The Polish Athletic Association confirmed that the team would not take part in today's final because of "cases of coronavirus infection".

Polish city Torun is staging the European Championships, and the men's 4x400m final is the penultimate event of the meet tonight.

Poland hold the European record - 3min 01.77sec, set in 2018 - and were considered strong medal contenders.

European Athletics now lists just five nations on the startlist for the final - The Netherlands, Italy, Britain, the Czech Republic and 2019 champions Belgium.

The European Athletics Indoor Championships mark the sport's first multi-discipline championships since the coronavirus pandemic began.

There are no spectators permitted in Torun as a consequence of the health situation.

Before the event, Polish sprinter Ewa Swoboda tested positive for COVID-19 so was unable to defend the women's 60m title.