Kenya's mixed relay team narrowly misses podium in Botswana [VIDEO]
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Reading Time: 2min | Sun. 03.05.26. | 20:26
Their top-six position however earned them a place at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest later this year
Kenya’s mixed 4x400m relay squad narrowly missed out on a second successive global championship medal after being pipped for fourth in a final race at the 2026 World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, Botswana on Sunday, 3 May.
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The team, which won a historic bronze medal at the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China last year, could not repeat those heroics, as the quartet of: George Mutinda, Mercy Chebet, Kelvin Kiprotich Tonui and Mercy Adongo Oketch missed the podium by only nine hundredth of a second.
This came after Oketch, running in the anchor leg, was passed by Great Britain’s Yemi Mary John just near the finish line, to settle for fourth in a time of 3:09.93.
USA is the world champion in mixed 4by400m relay. The Jamaican last leg tried it. pic.twitter.com/GwNLjhFrjI
— afriican requiem (@tonyfcarter) May 3, 2026
Coming in off an African Record (AR) time of 3:09.87 on Saturday, 2 May, there was huge expectation of the Kenyan squad in the final, and though eventually not in the picture to win it, looked a real bet to finish on the podium.
After dancing around the fourth and fifth positions for the first three laps, Oketch gave Kenya a lifeline when she waltzed past then-third placed Italy to a bronze medal position, with little under 300m left.
The 400m national champion managed to put some distance between her and her chasers, as she went through the last 200m, only for her legs to give up, ushering Great Britain to close the gap, eventually pipping her at the line.
Oketch’s split time of 49.46 was largely undone by John, who ran hers in 49.08, to finish behind winners United States, who set a Championship Record time of 3:07.47, and Jamaica, who clocked a National Record 3:08.24 in second place.
Mutinda, who ran the opening leg, set a split time of 45.31, with Chebet and Tonui running 51.04 and 44.12, respectively.
As compared to the record-breaking run a day earlier, both Tonui, who timed 44.48 on Saturday), and Mutinda (45.40 on Saturday) marked improvements, with Chebet (50.64 earlier) and Oketch (49.25 earlier) dropping slightly below.
For their troubles, the quartet, alongside the gift of featuring at the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing, guaranteed themselves a place at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest in September, by virtue of finishing in the top six places.