World records shattered at World Athletics Relays as first teams secure Beijing 27 spots

The opening day of the Debswana World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26 on Saturday saw the first eight teams in each relay event secure their places for the World Athletics Championships, Beijing 27.

Across the women’s and men’s 4x100m, women’s and men’s 4x400m, mixed 4x100m, and mixed 4x400m, the top two teams in each heat, along with the next two fastest teams, qualified for Beijing and advanced to Sunday’s finals.

The remaining teams will return for an additional qualifying round on Sunday, where the top two in each heat—four teams per event—will secure the final automatic qualification places for the 2027 World Championships. Sunday's finals will determine prize money and preferential lane seeding for Beijing.

The mixed relay events in Gaborone also serve as the primary qualification route for the World Athletics Ultimate Championship Budapest 26. The top six teams in both the mixed 4x100m and mixed 4x400m finals on Sunday will automatically qualify for the Budapest showpiece.

The competition began with a flurry of historic marks, starting with Canada breaking the world record in the mixed 4x100m. Moments later, Jamaica bettered that mark, clocking a blistering 39.99.

Other standout performances included:

Men’s 4x100m: Olympic champions Canada were the fastest overall with a time of 37.57.

Women’s 4x100m: Jamaica dominated the field, posting a time of 41.96.

4x400m Events: Great Britain & NI led the mixed (3:09.69) and women’s (3:21.28) events, while Australia smashed the Oceanian record to lead the men's qualifiers in 2:57.30.

Teams Qualified for WCH Beijing 27 (Competing in Sunday’s Finals):
Women’s 4x100m: Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Jamaica, Poland, Portugal, Spain

Men’s 4x100m: Australia, Botswana, Canada, Germany, Great Britain & NI, Netherlands, South Africa, United States

Women’s 4x400m: Canada, Czechia, Germany, Great Britain & NI, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain

Men’s 4x400m: Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Netherlands, Portugal, Qatar, South Africa, Zimbabwe

Mixed 4x100m: Canada, Germany, Great Britain & NI, Jamaica, Netherlands, Nigeria, Spain, United States

Mixed 4x400m: Australia, Great Britain & NI, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Poland, Spain, United States