This weekend at the World Athletics Relays Gaborone 2026, records weren’t just broken. They were erased. What happened on that track wasn’t a meet. It was a moment the sport will measure everything against from now on.
Jamaica’s Sub-40 Heist
The Mixed 4x100m heats set the tone. Ackeem Blake, Tina Clayton, Kadrian Goldson, and Tia Clayton lined up against history. Canada’s 40.07 world record looked safe. It wasn’t.
The baton flew. The clock froze at 39.99 seconds.
First team ever under 40. The stadium lost its mind.
Then they did it again. In the final, with gold and legacy on the line, the same four Jamaicans went even faster. 39.62. A new world record. Canada took silver in 40.23. The USA claimed bronze in 40.33. Jamaica didn’t just win. They redefined the event.
Botswana Brings the House Down
Then the hosts took center stage. Men’s 4x400m relay. Lee Bhekempilo Eppie, Letsile Tebogo, Bayapo Ndori, and Busang Collen Kebinatshipi carried more than a baton. They carried a nation.
Gaborone roared them home in 2:54.47. Championship Record. Third fastest time in history. Gold for Botswana. South Africa pushed them all the way to a National Record of 2:55.07. Australia smashed their Area Record with 2:55.20. One race, three historic marks.
Records Fall Everywhere
Australia ended a 42-year wait. Their men’s 4x400m team ran 2:57.30, deleting a national record from 1984. They added a Mixed 4x400m National Record at 3:10.57.
Kenya stamped the Mixed 4x400m heats with an African Area Record of 3:09.87, before finishing fourth in a final the USA won in a Championship Record 3:07.47.
South Africa’s men’s 4x100m squad clocked 37.49, a new Area Record, chasing the USA’s world-leading 37.43 for gold.
Canada’s women ran 42.17 for a National Record in the 4x100m, silver behind Jamaica’s 42.00.
Spain took women’s 4x400m bronze with a National Record 3:21.25, as Norway won in a world-leading 3:20.96.
A New Standard
Gaborone 2026 was the weekend the impossible became the benchmark. The first sub-40 Mixed 4x100m happened, then got smashed minutes later. A host nation delivered gold and history. Decades-old records fell in every direction.
The track in Gaborone didn’t host a meet. It hosted a shift in what we think is possible.
Finals – Sunday, 3 May
Mixed 4x100m
1. Jamaica 39.62 WR
2. Canada 40.23
3. United States 40.33
Mixed 4x400m
1. United States 3:07.47 CR
2. Jamaica 3:08.24
3. Great Britain 3:09.84
Women’s 4x100m
1. Jamaica 42.00
2. Canada 42.17 NR
3. Spain 42.31
Men’s 4x100m
1. United States 37.43 WL
2. South Africa 37.49 AR
3. Germany 37.76
Women’s 4x400m
1. Norway 3:20.96 WL
2. Spain 3:21.25 NR
3. Canada 3:22.66
Men’s 4x400m
1. Botswana 2:54.47 CR
2. South Africa 2:55.07 NR
3. Australia 2:55.20 AR
Qualified for WCH Beijing 27
- Women’s 4x100m: Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Jamaica, Poland, Portugal, Spain
- Men’s 4x100m: Australia, Botswana, Canada, Germany, Great Britain & NI, Netherlands, South Africa, United States
- Women’s 4x400m: Canada, Czechia, Germany, Great Britain & NI, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain
- Men’s 4x400m: Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Netherlands, Portugal, Qatar, South Africa, Zimbabwe
- Mixed 4x100m: Canada, Germany, Great Britain & NI, Jamaica, Netherlands, Nigeria, Spain, United States
- Mixed 4x400m: Australia, Great Britain & NI, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Poland, Spain, United States
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