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World Relays 2026: Botswana wins historic men's 4x400m; Michael Johnson relay split record falls
TL;DR
Botswana won the men's 4x400m at the World Relays 2026 in Gaborone with a time of 2:54.47, marking the third-fastest in history. South Africa's Lythe Pillay set a new record for the fastest relay leg at 42.66 seconds.
Key points
- Botswana won the men's 4x400m in 2:54.47
- Lythe Pillay set the fastest relay leg record at 42.66 seconds
- U.S. holds the two fastest times in history
BotswanaSouth AfricaLythe PillayLetsile Tebogo
Host Botswana closed the World Relays by running the third-fastest men's 4x400m in history, while South African Lythe Pillay ran the fastest relay leg in history.
Botswana won the race in Gaborone in 2:54.47. Its quartet included Olympic 200m gold medalist Letsile Tebogo and world 400m champion Collen Kebinatshipi.
The U.S., which did not contest the World Relays men's 4x400m, registered the only faster times in history at the 1993 World Championships (world record 2:54.29) and the 2024 Olympics (2:54.43, where it beat Botswana by one tenth).
South Africa's runner-up time on Sunday — 2:55.07 — marked the fifth-fastest relay in history. Pillay ran the fastest men's 4x400m split in history of 42.66. American Michael Johnson had the previous fastest split of 42.94 from the 1993 Worlds.
WORLD RELAYS:Full Results
Pillay, 23, was eliminated in the individual 400m semifinals at the 2024 Olympics and 2025 Worlds.
The U.S. won the mixed-gender 4x400m and the men's 4x100m and qualified for both the mixed 4x100m and mixed 4x400m for the new World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest in September.
The U.S. mixed 4x400m team of Bryce Deadmon, Paris Peoples, Jenoah McKiver and Bailey Lear won comfortably in 3:07.47 over Jamaica.
The U.S. men's 4x100m of Ronnie Baker, Max Thomas, Lance Lang and Pjai Austin ran 37.43 to edge South Africa by six hundredths.
The U.S. also placed third in the mixed 4x100m, securing one of six spots available at the Ultimate Championship, a new competition that will have individual events and two relays — the mixed 4x100m and mixed 4x400m.
Jamaica won the mixed 4x100m in 39.62 on Sunday, breaking its own world record of 39.99 from Saturday's opening round.
The mixed 4x100m made its World Relays debut in 2025 and will make its World Championships and Olympic debuts the next two years.
At World Relays, the U.S. did not contest Sunday's second round of the women's 4x100m after placing fourth in its heat Saturday and not qualifying for Sunday's final.
Q&A
What was Botswana's winning time in the men's 4x400m at the World Relays 2026?
Botswana won the men's 4x400m with a time of 2:54.47.
Who set the record for the fastest men's 4x400m relay leg?
South Africa's Lythe Pillay set the record for the fastest men's 4x400m relay leg with a time of 42.66 seconds.
How does Botswana's 4x400m time compare to historical records?
Botswana's time of 2:54.47 is the third-fastest in history, behind the U.S. records of 2:54.29 and 2:54.43.