The World Relays just got off the mark, and this year, they were special. 2025 marked the debut of an entirely new relay category: the mixed 4x100m relay in the event mix. In fact, the World Relays isn’t the only event. This new category is also slated to be added to the 2026 World Athletics Ultimate Championships roster.

But do you know there is an athlete who retired 21 years ago but still claims that he revolutionized the idea behind this event? Well, yes. And not just that. Looks like he just told Grand Slam Track his ideas to shake it up further from a vanilla relay version to a wilder event.

We’re talking about the 4x Olympic Gold medalist, Ato Boldon. Boldon hung up his spikes from competitive running in 2004 and became a Sports Analyst in 2005. However, he is no rookie to the 4x100m relay, having won the World silver in 2001. Yes, he never got to compete in the mixed 4x100m relay, back in his era. But now, in 2025, he opened up on how he may have had a role in pushing for the mixed 4x100m relay category’s advancement through the years.

Speaking to Grand Slam Track in a video byte uploaded by GST on May 11, Ato Boldon said that he fought to bring the mixed relay to the big stage. “I was one of the people that fought for the mixed relay. I think it’s one of the more exciting events that we have.” His love for the relay type shone through as he spoke. However, he even had a few wild ideas to spice things up at the event. “But I don’t think that we should tell a team what person to put on which leg,” he believed a little suspense would go a long way. “It’s like, why not just randomly do it?. Because I want to see Femke Boll running against Quincy Hall on a leg,” he said.

Well, as of now, the order of the mixed 4x100m relay is set: woman-woman-man-man. But that’s not the end of it. As he talked to Grand Slam Track, Boldon further gave out ideas to add drama to the event as he said, “I just feel like, look, if we’re going to have these kind of new fun events, let’s really make them fun and new.” That’s when he voiced his dream mixed relay lineup. Note this: Carl Lewis, Usain Bolt, Shellyann Fraser-Price, Carmelita Jedder, and Dina Asher-Smith. And his order? Well, he likes to keep it mixed up. “See, that’s the thing. It’s like, no, we don’t have to let the guys finish. Let the guys come last.”

Well, regardless of this mixup, we’ve seen enough drama in this race type yesterday. At the World Relays yesterday, there was a baton drop as the American runner Kendal Williams tried handing out the baton to Jade Mowatt. That led to Team USA coming in last.

So, just imagine if all these big guns actually line up in a Boldon-style relay, it would be a historic sight. However, let us tell you that the mixed 4x100m relay is not the only thing that Boldon has waited for. Here’s another reality that had him waiting for 17 years.

 Ato Boldon Thanks Grand Slam Track for a full circle moment

After the Grand Slam Track Miami leg concluded, Ato Boldon took to social media with a rather emotional message. He wrote, “17 years ago, I stood in an empty field at this location with then-city manager Vernon Hargray as he asked me, ‘can you see a world-class track, right here in our backyard? I said “absolutely’ and we got to work, building a facility that the city and county could be proud of.”

Yes, he’s seen the Ansin Sports Stadium built from scratch. But that’s not all. It was the Grand Slam Track that made his “full circle moment” possible by bringing some of the planet’s biggest track and field stars to Ansin, what Boldon calls “our little slice of heaven, here in Miramar.”

The energy, the fans showing up to support athletes, it was all just unreal. Thus, he ended with, “Thanks to @grandslamtrack and @cityofmiramar for the work to make this happen.” Well, this dream of his did come true. But will the mixed relays one mature? Only time will tell!