The Spanish squad will not compete in the relay portion of the World Cup finals in Budapest after the women’s 4×100 team was eliminated on Friday and the two 4×400 squads failed to advance to the semi finals on Saturday. The remaining pair of races, eight teams apiece, were victims of missteps at the finish line that opened a window for other nations. The Royal Spanish Athletics Federation (RFEA) has filed an official claim and the decision will come from World Athletics in due course. [Citation: World Athletics]
Relating to
Spain has reached the men’s long relay final on three occasions by the two races that preceded this season. The athlete finished sixth in back‑to‑back events in Edmonton’01 and Paris’03, and nearly thirty years later he set the national record (3:00.65) in London’17 alongside Lucas Búa and Darwin Echeverry, with Óscar Husillos and Samu García filling the middle legs. That same era saw a single women’s precedent, a seventh place in Roma’87 with Julia Merino, Blanca Lacambra, Sandra Myers and Gregoria Ferrer, marking a rare highlight for the female relay team.
Women’s 4×100 advances to semifinals without Maribel Pérez
In a heat that included the United States B team and Great Britain, the relay lead was handed to Iñaki Cañal, with Samu García in second and Bernat Erta in third place. Óscar Husillos also reached the final 400. Cañal delivered a striking performance, finishing second with 45.51, while Samu García of the Canary Islands kept a strong pace, securing fourth place and near third place (1:30.72). Bernat Erta faced a challenge that prevented him from taking the baton cleanly and the field’s dynamics constrained Spain’s chances. The outcome reflected the difficulty of the race and the bar set by the top teams. Spain ultimately did not convert their energy into a podium finish.
Even with the push to reclaim time, the sprinting effort did not translate into a qualifying result, as the team posted 3:02.64 to finish seventh. The RFEA filed a formal complaint about the sequence of events and will await formal reclassification decisions; the door remains open for adjustments if justified by the officials. [Citation: World Athletics]
The women’s quartet faced tighter obstacles, with Eva Santidrián’s pass to Herminia Parra not yielding the hoped-for momentum. Laura Bueno and Bárbara Camblor finished in the rear, clocking 3:31.91. The result underscored the tough field and the need for refined baton exchanges in high-pressure rounds. Nigeria’s finish, initially flagged for disqualification, added another layer of drama to the session. [Citation: World Athletics]