Italy win mixed 4x100m relay at World Athletics U20 Championships 2026 in Eugene, Oregon; provisional world record 41.21s

World Athletics U20 Championships 2026: Italy claim mixed 4x100m relay title with emphatic world record

A speedy final leg from women’s 100m bronze medallist Kelly Doualla ensured Italy left Eugene with gold medals around their necks on Saturday, 8 August.

Just as their national anthem foretold, Italy awoke at the 2026 World Athletics U20 Championships on Saturday (8 August) , claiming the inaugural mixed 4x100m relay title in a provisional U20 world record of 41.21 seconds.*

The squad of Edwin Fermin Galvan , Elisa Valensin , Francesco Pagliarini and Kelly Doualla were second off the final bend, but a failed exchange from Australia left them in first within sight of the finish line.

Pagliarini ran the team’s fastest leg in 9.79, with Doualla taking the baton to the finish in 10.17. Great Britain finished second in 41.38, followed by the United States in 41.39.

“That was an incredible race,” said Italy’s Fermin Galvan. “Me and my friends are happy because of our result.”

Valensin, who ran the second leg, concurred: “I feel encouraged for the 200m, but racing with my team in the relays is always fun and this team is amazing.”

British runner Mathew Ajayi produced the fastest leg of any athlete in the final at 9.61. “I just wanted to get around and pass it off in first,” he told reporters. “I’m happy with myself.”

He also expressed his happiness at joining his teammates – Divine Iheme , Savannah Morgan and Sophie Thomas - on the podium in Eugene. “Every time we’ve practiced, we’ve consistently gotten better and better. Today, we showcased what we can actually do.”

Speed was the theme of the day, as Australia’s Isaac Beacroft followed up 2026 Commonwealth Games gold (men’s 10,000m race walk) with a provisional world U20 record of 18:40.37* in the men’s 5,000m race walk.

“I knew it was definitely in the realms of possibility," he told Olympics.com of his record-breaking performance. “I thought that it was going to take a world record performance to win.

“It was going to be there or thereabouts, and if I executed my plan well, then I knew I was probably going to get the world record,” the Aussie, who flew straight from Glasgow to Eugene, added. “I’m just really happy with how it went.”

*Pending the usual World Athletics ratification procedures

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Getty Images for World Athletics 2026

Athletics | U20 World Championships | Oregon | United States of America