Jamaica Sets World Record in Mixed 4x100m at Gaborone Relays

With places at both the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing and the upcoming World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest on the line, several nations secured qualification on Saturday, at the Debswana World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, Botswana.

Jamaica delivered the standout performance of the session as Ackeem Blake, Tina Clayton, Kadrian Goldson and Tia Clayton combined to produce a world-record 39.99 seconds in the mixed 4x100m, becoming the first team to break the 40-second barrier in the event.

Competing in the third heat, the Jamaican quartet executed the newly introduced running sequence of male, female, male, female. Blake started before handing off to Tina Clayton, with Goldson taking the third leg and Tia Clayton finishing strongly to seal the historic run and secure qualification for Sunday’s final.

Earlier in the programme, Canada had raised the standard to 40.07 in the opening heat, improving on the previous best of 40.30 set at last year’s World Relays in Guangzhou.

That team featured Eliezer Adjibi, Marie-Éloise Leclair, Duan Asemota and Audrey Leduc, whose anchor leg held off Germany, the Netherlands and Nigeria, who clocked 40.15, 40.20 and 40.24 respectively.

Great Britain & Northern Ireland followed Jamaica across the line in their heat with 40.72, while the United States controlled the second heat in 40.36 ahead of Spain’s 40.51, with both advancing.

Progression to the final was determined by the top two teams in each of the three heats along with the next two fastest times, with those advancing also securing spots at the World Championships in Beijing.

The mixed 4x100m, introduced globally at the World Relays in Guangzhou last year, continues to evolve, with multiple teams lowering previous benchmarks during Saturday’s heats in Gaborone.

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