The greatest men’s 4x100m | Britain SHOCKED the world with this relay!

All the field event actions being concluded just the men's and the women's four by 100 meters that's right so really interesting to look at team selections for this first of all turkey had a somewhat unexpected rerun in order to make it through they felt they were impeded by finland so they had a solo race and they just beat italy's time yes italy the olympic champions marcel jacobs the individual 100 minute winner here and in tokyo picking up a slight injury warming up also without filippo tortu and then got a medal in the individual 200 meters so this race may have a slightly different complexion turkey we're in fact the silver medalists in berlin in 2018 what about the british quartet they brought in zanelle hughes and nathaniel mitchell blake so as a result they have three of the four who are the world bronze medalists and the commonwealth champions jeremiah azu of course got the 100 meter bronze comes in as well couldn't take part bringing the commonwealth games he as well she finished fifth individually so it's this settled turkish team with barnes harvey as there and as camp which stays the same for the final van de beden merckx paco and flemings the third athlete they brought in for this final the netherlands and the women's four by four of course terrific their team the same britain keen to get out and get on with it to try and win yet another european four by one title but the germans a national record for them in qualification 37 97 only 200 sparta than they ran earlier this year so clearly an up-and-coming team two zese brothers matteo and jimmy vico who run a fantastic final leg to bring fans home to qualify and then the swiss team with the experienced pascal mancini on the first leg lestrade svenson and race completing their team the polish quartet looking up to the sky will they be looking at a medal in this final perhaps outside contenders here part of their quartet here and there is the trio of medalists in the women's high jump either side of her so there's the women's high jump result confirmation yaroslava mauchik 195 maria vukovic getting mountainegro's first ever medal at these european championships for 195 bronze goes to angelina toppage not a classic competition you have to turn the clock back to 1974 when it was last one at that sort of height but nevertheless an enthralling one a free for starting off for the dutch the polish athletes answer of germany we'll hand over to lucas and zepepra on the final leg there's kevin kranz well the german team have quite often won the four by one title through the age groups but not often in the senior competition but they have got a squad that's rising through the ranks britain three consecutive golds for them harry akins and reti and tommy round down taken out for this final in place of zarnell hughes they look fantastic individually as did nathaniel mitchell blake to be fair so close to the end of the competition now and it was right at the end of the evening at the british team after eugene sat and did their interviews and while they were on air on the radio they had a food delivery come and greet them of course much deserved after that hard work and for those athletes who've competed individually as well along the championships across the 100 and 200 spread through the seven days of competition here in the olympus stadium in munich so 37.79 the championship record for france back in 1990 in split where pretty much all these athletes weren't born so here we go then the final of the men's four by 100 meter relay and one of the events in which we treated to a special light show let's enjoy it so on the outside the polish quartet starting them off there we are the athletes all the way around the track on their marks and in their positions light show just adding to a bit of tension i think it's trying to keep warm out there as well as the temperature drops inside the stadium william race who looks strong in the 200 brought into this spencer who has recently gained eligibility to run for switzerland jimmy vico 10.1 his fastest 100 time this year france winning the title with him in 2010 he was alongside the likes of christoph who of course defended his individual title but the germans in national record form and national records were actually required for silver and bronze in 2018 very strong british team that will be hard to beat though surely they just need to focus on getting that bat on round to try and beat the competition the dutch team won this title 10 years ago in helsinki with the likes of charandi martina 37.91 their national record belgium again an outside contender they do have medals from both of the four by fours over which they're usually stronger though van der benden sticking down to the four by four to this four by one a great 200 runner and then turkey so runners up four years ago in berlin and m.a zafe barnes and jack ali harvey remaining from that team just a light but as can as he crossed the line knowing that he was 400 inside the qualifying time in that solo rerun in damp conditions a couple of days ago so they will be buoyed by the opportunity to once again be back in the final maybe spring a surprise on that occasion they had ramel guliev of course they'd won the 200 meters and was the reigning world 200 champion from london 2017 he pulled up in his final so perhaps they're looking a bit weaker so now we have silence turkey belgium netherlands great britain northern ireland germany france switzerland and