The 2026 World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, Botswana wrapped on Sunday with a weekend that rewrote the record books and reshaped expectations heading into next year’s World Championships. Jamaica broke the mixed 4x100m world record twice in two days. Botswana’s men ran the third-fastest 4x400m in history on home soil. And one of the most untouchable splits in track history, Michael Johnson’s 42.94 from 1993, finally fell.
Held at the Botswana National Stadium on May 2 and 3, the championship doubled as a qualification meet for the Beijing 2027 World Championships. Jamaica and the United States walked away as the biggest winners with two golds each. The hosts may have stolen the weekend anyway. If you missed last year’s unicycle cameraman moment from the World Relays, this edition more than made up for it.
Jamaica’s Mixed 4x100m: A World Record, Then Another
The Jamaican quartet of Ackeem Blake, Tina Clayton, Kadrian Goldson and Tia Clayton hit the track first on Saturday and clocked 39.99 in the heats. It was the first time any nation had broken 40 seconds in the mixed 4x100m. They came back Sunday and dropped another 0.37 seconds off the mark, winning the final in 39.62. Canada took silver in 40.23, with the United States third in 40.33.
The same four athletes ran in the same order both days: Blake leading off, Tina Clayton on the second leg, Goldson third, and Tia Clayton anchoring. It was a textbook reminder of why relays are the most underrated event in track: four flawless handoffs, four big personalities, and a result no individual race can replicate.
Botswana Lights Up Home Soil
The loudest moment of the weekend came on the closing event. Botswana’s men’s 4x400m team won in 2:54.47, a World Relays competition record, a national record, and the third-fastest time ever recorded over the distance. The capacity crowd erupted as the anchor leg crossed the line.
Olympic 200m gold medalist Letsile Tebogo ran the second leg in 43.50, and world 400m champion Collen Kebinatshipi was also part of the squad. Tebogo, who became a national hero last year after he was caught on camera rescuing stranded drivers during flooding in Gaborone, was open about what the win meant.
“This was the best moment in my career. I’m sure there is more to come but this has been my biggest highlight so far. It is not about the medals at the Olympics or World Championships but how the crowd has held us together.”
Letsile Tebogo
Australia took bronze with the sixth-fastest time in history, a result that would have been a headline almost anywhere else.
Lythe Pillay Erases Michael Johnson From the Record Book
The most stunning individual performance of the weekend came from a 22-year-old South African. On the second leg of the men’s 4x400m final, Lythe Pillay split 42.66, the fastest leg ever recorded in a 4x400m relay. The previous mark of 42.94 belonged to Michael Johnson, set at the 1993 World Championships and untouched for 33 years. Johnson, of course, has stayed in the headlines lately for reasons off the track, including his work with the Grand Slam Track League.
South Africa’s relay program had a strong weekend on top of that, finishing second in the men’s 4x100m final by 0.06 seconds. Their relay depth now looks like one of the deepest in the world heading into the global season.
USA Picks Up Two Golds and Three Worlds Spots
The United States doubled up. The men’s 4x100m team of Ronnie Baker, Max Thomas, Lance Lang and Pjai Austin won in 37.43, edging South Africa by six hundredths of a second. The mixed 4x400m team of Bryce Deadmon, Paris Peoples, Jenoah McKiver and Bailey Lear defended their title in 3:07.47, the same event the U.S. first claimed at the 2023 World Championships. Jamaica took silver in 3:08.24, with Great Britain third in 3:09.84.
Combined with another podium finish, those wins qualified the U.S. for three relays at the 2027 World Championships in Beijing.
Norway Wins Its One Race
Norway sent a single team to Gaborone, entered them in the women’s 4x400m, and walked away with gold. Their 3:20.96 was a world lead, with defending champions Spain second in 3:21.25.
Elaine Thompson-Herah’s Comeback Begins
The five-time Olympic champion had not raced an individual sprint final in nearly two years, sidelined by injuries that had threatened her career. In Gaborone, Thompson-Herah anchored Jamaica’s women’s 4x100m team to gold in 42.00, alongside Briana Williams, Jodean Williams and Lavanya Williams. Her place among the greatest runners of all time was already settled. The bigger question was whether she could come back at all.
“I’m grateful that I crossed the line healthy. We came with a goal and we stuck to it. We executed today, and I’m grateful for that.”
Elaine Thompson-Herah
She had described the meet as a checkpoint, not a peak. “This season is a stepping stone, a recovery, a fun one,” she told reporters before the championship. “I’m not rushing anything, not applying pressure.”
The mental side, she said, had been the hardest part. “It’s been a rough one mentally, but I’ve overcome that. Not having pain is a good feeling.”
