Australia's sprinters have delivered a remarkable performance at the World Relays in Botswana, securing a rare achievement on a medal-winning day for the nation. The men's 4x400m squad claimed bronze, and all six Australian relay teams qualified for the 2027 World Athletics Championships—a feat no other country managed at the weekend.
Men's 4x400m bronze and national record
The quartet of Luke van Ratingen, Reece Holder, Tom Reynolds, and Aidan Murphy backed up their heat victory with another national record in the final, earning a podium finish. Hosts Botswana, who made up for a showboat blunder in the heats, took gold ahead of South Africa and Australia.
"It was so surreal and such a vibe out there," Holder said. "To come out and win a medal and do a time like that is pretty incredible."
Men's 4x100m narrowly miss podium
The men's 4x100m team of Lachlan Kennedy, Josh Azzopardi, Chris Ius, and Rohan Browning finished fourth in the final, just 0.24 seconds shy of a medal. The United States won gold, followed by South Africa and Germany.
"We wanted to make the final and came wanting a medal, so to get so close is disappointing," Ius said. "But to show the rest of the world we can do it is such a good thing, and I think we are improving every year, which is exciting."
Mixed relay and women's teams qualify
The mixed 4x400m team of Cooper Sherman, Mia Gross, Matthew Hunt, and Alexia Loizou ran 3:13.07 to finish seventh in their final. The mixed 4x100m and women's 4x400m and 4x100m teams also secured their spots at the world championships.
Jai Gordon, Lakara Stallan, Calab Law, and Chloe Mannix-Power comfortably won their 4x100m second-chance race in 40.78 seconds. "This is so exciting, it's my first time representing Australia, and to see us qualify how we did, it's an amazing feeling," Mannix-Power said. Law added, "We were a bit disappointed to miss the final, but we just had to trust each other today, and that's exactly what we did. It feels great; we're so happy the job is finally done."
Alanah Yukich inspired the women's 4x400m team, also featuring Alice Dixon, Sarah Carli, and Ellie Beer, to a time of 3:26.92 and a second-place finish to progress. Yukich ran just two weeks after the death of her father, Philip. "All the girls have been so incredibly supportive of me," Yukich said. "They have been wearing black armbands in his honour. It's been an emotional roller coaster, but at the same time uplifting to have this moment with these girls."
Ebony Lane, Torrie Lewis, Monique Hanlon, and Georgia Harris wrapped up Australia's six-for-six result by winning their 4x100m second-chance race. The quartet had been disqualified from their heat on the opening day. "We had high hopes yesterday, and we were quite confused and a bit disappointed, so it's great to shake it off and come back today like we did," Lewis said.
Historic qualification for 2027 world championships
The six Australian relay teams are now locked in for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing. Canada and Great Britain are next best with five qualifiers each.
