Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
The first day of the Debswana World Athletics Relays in Gaborone saw eight teams from each relay event qualify for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing. Teams secured qualification by finishing in the top two of each heat or as the next two fastest overall across women’s and men’s 4x100m, women’s and men’s 4x400m, mixed 4x100m, and mixed 4x400m events, advancing to Sunday’s finals. Other teams will compete in an additional qualifying round for four more Beijing 27 spots on Sunday. The finals will also determine prize money and lane seeding for the championships.
The mixed relay events serve as the main qualification route for the World Athletics Ultimate Championship Budapest 26, with the top six teams in the mixed 4x100m and mixed 4x400m finals earning automatic qualification.
The competition began with Canada setting a new world record in the mixed 4x100m, quickly surpassed by Jamaica with a 39.99-second finish. Canada led the men’s 4x100m with 37.57, while Jamaica topped the women’s 4x100m at 41.96. Great Britain & Northern Ireland set the fastest times in both the mixed 4x400m and women’s 4x400m, and Australia posted a new Oceanian record in the men’s 4x400m.
Teams qualified for Beijing 27 and competing in the finals are: Women’s 4x100m – Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Jamaica, Poland, Portugal, Spain; Men’s 4x100m – Australia, Botswana, Canada, Germany, Great Britain & Northern Ireland, Netherlands, South Africa, United States; Women’s 4x400m – Canada, Czechia, Germany, Great Britain & Northern Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain; Men’s 4x400m – Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Netherlands, Portugal, Qatar, South Africa, Zimbabwe; Mixed 4x100m – Canada, Germany, Great Britain & Northern Ireland, Jamaica, Netherlands, Nigeria, Spain, United States; Mixed 4x400m – Australia, Great Britain & Northern Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Poland, Spain, United States.