The IAAF World Road Relay Championships was a biennial international athletics competition in long-distance relay running. First organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in 1992, the championship ran for four editions, with its last one occurring in 1998. [1] [2]
The relay format was based on the ekiden races native to Japan, where six runners team up for legs of varying length to cover the classic 42.195 km marathon distance. The first, third and fifth legs were of 5 km each, the second and fourth legs were 10 km each, and the final leg covered the remaining 7.195 km. [3]
The first edition saw the Kenyan men's team break the world record for the ekiden relay with a run of 2:00:02 hours. The Moroccan team at the following edition improved this further with a world and championship record time of 1:57:56 hours. The Ethiopian women's team set the championship record of 2:16:04 hours in 1996 and retained their title the following year. Kenya and Ethiopia were the most successful nations at the event – Kenya took three men's titles, as well as a women's silver and a men's bronze, while Ethiopia had two women's titles, three silver medals and one bronze medal. [1]
The competition was preceded by the IAAF World Challenge Road Relay – a one-off race held in 1986 in Hiroshima. [4]
| Edition | Year | Location | Date | Men's teams | Women's teams | Athletes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | 1986 | Hiroshima, Japan | 30 November [5] | |||
| 1st | 1992 | Funchal, Portugal | 9–10 May | 138 | ||
| 2nd | 1994 | Litochoro, Greece | 16–17 April | 240 | ||
| 3rd | 1996 | Copenhagen, Denmark | 13–14 April | 25 | 12 | 210 |
| 4th | 1998 | Manaus, Brazil | 18–19 April | 25 | 12 | 222 |
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kenya (KEN) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 2 |  Ethiopia (ETH) | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 |  Portugal (POR) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 |  Morocco (MAR) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Russia (RUS) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 6 |  Romania (ROM) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 7 |  Brazil (BRA) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 8 |  Denmark (DEN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 |  Great Britain (GBR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Japan (JPN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Spain (ESP) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (11 entries) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 | |
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The International Chiba Ekiden was an annual team road running competition held in Chiba, Japan in late November. The marathon relay race, or ekiden as it is known in Japan, is one of the prominent annual races of its kind. The competition is split into six legs which combine to make up the marathon distance of 42.195 km. The Chiba Ekiden was first held in 1988 and featured separate competitions for both men and women. Since 2007, each competing country selects three men and three women for their team. The legs are divided as follows: 5 km (men), 5 km (women), 10 km (men), 5 km (women), 10 km (men), and 7.195 km (women).
Ryoko Kizaki is a Japanese long-distance runner who competes in marathon and half marathon races. She won the 2011 Yokohama Women's Marathon in a personal best time of 2:26:32 hours. She is a three-time participant at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships and a two-time medallist at the Summer Universiade.
Hitomi Niiya is a Japanese professional long-distance runner who competes in track, cross country running and marathon races. Niiya competed for Japan at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She is a two-time silver medallist at the Asian Athletics Championships and has represented Japan three times at the World Athletics Championships. She represents Team Toyota Industries in national competition.
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Simon Chemoiywo is a Kenyan former long-distance runner. He competed in track, cross country and road running. At the IAAF World Cross Country Championships he twice represented Kenya: in 1994 he was the runner-up and team champion, then helped retain the team title for Kenya at the 1995 race.
Tudorița Chidu is a Romanian former middle-distance runner who competed in both 800 metres and 1500 metres events. Her personal bests were 1:57.64 minutes and 4:05.69 minutes, respectively. Her greatest honour was a bronze medal in the 1500 m at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in 1991.
Eliud Barngetuny is a Kenyan former long-distance runner who specialised in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He was a continental bronze medallist at both the 1992 African Championships in Athletics and the 1995 All-Africa Games.
Natalya Sorokivskaya is a Kazakhstani female former long-distance runner who competed for the Soviet Union and later Kazakhstan. She competed in track, road and cross country running disciplines. She holds the Kazakhstani national records from 3000 metres to the 10K run and also the half marathon record.
The 1998 IAAF World Road Relay Championships was the fourth and final edition of the global, international marathon relay competition, organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The event took place on 18–19 April in Manaus, Brazil with the participation of 222 athletes from 28 nations. The women's race took place on Saturday 18 April, starting at 9:00 AM Amazon Standard Time, and featured twelve national teams comprising a total 72 athletes. The men's race took place on Sunday 19 April, also starting at 9:00 AM Amazon Standard Time, and featured 25 national teams comprising a total 150 athletes.
The North American Men's Marathon Relay Championships was a men's international team long-distance running competition between North American nations. It was held on two occasions, in 2003 and 2004, both of which were incorporated into the annual Akron Marathon.
The Beijing International Women's Ekiden was an annual, international ekiden road running competition held in Beijing, China. Formed in 1991 as the Great Wall International Ekiden Relay, the competition featured a six-stage relay race for women from 1991 to 2005, and included a men's race once, at its final edition. The race format had first, third and fifth legs at five kilometres in distance, second and fourth legs over ten kilometres, and a sixth and final leg covering the remaining 7.195 km of the classic marathon distance.
Mariana Chirilă is a Romanian female distance runner who competed in events ranging from 800 metres to the marathon. Individually she won gold medals in the 3000 metres at the 1986 Goodwill Games and the 1992 Balkan Athletics Championships, and won the senior race at the Balkan Cross Country Championships in 1985. She represented her country at the European Athletics Championships in 1986, twice at the Universiade, and twice at the IAAF World Women's Road Race Championships. Her highest global ranking was eighth in the 3000 m for the 1986 season.
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The 1994 IAAF World Road Relay Championships was the second edition of the global, international marathon relay competition, organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The event took place on 16–17 April on a 5-kilometre circuit in Litochoro, Greece with the participation of 240 athletes from 23 nations. The women's race took place on Saturday 16 April and the men's race took place on Sunday 17 April.
The 1992 IAAF World Road Relay Championships was the first edition of the global, international marathon relay competition, organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It marked the formal establishment of an ekiden as a world championship event, following on from the non-championship 1986 IAAF World Challenge Road Relay. The event took place on 9–10 May in Funchal, Portugal with the participation of 138 athletes from 16 nations. The women's race took place on Saturday 9 May and the men's race took place on Sunday 10 April.
The 1986 IAAF World Challenge Road Relay was a one-off global, international marathon relay competition, organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It marked the first time that the IAAF had formally hosted an ekiden competition, and preceded the formation of a world championship event, the IAAF World Road Relay Championships six years later. The event took place on 30 November in Hiroshima, Japan.
Atsumi Yashima is a Japanese former long-distance runner who competed in track and cross country running.
World Championships organised by World Athletics | |
|---|---|
| Outdoor | |
| Indoor | |
| Continental Cup* | |
| U20 | |
| U18 | |
| Cross Country | |
| Race Walking | |
| Women's Road Race | |
| Marathon | |
| Half Marathon | |
| Road Relay | |
| Relays* | |
| Road Running | |