poland the final of the men's four by one relay so the roar of the crowd gets the athletes going then decent start for jeremiah azu of britain as we have a look at these first changeovers and germany haven't continued devastation from the home crowd switzerland going well right on the inside but now has the battle someone who's grown in experience this year just the one changeover vico chasing but nathaniel mitchell blake so experienced at bringing it home and he wins gold for the british team france in behind and look like netherlands just got it it's a championship record though so had been held since 1990 by the french team who were ultimately also beaten in this race no smiles for that german team who looks so good in qualification a young team though and it was the experienced hands of the likes of hughes and mitchell blake who joined the youngsters brought in the team of course the likes of richard kilty injured this year but fantastic performance from the brits a decent winning margin as well and it's poland who beat the netherlands a national record for them as well i mentioned they were an outside contender and in the end they pull it all together to come home to get on the podium as well this track has been swift tonight we saw some brilliant times in the women's sprint hurdles but two national for switzerland the polish team out in lane eight on their own i think that was an advantage for them today they couldn't get distracted by all the drama that was going on in the middle lanes they stuck to their tasks superbly well as as we're stretching they knew they'd have to do something special to get on the podium to get anywhere near the likes of great britain and france and ultimately that first changeover for germany left them unstuck couldn't get the bat and we can see they've already exited the race at this stage their third leg runner standing for lawnley as the rest of the men powered round the bend jonah afoloco of great britain and northern ireland just inching them ahead of france poland out there in lane eight textbook perfect technical four by 100 and the french athletes sort of turn up for the books the french team have struggled a little bit in this championships but jimmy vico so experienced and lending his help we can see that second change over there for the german team i think the lead-off runner didn't go fast enough and he wasn't out of the way the incoming runner just ran into the back of hartman and earned their chances so britain continue to retain this title on the back in 2014 and continued all the way since then and introducing young athletes into the team also france and poland taking silver and bronze respectively and just looking at the splits here we've got very good timings from the transponders really the credit should in many respects obviously it goes to all four of them goes to zarnell hughes for that back back straight that really was the difference in many respects there's the full confirmed time as you can see their poland national record and switzerland as well finishing fifth and germany frustratingly for them failing to finish the men's four by 100 meter relay final at the 2022 european athletics championships in munich was one of the highest quality relay races europe has seen in decades every major contender entered the final believing gold was possible but only one team managed to combine elite sprinting with flawless execution while individual speed always attracts attention this race proved once again that the fastest athletes do not always produce the fastest relay baton exchanges acceleration timing and composure under pressure ultimately determined the medals great britain entered the championship as the strongest relay nation in europe their lineup featured jeremiah azu on the opening leg jarnell hughes on the back stretch jonah efiloko on the third leg and nathaniel mitchell blake as the anchor each athlete brought different strengths to the team azu possessed one of the quickest reaction times in european sprinting hughes was among the continent's fastest 100 meter runners efiloko offered excellent bend running while mitchell blake had years of relay experience at the highest international level more importantly this quartet had already demonstrated outstanding chemistry during previous competitions germany appeared to be britain's biggest rival running in front of more than 60 000 home supporters inside munich's olympic stadium the german team carried enormous expectations their confidence had grown after producing an outstanding national record of 37.97 seconds during the qualifying round the home crowd believed germany had the speed necessary to challenge for gold especially after showing remarkable consistency throughout the season with the energy of the stadium behind them everything seemed perfectly prepared for a historic performance france also entered the final with genuine medal ambitions veteran jimmy vico provided valuable championship experience while the rest of the french squad had repeatedly shown that they could produce excellent relay performances despite inconsistent individual results france has traditionally been one of europe's strongest relay nations and few teams understand baton exchanges better than the program their objective was simple stay close to britain during the opening legs and rely on their experience in the closing stages poland attracted far less attention before the race most predictions placed them outside the medals but relay events often reward disciplined teams that