World Relays 2026: U.S. qualifies for three World Championships relays, Jamaica gets world record
· Yahoo Sports
The U.S. opened the two-day World Relays in Botswana by qualifying for three relays for the 2027 World Track and Field Championships in Beijing.
The U.S. qualified by finishing in the top two of its heat in the men's and and mixed-gender 4x100m and mixed 4x400m on Saturday, also qualifying for Sunday's finals in Gaborone (live on Peacock at 8:02 a.m. ET).
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The U.S. was fourth in its women’s 4x100m heat but can still qualify for worlds on Sunday or in 2027. The U.S. did not enter women’s or men’s 4x400m relays but can still qualify for worlds next year.
In the mixed 4x100m, a relatively new event, the Jamaican quartet of Ackeem Blake, Tina Clayton, Kadrian Goldson and Tia Clayton ran a world record 39.99 seconds.
That came minutes after Canada lowered the world record to 40.07 in an earlier heat.
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The mixed 4x100m made its global debut at the 2025 World Relays, where Canada recorded the previous best time of 40.30. The mixed 4x100m makes its World Championships debut in 2027 and its Olympic debut at the LA28 Games.
On Sunday, the top six teams in the mixed 4x100m and mixed 4x400m finals will qualify for the new World Athletics Ultimate Championship (Sept. 11-13 in Budapest).
Teams that don’t qualify on for the Ultimate Championship on Sunday can still qualify by best times this season.
The U.S. team at World Relays features 2025 U.S. 100m silver medalist Courtney Lindsey and Ronnie Baker, a Tokyo Olympian in the 100m and 2018 World Indoor bronze medalist in the 60m.
Rival Jamaica boasts Olympic gold medalists Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shericka Jackson.
Host nation Botswana has Olympic 200m gold medalist Letsile Tebogo and world 400m champion Collen Kebinatshipi.
At the 2025 World Relays, the six finals were won by five different nations.
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