2026 World Athletics Relays
Athletics competition in Gaborone, Botswana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2026 World Athletics Relays will be held at the Botswana National Stadium in Gaborone, Botswana on 2 and 3 May 2026.[2] It will be the 8th edition of the World Athletics Relays and the first time the event will be held in Botswana, or in Africa.[3]
 | |
| Host city | Gaborone, Botswana |
|---|---|
| Edition | 8th |
| Events | 6 |
| Dates | 2-3 May 2026[1] |
| Main venue | Botswana National Stadium |
Bidding
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said "This is the fourth World Championship event Africa has staged over the last decade, and we are seeing a real increase in experience, expertise and skills." The World Athletics Council confirmed the hosts for three World Athletics Series events and made a series of other decisions during the 237th World Athletics Council Meeting in Nanjing, China from 24 to 25 March. The World Athletics Relays in Gaborone will mark Botswana’s first time hosting a World Athletics Series event.[4] The capital city held a Continental Tour Gold meeting in 2023 and also held the Botswana Golden Grand Prix in 2024.[5][6][7]
Overview
_2010.jpg)
The event will serve as a qualifying event for the 2026 World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest and the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing. In this context, the top six teams in the Mixed 4 × 100 metres relay and 4 × 400 metres relay will secure direct entry to Budapest, while the top 12 teams in each event will qualify for Beijing.[8]
Schedule
All times are local (UTC+2) Central Africa Time.[9]
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal table
* Host nation (Botswana)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jamaica | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 |  United States | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 |  Botswana* | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Norway | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 5 |  Canada | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 |  South Africa | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 |  Spain | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 8 |  Australia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Germany | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Great Britain | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (10 entries) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | |
Medalists
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's 4 × 100 metres relay |
 United States | 37.43 | South Africa | 37.49 AR | Germany | 37.76 |
| Men's 4 × 400 metres relay |
Botswana | 2:54.47 CR | South Africa | 2:55.07 NR | Australia | 2:55.20 AR |
| Women's 4 × 100 metres relay |
Jamaica | 42.00 | Canada Sade McCreath Audrey Leduc Marie-Éloïse Leclair Donna Ntambue | 42.17 NR | Spain | 42.31 |
| Women's 4 × 400 metres relay |
Norway | 3:20.96 | Spain | 3:21.25 NR | Canada Zoe Sherar Lauren Gale Jasneet Nijjar Savannah Sutherland Dianna Proctor* | 3:22.66 |
| Mixed 4 × 100 metres relay details |
Jamaica Ackeem Blake Tina Clayton Kadrian Goldson Tia Clayton | 39.62 WR | Canada Eliezer Adjibi Marie-Éloïse Leclair Duan Asemota Audrey Leduc | 40.23 | United States Courtney Lindsey Jada Mowatt Kyree King E'Lexis Hollis | 40.33 |
| Mixed 4 × 400 metres relay details |
United States | 3:07.47 CR | Jamaica | 3:08.24 NR | Great Britain | 3:09.84 |
Participating nations
723 athletes from 40 federations are entered to the championships.[11]
Australia
Belgium
Botswana (host)
Brazil
Canada
Chile
People's Republic of China
Colombia
Czechia
Denmark
Ethiopia
France
Germany
Ghana
Great Britain & Northern Ireland
Hungary
India
Ireland
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Kenya
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
Norway
Paraguay
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Senegal
South Africa
Spain
Switzerland
Uganda
Ukraine
United States
Venezuela
Zimbabwe
Qualification for World events
Men's 4 × 100 m relay
| Qualification event | No. of teams | Qualified teams |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 World Athletics Relays | 12 | Australia Botswana Canada Germany United Kingdom Netherlands South Africa United States |
| Total | 12 |
Men's 4 × 400 m relay
| Qualification event | No. of teams | Qualified teams |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 World Athletics Relays | 12 | Australia
|
| Total | 12 |
Women's 4 × 100 m relay
Women's 4 × 400 m relay
| Qualification event | No. of teams | Qualified teams |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 World Athletics Relays | 12 | Canada Czech Republic
|
| Total | 12 |
Mixed 4 × 100 m relay
| Qualification event | No. of teams | Qualified teams |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 World Athletics Relays | 12 | Canada Germany United Kingdom Jamaica Netherlands Nigeria Spain United States |
| Total | 12 |
Mixed 4 × 400 m relay
| Qualification event | No. of teams | Qualified teams |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 World Athletics Relays | 12 | Australia United Kingdom Italy Jamaica Kenya Poland Spain United States |
| Total | 12 |