are set to make their mark on the global stage at the 2025 World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China (May 10–11), with all six national relay teams featuring a strong lineup—including six athletes from the New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS).

With medals and qualifying positions for the 2025 World Athletics Championships on the table, the two-day affair will prove crucial for Australia’s resurgent crop of sprinting talent, headlined by Australian record holder Torrie Lewis (QLD) and World Indoor 60m silver medallist Lachlan Kennedy (QLD).

Symbolic of the nation’s growing sprinting depth, Australia has earned qualifying positions for all six events on the program, with squads selected for the Men’s 4x100m, Women’s 4x100m, Mixed 4x100m, Men’s 4x400m, Women’s 4x400m and Mixed 4x400m.

Fresh off an Australian 4x100m record of 37.87-seconds at the Sydney Track Classic last month, the men’s squad will arrive in China fit and firing after a blazing Chemist Warehouse Summer Series led by Kennedy – who at 21-years-old has emerged as a central figure in the country’s relay rise.

“I’m feeling really confident for this team, we can definitely qualify for Tokyo. The camps we’ve had as part of the relay program have been really great this year. The rivalry between us all as individual sprinters is still there within camps and we all still compete with each other, but we all want to be the best at World Relays,” Kennedy said.

“We have one out with injury from Sydney, but I still think we’re the strongest we’ve ever been and I wouldn’t be surprised if we broke the Australian record again. I think anything could happen in China.”

Kennedy will be joined in the Men’s 4x100m squad by NSWIS sprinters Josh Azzopardi and Chris Ius, who both claimed bronze at Perth Nationals in the Men’s 100m and 200m respectively. NSWIS athlete Luke Van Ratingen also earns selection in the Men’s 4x400m squad.

In the Women’s 4x100m, NSWIS athlete Kristie Edwards returns to the relay squad that placed fifth at last year’s World Relays after setting a national record in the heats. The Women’s 4x400m relay team, featuring NSWIS athletes Sarah Carli and Jemma Pollard, will aim to build on their recent bronze medal at the World Indoor Championships, with two-time Olympian Ellie Beer (QLD) leading the charge.

“From going as the youngest to one of the oldest is definitely a big change but I’m so excited to be travelling and honestly having the best of laughs and fun with all my closest friends,” Beer said.

‘All teams have a big shot at making World Championships later in the year, so I can’t wait to give it our all and share this experience with everyone. A big thing I missed was having a relay at the Paris Olympics so I can’t wait for us to get after it and qualify for Tokyo!”

With 32 countries per event, the opening round will see four heats with the top two countries in each race punching their ticket to both the World Athletics Championships and World Athletics Relays Final. The remaining 24 countries will return for a second qualifying round comprised of three heats, with the top two countries in each race once again progressing to the World Athletics Championships.

The program also marks the global debut of the Mixed 4x100m Relay, running in an order of woman-woman-man-man, presenting another opportunity for Australia to flex its versatility, as General Manager – High Performance, Andrew Faichney reiterated the strong position of Australian Athletics’ relay program.

“To have a capacity squad selected across all six events for the World Relays is reflective of both the talent and depth that exists in Australian sprinting right now, and additionally their investment and engagement in the Australian relay program,” Faichney said.

“The team is a good mix of youth and experience. There is obviously a strong core and culture for not only the championships that are imminent, but so too future success geared towards the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane.

“We’re proud of how far our sprinters have come and the growing strength of the Australian Athletics relay program, and there will be lots to look forward to as the team lay down their work from our camps and the domestic season in China.”

Selections for the World Athletics Relay Championships were made from the pool of sprinters who committed to and are currently engaged in the Australian Athletics relay program. Final relay team selections for the 2025 World Athletics Championships will be confirmed in August when the full Australian Athletics team for Tokyo is announced.

The 2025 World Athletics Relay Championships can be viewed live and free via World Athletics’ Inside Track platform from May 10-11.

Australian Athletics