Key info for the World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26

The Debswana World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26 will welcome the world’s best sprinters on 2-3 May as teams compete for relay places at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship and the World Athletics Championships Beijing 27.

Botswana’s capital city hosts the eighth edition of the World Athletics Relays, following previous editions in China, The Bahamas, Japan and Poland.

Which events are contested at the World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26?

The programme for the Debswana World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26 includes six events:

Women’s 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay
Men’s 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay
Mixed 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay

The mixed 4x100m relay made its global debut at the last edition of the World Relays in Guangzhou in 2025 and returns in Gaborone.

One team per federation can compete in each event and a maximum of six athletes can be entered for each event, noting that any four athletes among those entered for the World Relays may then be used in the composition of each team.

More information about the relays and rules can be found on the specific discipline pages for the 4x100m relay and the 4x400m relay.

Will teams win prize money?

The top eight teams in each event will be awarded the following prize money:

Position	Prize money
1st	US$40,000
2nd	US$20,000
3rd	US$10,000
4th	US$8000
5th	US$6000
6th	US$4000
7th	US$3000
8th	US$2000

Budapest and Beijing qualification

The Debswana World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26 will be the main qualification event for the relays at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest in September and next year’s World Athletics Championships Beijing 27.

How to qualify in Gaborone for the Ultimate Championship: The top six teams in each of the mixed 4x100m and the mixed 4x400m in Gaborone will automatically qualify for the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest in September.

How to qualify in Gaborone for the World Athletics Championships: Twelve teams in each of the six events will automatically qualify for the World Athletics Championships Beijing 27.

World Championships places are up for grabs on both days of action in Gaborone. On the first day, the top two teams in each of the four heats will advance to the finals on day two, while also securing their qualification for the World Athletics Championships Beijing 27.

In the finals on day two, teams will compete for prize money and obtain preferential World Championships lane seeding positions.

All other teams will compete on day two in the additional round where the top two teams in each of the two heats will also qualify for the World Athletics Championships Beijing 27.

How can I watch the World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26?

The Debswana World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26 will be streamed live in a number of territories on the World Athletics website, as well as via broadcasters around the world.

Keep an eye on the dedicated event website, where TV information will be available ahead of the competition.

There will be coverage of both days of competition, starting with the heats on 2 May, through to the finals on 3 May.

Fans will also be able to follow the action via the World Athletics live results platform, which will offer an enhanced experience. Sign up for free and log in to access even more data including detailed results, race splits and other real-time updates.

Register now so you are ready to follow as soon as the competition starts.

How do I buy tickets?

Check out the Debswana World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26 ticketing website.

What time will the World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26 take place each day?

The time zone in Botswana is Central Africa Time (CAT), which is 2 hours ahead of UTC.

When fans view the Debswana World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26 timetable via the World Athletics website, the times will be displayed in local Gaborone time as well as the time in the fan’s current location.

You can also sync your calendar to receive notifications when the event is live, with all the information in one place, via the eCalendar.