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Kenya bags mixed relay bronze, qualifies men’s 4x100m team for World Championships
Kenya's 4.x400metres relay team of Zablon Ekhal Ekwam, Boniface Ontuga Mweresa, Brian Onyari Tinega, and Kevin Kipkorir celebrate after heat 3 during the 2025 World Athletics Relays at the Guangdong Olympic Stadium, Guangzhou, China on May 10, 2025.
What you need to know:
- It was Kenya’s first medal in the mixed relay since the 2019 Yokohama World Relays, where they also claimed bronze.
- The United States retained their title in dominant fashion, clocking a championship record of 3:09.54. Australia followed with silver in an Area National Record time of 3:12.20.
Kenya’s 4x400m mixed relay team Sunday secured a historic bronze medal at the World Athletics Relay Championships in Guangzhou, China, while the men’s 4x100m team booked their ticket to the World Championships for the first time in over four decades.
Former national 400m champion Mercy Oketch anchored the mixed relay quartet — comprising David Sanayek, Mercy Chebet, and Brian Tinega — to third place in a season-best time of 3:13.10.
It was Kenya’s first medal in the mixed relay since the 2019 Yokohama World Relays, where they also claimed bronze.
The United States retained their title in dominant fashion, clocking a championship record of 3:09.54. Australia followed with silver in an Area National Record time of 3:12.20.
“We thank God for this medal after we failed to secure anything last year in the Bahamas. The morale was high and that is what spurred us to a podium finish,” said Sanayek.
Oketch, who ran the anchor leg against some of the world’s best, described the race as the highlight of her career so far.
“It was quite interesting and fascinating. This is my first world medal and I am proud of it. This is just the beginning,” she said, adding that the team is looking forward to an even better showing at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this September.
In the men’s 4x100m event, Steve Onyango led the charge on the final leg, anchoring teammates Boniface Mweresa, Ferdinand Omanyala, and Meshak Babu to a second-place finish in their heat. The team clocked 38.51, narrowly behind Belgium’s winning time of 38.49.
The performance not only earned them a place in the next round but also secured qualification for the World Championships — marking the first time since 1983 that Kenya will field a men’s 4x100m relay team at the global showpiece.
Belgium, France, Ghana, China, and Australia also qualified through the heats.
Kenya's men’s 4x100m team now joins the men's 4x400m and 4x400m mixed relay squads as part of the nation’s relay representation for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Despite breaking the 32-year-old National Record with a sub-three minutes performance of 2:59.29, the men’s 4x400m finished fifth.
The quartet of Mweresa, Zablon Ekwam, Kelvin Kiprotich and Kevin Kipkorir broke the previous record of 2:59.63 set by Davis Kitur, Samson Kitur, Simon Kipkemboi and Simon Kemboi at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games.
It’s South Africa, who sealed a double after their victory in men’s 4x100m, winning the 4x400m gold in a world lead time of 2:57.50 as Belgium and Botswana clocked 2:58.19 and 2:58.27 to settle for silver and bronze respectively.
