Compared to the Budapest final, the coaches made one change in the lineup. Matěj Krska, whose preparation was limited by an achilles tendon, was replaced by hurdler Vít Müller on the first leg. He was followed by Tereza Petržilková, Patrik Šorm and Lada Vondrová.
The lineup was the same as the one that won the European Games in Chořov last year, it was announced in advance that the mixed relay had priority over the men’s and women’s on Saturday.
In windy conditions, Müller passed fourth in close contact with the best. “I ran well, I tried to keep up with the French,” he described on the association’s YouTube channel. Petržilková came in second place on the run, but was again fourth on the relay.
“I let myself be outdone by the French woman right at the beginning, who cut me right after the run, it threw me off my pace, I stopped and started again, there is a huge loss,” she knew.
Šorm remained fourth, but did not increase the loss. “At the end, the Canadian got in my way, but I managed to pass in contact,” he described. Vondrová did not catch up to the promotion bars at the finish. “I guess I foolishly tactically estimated the pace for the first 200. I wanted to go to them, but it was windy, so I waited, but I no longer had the strength,” she regretted.
The Czechs finished in 3:16.56 with almost a two-second loss to advancing Poland and France, Ukraine finished third. They were more than four seconds slower than the national record from Budapest, but only the Americans beat this time in Nassau. In the overall standings, the Czech Republic was only sixteenth, and there will be another attempt on Sunday.
Of the 32 teams, eight are guaranteed to advance to the finals, where they will run for a $40,000 prize, the remaining 24 countries will be divided into three races, and the two fastest from each will advance again. The Czechs will run in the second run, only the Swiss were faster among their rivals on Saturday. Compared to Saturday’s starts, each team is allowed to make a maximum of one change in the line-up. The Paris line-up will then be completed by the two teams with the fastest time by the deadline for nominations.
The 4×100 m sprinters had a difficult task, as the Americans with three-time world champion Noah Lyles from Budapest and the Olympic winners from Tokyo, the Italians, awaited them in the heat. The team of Zdeněk Stromšík, Jan Veleba, Jan Jirka and Ondřej Macík finished seventh in a time of 39.31.
“There was a big reserve on the transmissions, we have to improve them, the time is behind expectations,” assessed Veleba, the most experienced of the quartet. “We will try for a miracle on Sunday,” promised finisher Macík.
The second run of the quarter-finals was a clear affair for the Irish and the British, with more than six seconds behind them fighting for the next places. The Czechs Lurdes Gloria Manuel, Marcela Pírková, Nikola Bendová and Barbora Malíková finished fifth and sixteenth overall in 3:34.85, Pírková being the fastest of them in her section.
Unpleasant wind
“It was blowing quite strongly on the opposite straight, so I had to tell myself in my head not to shoot behind the girls, otherwise it will cost me a lot of strength,” recounted Pírková.
Finisher Malíková put on the national team jersey after three years, for the first time since the Tokyo Olympics. “We were getting ready in the heat, I’m not used to this weather in panties. The hamstring didn’t like it much, but I knew that the British and the Irish were far away, so tomorrow will be much more important,” she explained.
At the end of the first day, the four-wheelers will fight for the Olympics, when Jan Tesař, Michal Desenský and Pavel Maslák will run after Krsko.
