World Athletics Championships Beijing 2027: First 48 Relay Teams Qualified.

May 2026: The first 08 teams in each relay event at the Debswana World Athletics Relays Gaborone 2026 have secured their places for the World Athletics Championships Beijing 27 following the opening day of competition yesterday (02nd May 2026).

Across the women’s and men’s 4x100m, women’s and men’s 4×400 metres, mixed 4×100 metres and mixed 4×400 metres, the top two teams in each heat, plus the next two fastest teams in each event, qualified for Beijing and advanced to Sunday’s finals in Gaborone.

The remaining teams return for an additional qualifying round on Sunday, where 04 teams – the top two in each heat – will secure the final automatic qualification places available for the 2027 World Championships.

The finals, meanwhile, will decide prize money and preferential lane seeding positions for the World Championships.

The mixed relay events in Gaborone also serve as the main qualification route for the World Athletics Ultimate Championship Budapest 2026. The top 06 teams in each of the mixed 4×100 metres and mixed 4×400 metres finals today (03rd May, Sunday) will automatically qualify for Budapest.

The competition got off to a stunning start with Canada breaking the world record in the mixed 4×100 metres. Moments later, Jamaica bettered the mark with 39.99. Olympic champions Canada were fastest overall in the men’s 4×100 metres (37.57) while Jamaica were the standouts in the women’s event (41.96).

Great Britain & NI posted the fastest times in the mixed 4×400 metres (3:09.69) and women’s 4x400m (3:21.28), while Australia smashed the Oceanian record to lead the qualifiers in the men’s event (2:57.30).

Teams qualified for WCH Beijing 27 and competing in the finals on Sunday:

• Women’s 4×100 metres: Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Jamaica, Poland, Portugal, Spain.

• Men’s 4×100 metres: Australia, Botswana, Canada, Germany, Great Britain & NI, Netherlands, South Africa, United States.

• Women’s 4×400 metres: Canada, Czechia, Germany, Great Britain & NI, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain.

• Men’s 4×400 metres: Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Netherlands, Portugal, Qatar, South Africa, Zimbabwe.

• Mixed 4×100 metres: Canada, Germany, Great Britain & NI, Jamaica, Netherlands, Nigeria, Spain, United States.

• Mixed 4×400 metres: Australia, Great Britain & NI, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Poland, Spain, United States.

Team Maverick.