Kenya’s 4x400 metres mixed relay team set a new African record at the 2026 World Athletics Relays Championships in Gaborone, Botswana, on Saturday to qualify for today’s final.
The team’s second place finish effectively qualified it for the 2027 Beijing World Athletics Championships which will be held in Beijing, as well as the 2026 Ultimate Championship, which will be held at the end of the season.
Mercy Chebet anchored the team of Kelvin Kiprotich, Mercy Oketch and George Mutinda to second place in a new Africa record of three minutes and 09.87 seconds, finishing behind Great Britain, who won the third heat a world-leading time of 3:09.69.
They erased the previous record of 3:11.16 set by South Africa during the preliminary round at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.
However, other Kenyan teams in men and women’s 4x400m, men’s 4x100m and 4x100m mixed relays failed to qualify for their respective finals at the National Stadium.
However, they have one more opportunity to make it to the Beijing world championships from the Repechage Round scheduled for today, before the main medal championships event.
Kenya will compete in the first heat of the 4x100m mixed relay alongside Ukraine, Belgium, Italy, France, Paraguay and Portugal.
The women’s 4x400m are in the first heat alongside Mexico, Nigeria, Switzerland, France, Jamaica and Ireland, while the men’s 4x400m are in the first heat that has Senegal, Nigeria, Mexico, Jamaica, Germany and Spain.
Ferdinand Omanyala will be in the first heat with men’s 4x100m team that also has Brazil, Spain, Colombia, Italy, Ghana and China.
The events feature two heats each, from which the first two countries will qualify for the world event.
Oketch, who was in the 4x400m mixed relay team that settled for bronze last year in Guangzhou, China, is confident of a better performance in the event today.
“We are aiming for the top position. We are excited to have qualified for the 2027 World Athletics Championships, which will be held in Beijing, China,” Oketch, who was also in the team that qualified for last year’s world championships in Tokyo, said.
Oketch anchored the 4x100m mixed relay team of Dennis Mwai, Millicent Ndoro and Moses Wasike to fourth place in a national record of 41.35 in the third heat.
The Jamaican quartet of Ackeem Blake, Tina Clayton, Kadrian Goldson and Tia Clayton stormed to a world record in 4x100m mixed relay in 39.99 in the third heat, breaking the previous record of 40.07 that Canada had set in the first heat.
“We are glad to have run a national record, and it has given us more reasons to work hard and make sure we improve on every stride. The baton exchange was smooth, and we believe we have a bright future,” said Ndoro.
Omanyala anchored the 4x100m mixed relay team to fifth place in the second heat after clocking 38.50. The team had Mark Otieno, Ronald Koech and Meshack Babu. Canada won the race in a World Lead time of 37.56, ahead of Germany (37.67) and Australia (37.87).
Kenya finished in eighth position in women’s 4x400m second heat, with anchor Maureen Wafula crossing the line in a season’s best of 3:35.90.
In the men’s 4x400m relay, Kenya, anchored by vDanson Kibet, finished in sixth position in the second heat in 3:02.70 as South Africa won the race in a season’s best of 2:58.04 ahead of Portugal, who ran a national record of 2:59.01, while Zimbabwe was third also in a national record of 2:59.01.
Meanwhile, Jamaica blazed into the record books at the World Athletics Relays yesterday, becoming the first quartet to crack the 40-second barrier in the mixed 4x100 metres relay.
The team of Ackeem Blake, Tina Clayton, Kadrian Goldson and Tia Clayton scorched around the track in 39.99 seconds, breaking the world record in Gaborone, Botswana, the first time the event has been held in Africa.
Their lightning-fast run came just after Canada had set a new benchmark of 40.07 seconds in the first heat, only to see their record last mere minutes before Jamaica’s history-making run.
Using the event’s new man-woman-man-woman running order, Blake started for Jamaica before handing the baton to Tina Clayton. Goldson took the third leg, setting up Tia Clayton for a blistering anchor run that carried the team under the 40-second mark.