avoid mistakes their strategy focused on smooth exchanges rather than taking unnecessary risks inside the exchange zones switzerland entered with similar ambitions hoping to challenge for a national record if every leg unfolded according to plan as the athletes settled into their blocks beneath the spectacular lights of munich's olympic stadium the atmosphere became unforgettable the pressure in a relay final differs from any individual sprint every runner carries responsibility not only for personal performance but also for the work of three teammates one poorly timed exchange can erase months of preparation within a fraction of a second the gun fired and jeremiah azu produced exactly the start great britain needed exploding from the blocks he accelerated aggressively through the opening curve and immediately positioned britain among the leaders germany also started strongly feeding off the incredible energy generated by the home supporters france remained close behind refusing to allow the british team any early advantage everything now depended on the first exchange great britain executed it almost perfectly azu entered the exchange zone under complete control while jarnal hughes timed his acceleration with outstanding precision the baton transferred cleanly without visible hesitation allowing hughes to continue accelerating almost at full speed the exchange cost virtually no momentum immediately giving britain a slight advantage over the rest of the field once hughes reached maximum velocity the race began to change dramatically his powerful stride and exceptional top speed created visible separation down the back stretch few european sprinters can match hughes once fully upright and his leg proved decisive every meter increased britain's advantage while placing enormous pressure on the chasing teams then came the defining moment of the entire final germany's second exchange completely fell apart the outgoing runner failed to match the incoming athlete's speed before attempting the baton transfer instead of maintaining smooth forward momentum both athletes became unsynchronized inside the exchange zone the incoming runner closed the distance too quickly resulting in direct contact between teammates their rhythm disappeared instantly the baton exchange collapsed and germany's race ended before the halfway point the silence inside the stadium was immediate just seconds earlier the home crowd had been dreaming of a historic european title now those hopes had vanished because of one technical mistake it perfectly illustrated the unforgiving nature of the 4x100 relay where world-class speed cannot compensate for poor timing during exchanges britain remained completely unaffected by the chaos unfolding around them hughes delivered the baton cleanly to jonah efiloco whose responsibility on the third leg was maintaining speed around the curve while preparing the final exchange efiloco ran with excellent control never forcing the pace unnecessarily and keeping the baton stable throughout the bend his technical discipline ensured mitchell blake would receive the baton in ideal position france continued producing a solid race their exchanges remained efficient allowing them to secure second place despite britain's growing lead although the french runners never stopped fighting the gap created by hughes proved too large to overcome their focus gradually shifted from chasing gold to protecting the silver medal meanwhile poland quietly produced one of the smartest relay performances of the championship running in lane 8 isolated them from much of the disruption occurring in the middle lanes instead of reacting to nearby teams they concentrated entirely on their own execution every exchange looked controlled every acceleration measured and every runner completed his responsibility without error that consistency slowly elevated poland into medal position on the anchor leg nathaniel mitchell blake received the baton with a comfortable lead few athletes possess more relay experience than the british anchor and his composure immediately became evident rather than looking across at the chasing runners he focused solely on maintaining rhythm and preserving britain's advantage his sprint to the finish was controlled efficient and technically flawless as mitchell blake crossed the finish line the clock displayed an extraordinary performance 37.67 seconds great britain had not only secured another european title but also broken the championship record that had stood since 1990 producing such a time under championship pressure demonstrated the remarkable quality of every leg and every exchange throughout the race france earned a well-deserved silver medal after delivering another disciplined relay performance poland celebrated one of the greatest moments in its sprinting history by winning bronze while setting a new national record switzerland narrowly missed the podium but also established a national record emphasizing just how competitive the final had become the munich final perfectly demonstrated why the men's four by 100 relay remains one of athletics most demanding events individual talent alone is never enough success requires four athletes to trust each other completely accelerate with perfect timing and execute every baton exchange under extreme pressure great britain achieved exactly that their combination of elite sprinting technical precision and championship composure produced one of the finest relay performances in european championship history a true master class in teamwork