What happened in Gaborone didn’t stay in Gaborone! It has shaped the global track and field landscape for the next two years.
The world’s top relay squads competed for automatic entry into the World Athletics Championships Beijing 27 and the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship Budapest 26.
Led by Jamaica’s sensational 39.62s World Record in the Mixed 4x100m, the first wave of qualifiers has been confirmed:
Beijing 27 Qualification: The top 12 finishers in each of the six relay disciplines (Men’s and Women’s 4x100m, 4x400m, and the Mixed 4x100m and 4x400m) secured automatic berths for the 2027 World Championships. These teams progressed through a rigorous two-round qualification format, ensuring that only the most consistent and elite squads earned their spots early.
Budapest 26 Tickets: In a more exclusive race for the 2026 season, the top six finishers in the Mixed Relay finals earned automatic qualification for the first-ever World Athletics Ultimate Championship. This new, fast-paced ‘best of the best’ event in Budapest will feature only the highest-ranked athletes and teams in the world.
The following lists detail the nations that have successfully secured their places on the world stage.
Highlights:
Australia is one of the few nations to qualify a team in every single event for Beijing 27.
Nations like Jamaica, the United States, and Spain proved their versatility by qualifying for the Ultimate Championship in Budapest across both mixed-gender formats.
Host nation Botswana and neighbouring South Africa leveraged the home-continent advantage to secure spots in the Men’s 4x400m, a discipline where they continue to be world-class contenders.
Teams qualified for the World Athletics Championships Beijing 27 from World Relays 2026
1) Women’s 4x100m: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain & NI, Italy, Jamaica, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, Spain
2) Men’s 4x100m: Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Canada, China, Germany, Ghana, Great Britain & NI, Jamaica, Netherlands, South Africa, United States
3) Women’s 4x400m: Australia, Canada, Czechia, France, Germany, Great Britain & NI, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain
4) Men’s 4x400m: Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Brazil, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, Qatar, Senegal, South Africa, Spain, Zimbabwe
5) Mixed 4x100m: Australia, Canada, Germany, Great Britain & NI, Italy, Jamaica, Netherlands, Nigeria, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, United States
6) Mixed 4x400m: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Great Britain & NI, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Nigeria, Poland, South Africa, Spain, United States
Teams qualified for the World Athletics Ultimate Championship Budapest 26
1) Mixed 4x100m: Canada, Germany, Jamaica, Nigeria, Spain, United States
2) Mixed 4x400m: Great Britain & NI, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Spain, United States