Botswana National Stadium was full of excitement on Saturday as the Debswana World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26 started in a record breaking way. Two world records were broken back-to-back, several records were set, and 48 countries secured qualification for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing all in one unforgettable afternoon.
The excitement started early. Canada stormed to a stunning world record in the mixed 4×100 metres, only for Jamaica to immediately seize the mark with an impressive 39.99 seconds becoming the first country in history to break the sub-40 barrier in that event.
Jamaica’s 39.99 in the mixed 4×100m, the first sub-40 run in history and rewrote the record books in the space of minutes.
The structure of the competition dictates that the opening day serves as the primary qualification gateway to Beijing. Across all six relay disciplines, the women’s and men’s 4×100m, women’s and men’s 4×400m, mixed 4×100m and mixed 4×400m, the top two finishers in each heat, augmented by the next two fastest overall times per event, earned their World Championships spots and advanced to Sunday’s medal finals.
Eight countries per event have now secured that coveted passage to China.
Teams who fell outside that threshold are not eliminated. A supplementary qualifying round takes place on Sunday morning, with four additional berths on offer. The top two from each of the two heats extending the opportunity for countries on the turning point to force their way into the Beijing programme.
The finals also offer big prize money and an important advantage, better lane selection for the World Championships, which relay coaches highly value.
Beyond the World Championships dimension, the mixed relay events carry additional weight as the principal qualification route for the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest in 2026.
The top six countries in both the mixed 4×100m and mixed 4×400m finals on Sunday will earn automatic selection for that iconic new competition.
Beyond the excitement of the mixed sprint relay, there were strong performances in other events too. Olympic champions Canada recorded the fastest men’s 4×100m time of the day with 37.57 seconds, while Jamaica dominated the women’s race in 41.96 seconds.
In the longer relays, Great Britain and Northern Ireland set the pace in both the mixed 4×400m (3:09.69) and the women’s 4×400m (3:21.28). Australia also broke the Oceanian record and led the men’s 4×400m qualifiers with an impressive 2:57.30.
Many countries have qualified, showing how global the competition is. As the host, Botswana also qualified in both the men’s 4×100m and 4×400m, which will boost excitement for Sunday’s finals at home.
Sunday Finals: Teams Qualified for WCH Beijing 2027
Women’s 4×100m
Canada
China
Germany
Italy
Jamaica
Poland
Portugal
Spain
Men’s 4×100m
Australia
Botswana
Canada
Germany
Great Britain
Netherlands
South Africa
United States
Women’s 4×400m
Canada
Czechia
Germany
Great Britain
Italy
Netherlands
Norway
Spain
Men’s 4×400m
Australia
Belgium
Botswana
Netherlands
Portugal
Qatar
South Africa
Zimbabwe
Mixed 4×100m
Canada
Germany
Great Britain & NI
Jamaica
Netherlands
Nigeria
Spain
United States
Mixed 4×400m
Australia
Great Britain
Italy
Jamaica
Kenya
Poland
Spain
United States