South Africa claims silver in the men’s 4x100m final at the World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26. Photo credit: Team SA
South Africa’s men’s relay teams delivered stunning performances in Gaborone on Sunday, claiming silver in both the 4x100m and 4x400m finals while securing qualification for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing. Lythe Pillay etched his name in the history books with the fastest relay leg ever recorded.
South Africa returned from the World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26 with two silver medals and a place in the history books after a remarkable Sunday of racing in Botswana’s capital. The men’s 4x100m and 4x400m teams both reached their respective finals and finished second, with the 4x400m squad producing one of the fastest performances in relay history despite going into the competition without several key athletes due to injury.
Men’s 4x100m: Silver by a Whisker
The South African men’s 4x100m team of Mvuyo Moss, Cheswill Johnson, Bradley Nkoana and Akani Simbine pushed the United States all the way in the final, finishing just six hundredths of a second behind the Americans. The USA clocked 37.43 seconds to South Africa’s 37.49 in a race that came down to the finest of margins.
South Africa had won their heat on Saturday in 37.68 seconds, with relay captain Akani Simbine expressing confidence in the squad heading into the final.
I have confidence in the boys. They showed up, came here with a stacked crowd and qualified for the final. I still believe in them, not only for tomorrow, but also for the future, for next year, and going on,” Simbine said after Saturday’s heat.
The result means South Africa narrowly missed defending their 4x100m title from the 2025 World Relays, but the silver medal and the manner of the performance underlined the team’s continued standing among the world’s elite relay squads.
Men’s 4x400m: History Made
The most extraordinary performance of South Africa’s weekend came in the men’s 4x400m final, where the squad of Udeme Okon, Mthi Mthimkulu, Leendert Koekemoer and Zakithi Nene bolstered by Lythe Pillay clocked 2:55.07 to finish second behind host nation Botswana.
History made as South Africa runs the fastest relay leg ever recorded at the World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26. Photo credit: Team SA
That time represents the fifth fastest men’s 4x400m relay in history. Only the United States’ world record of 2:54.29 set at the 1993 World Championships, the USA’s 2:54.43 from the 2024 Paris Olympics, Botswana’s winning time of 2:54.47 on Sunday, and one other performance have ever been faster.
South Africa’s Lythe Pillay was the individual standout of the final, running what has been confirmed as the fastest single relay leg in the history of the event. The performance drew widespread acclaim from the athletics community and signals the emergence of Pillay as one of the most exciting relay runners in world athletics.
Leendert Koekemoer also produced a devastating third leg in the heat on Saturday, described by observers as the performance of an athlete operating at the very peak of his abilities.
I know we have an extra gear or two in us tomorrow, so I can’t wait for the battle,” anchor Zakithi Nene had said after Saturday’s heat and the team delivered on that promise.
Botswana won the final in 2:54.47 the third fastest time in history powered by Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo and world 400m champion Collen Kebinatshipi in front of a jubilant home crowd.
Qualification for Beijing 2027 Secured
Beyond the medals, both South African relay squads secured automatic qualification for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing a significant achievement given that the team went into the competition missing several first-choice athletes due to injury, including Wayde van Niekerk, Gardeo Isaacs and others.
National relay coach Werner Prinsloo had expressed confidence in the squad’s depth before the competition.
As long as we step on to that track we are contenders, no matter what the team looks like, and the guys have proven it over the years. They will bring it on the day, for sure,” Prinsloo said words that proved to be well-founded.
A Historic Weekend for African Athletics
The World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26 made history as the first time the global relay championship had ever been hosted on African soil. South Africa’s performances were among the highlights of an event that also saw Jamaica break their own world record in the mixed 4x100m final and Botswana produce one of the greatest relay performances in history on home soil.
For South Africa, two silver medals, two World Championships qualifications and a historic individual relay leg represent a successful defence of their status as one of the world’s premier relay nations even in the absence of key personnel.
Editors Note All results referenced in this article are based on official World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26 results as at the time of publication on Sunday 3 May 2026.