For the second time, Kenya has failed to secure a medal at the World Athletics Relay Championships.
In the eighth edition of the biennial track event, which concluded yesterday in Botswana, anchor Mercy Oketch’s efforts to rescue a bronze medal for Kenya fell short, as the team finished fourth in the 4x400 metres mixed relay in three minutes and 09.93 seconds at the National Stadium in Gaborone.
Mercy Oketch during a training session at Ulinzi Sports Complex in Nairobi on April 21, 2026.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
Kenya failed to win a medal at the 2024 championship held in Nassau, Bahamas. In last year’s championship held in Guangzhou, China, Kenya’s 4x400m mixed relay team won bronze medal.
The only bright spot for Kenya at this year’s championship is that the country’s 4x400m mixed relay team set a new African record on Saturday to qualify for Sunday’s final.
By finishing second in the heats to reach the final, the team effectively qualified for the 2027 Beijing World Athletics Championships, as well as the 2026 Ultimate Championship, which will be held at the end of the current season.
Mercy Chebet anchored the team of Kelvin Kiprotich, 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 with 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.
On Sunday, the United States of America sealed a third consecutive 4x400m mixed relay title, with Bailey Lear anchoring the team to a championship record time of 3:07.47. Rushell Clayton anchored Jamaica to a silver medal in the national record time of 3:08.24 as Great Britain’s anchor Yemi Mary John zoomed past Oketch with a few metres to go to give her country bronze medal in 3:09.84.
Kenya’s first leg runner, George Mutinda, did well to hand over the baton to Mercy Chebet ahead of the chasing pack, but Chebet ran out of gas with several athletes waylaying her to fifth at the interchange with Kelvin Kiprotich.
Oketch dug deep from behind to the bronze medal position, only for Yemi to edge her out with 30m to go, dimming Kenya’s hope for a medal.
That performance also shattered the country’s dream of claiming its first victory since the inaugural edition of the World Athletics Relay Championships held in 2014 in Nassau, Bahamas, where all of Kenya’s three gold medals came from middle distance events.
On that occasion, Kenya’s team of 2020 Olympic 800m silver medallist Ferguson Rotich claimed victory in men’s 4x800m in 7:08.40 with Asbel Kiprop anchoring the men’s 4x1500m to a world record victory in 14:22.22.
Paris Olympic marathon bronze medallist, Hellen Obiri, then anchored her 4x1500m team to victory in a world record time of 16:33.58. The best Kenya has done since then is to win silver medals, for instance, in men and women’s medley relays in 2015, and in men’s 4x800m in 2017. The country also secured silver medal in men’s 4x200m and mixed 2x2x400m events in 2021.
Jamaica topped the medals standings for the first time with three medals: two gold and one silver after their victory in 4x100m mixed relay and women’s 4x100m. The USA finished second with three medals; two gold and a bronze medal. Hosts Botswana were third with a gold medal after retaining the men’s 4x400m title.
Despite yesterday’s performance, Kenya’s 4x400m mixed relay team has qualified for the lucrative World Athletics Ultimate Championships scheduled for September 11 to 13 this year in Budapest, Hungary by virtue of reaching the final.
Their appearance in the final also saw the team book a ticket to the 2027 World Athletics Championships scheduled for Beijing, China.
“It was just difficult today, but we hope for the best at the ultimate challenge and world championships,” said Oketch, who was in the team that claimed bronze last year.
“We fell short, but I appreciate the moments; it was a nice experience for me, this being my first world relay,” said Mutinda.
Kenya’s hopes of qualifying more teams to the 2027 World Athletics Championships went up in smoke when its four teams faltered in the Repechage Round.
Ferdinand Omanyala charges past Brandon Hicklin in 100m men finishing line during World Continental Gold Tour Kipkeino Classic on April 24, 2026 at Nyayo National Stadium.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
Slow baton exchange perhaps cost Kenya, as Ferdinand Omanyala’s 4x100m team finished third, albeit in a new national record time of 38.27 in the first heat. They broke the previous national record of 38.35 from last year’s World Athletics Relay Championships in Guangzhou, China.
Kenya also saw their chance in the men’s 4x400m go up in smoke when third leg Erastus Mbaluka fell after being tripped from behind as the team finished sixth in 3:07.71, to miss out on Beijing.
The mixed 4x100m team finished sixth in the first heat in 41.84, with the women’s 4x400m settling for fourth place in 3:32.24.
Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake, Tina Clayton, Kadrian Goldson and Tia Clayton stormed to their second mixed 4x100m world record, running 39.62 to win the final.
