History was made at the 2026 World Relays in Gaborone, Botswana, as the host nation delivered a stunning performance in the men's 4x400m, clocking the third-fastest time ever recorded. Their winning mark of 2:54.47 was a moment of national pride, powered by Olympic 200m gold medalist Letsile Tebogo and world 400m champion Collen Kebinatshipi.
But the headlines didn't stop there. South African Lythe Pillay shattered a long-standing record, running the fastest men's 4x400m relay split in history at 42.66 seconds. That remarkable leg broke the previous record of 42.94, held by the legendary Michael Johnson since the 1993 World Championships. Pillay, who was eliminated in the individual 400m semifinals at the 2024 Olympics and 2025 Worlds, proved that sometimes the biggest breakthroughs come when the world is watching.
South Africa's runner-up time of 2:55.07 was itself the fifth-fastest relay in history, making this one of the most competitive races the event has ever seen. For context, the only faster times belong to the U.S. — their world record of 2:54.29 from 1993 and their Olympic gold-winning 2:54.43 from Paris 2024, where they edged Botswana by just one-tenth of a second.
The U.S. team, while sitting out the men's 4x400m, made their presence felt elsewhere. They dominated the mixed-gender 4x400m, with the quartet of Bryce Deadmon, Paris Peoples, Jenoah McKiver, and Bailey Lear crossing the line in 3:07.47, comfortably ahead of Jamaica. The U.S. men's 4x100m team also delivered, with Ronnie Baker, Max Thomas, Lance Lang, and Pjai Austin running 37.43 to edge South Africa by just six-hundredths of a second.
Perhaps most importantly, these performances secured qualification spots for the U.S. in both the mixed 4x100m and mixed 4x400m at the new World Athletics Ultimate Championship, set for Budapest this September. The U.S. also placed third in the mixed 4x100m, earning one of six available spots for the innovative competition, which will feature individual events alongside these two mixed relays.
The mixed 4x100m itself was a spectacle. Jamaica won in 39.62 seconds on Sunday, breaking their own world record of 39.99 set just a day earlier in the opening round. This event, making its World Relays debut in 2025, is already creating buzz — it's set to debut at the World Championships and Olympics in the next two years.
For fans of track and field, the World Relays delivered drama, record-breaking speed, and a glimpse of the sport's exciting future. Whether you're cheering for the underdog or the powerhouse, one thing is clear: the race for glory is faster than ever.