2026 World Relays: African Record and World Championships Ticket for Kenya’s Mixed 4x400m but More Work for Omanyala and Co

Team Kenya qualified for the 2027 World Championships in the 4x400m Mixed Relay after finishing second in their heat at the 2026 World Relays Championships in Gaborone, Botswana on Saturday.

The Kenyan team nearly won Heat 3 were it not for the relentlessness of Great Britain who denied them victory just before the finish line.

George Mutinda was on the first leg for Kenya before passing to Mercy Oketch who did a great job in her specialty, going past everyone and opening up a big gap, to pass the baton to Kelvin Tonui.

Tonui maintained the lead and handed over to Mercy Chebet who could not maintain Kenya’s lead as Great Britain’s Yemi Jones closed in on the homestretch before overtaking her to claim the win.

However, with the first two sealing a place in the final and a ticket to next year’s World Championships, the job was done for Team Kenya, who also clocked an African record of 3:09.87.

This came after Kenya’s 4x100m Mixed Relay team of Moses Onyango, Millicent Ndoro, Dennis Mwai and Oketch had failed to seal an automatic place in the final following a fourth-place finish in Heat 3 in the first qualifying round.

The team clocked a season’s best 41.35 seconds but it was not enough to seal a spot in the final and at next year’s World Championships in a heat that Team Jamaica of Ackeem Blake, Tina Clayton, Kabrian Goldson and Tiya Clayton broke the world record by clocking 39.99 seconds.

Kenya’s 4x100m team will, however, have a second bite of the cherry in the second and final qualifying round on Sunday when they will need to finish in the top two to seal a place at the 2025 Worlds.

The story was the same for Kenya’s 41x00m men’s team, anchored by Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala, as they finished fifth in their heat. Mark Otieno was on the opening leg, handing it over to Ronald Koech and then Meshack Babu before Omanyala took it home in a season’s best 38.50 seconds.

Omanyala and his colleagues will hope to seal a place in the World Championships in the second final qualifying round on Sunday.

However, Africa will have a strong presence in the final after hosts Botswana and South Africa finished second and first respectively in their heats to seal a place at the 2027 Worlds in Beijing, China.

Kenya had no luck in the last events of the day as they finished last in the women’s 4x400m relay, clocking 3:35.90, despite Mercy Oketch winning the first leg. The story was the same for Kenya's men's 4x400m relay team as they also finsihed last. The two sides will hope to make amends in the second qualifying round on Sunday.