The road to Beijing runs through Botswana this weekend.
In the first days of May, the Botswana capital of Gaborone hosts a convergence of the world's fastest women, where the pursuit of speed becomes inseparable from the pursuit of belonging — twelve nations per event will earn automatic passage to the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing, making every exchange zone a threshold between ambition and consequence. The World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26 gathers champions, challengers, and first-time qualifiers alike, reminding us that even the most individual of gifts — raw speed — finds its fullest expression in the act of passing something forward.
- The stakes are existential for many squads: only twelve nations per event earn automatic Beijing 2027 qualification, and the margin between history and heartbreak is measured in fractions of a second.
- Jamaica's Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shericka Jackson headline a women's 4x100m field so deep that Olympic and world champions could realistically be eliminated before the final.
- A younger American squad steps into the void left by their title-winning predecessors, with NCAA standouts carrying the weight of a nation's relay legacy on untested international legs.
- Defending champions Great Britain and surprise silver medallists Spain return with largely intact squads, while Germany's relay machine and Canada's record-breaking quartet add further layers of danger.
- Chile, who made history by qualifying for the World Championships for the first time at last year's Relays, arrive in Gaborone determined to prove that breakthrough was not a fluke.
- Relay racing's brutal unpredictability — a fumbled baton, a mistimed exchange — means no team, however decorated, can treat qualification as anything other than something that must be earned.
On the first weekend of May, Gaborone becomes the center of the sprinting world. The World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26, running May 2 and 3, assembles the deepest women's 4x100m field in recent memory — and the prize is consequential: twelve nations per event will earn automatic qualification for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing. Teams get two opportunities across the weekend, with the top two finishers in each heat advancing on both days.
The United States arrive as reigning Olympic and world champions, though a younger squad — led by NCAA champion Samirah Moody alongside Semira Killebrew, Jadyn Mays, and Jada Mowatt — steps in to carry that standard. Jamaica counter with generational firepower: five-time Olympic gold medallist Elaine Thompson-Herah, two-time world 200m champion Shericka Jackson, twins Tia and Tina Clayton, and Jonielle Smith, who shared in last year's world silver.
Great Britain return as defending Relays champions, anchored again by Success Eduan and bolstered by Imani-Lara Lansiquot and rising talent Nia Wedderburn-Goodison. Spain, who stunned the field to finish second in Guangzhou, bring back the same four athletes. Germany's relay veterans Rebekka Haase and Gina Lückenkemper have stood on three consecutive global podiums together and show no signs of stepping back.
The field's depth extends further still. Canada have broken their national record twice in successive Relays. Italy bring world indoor champion Zaynab Dosso. Poland, France, the Netherlands, and Switzerland all carry genuine qualification ambitions. And Chile, who made history by qualifying for the World Championships for the first time in Guangzhou, return to Gaborone hoping to prove that moment was the beginning of something lasting.
Relay racing has always had a talent for humbling the favored and elevating the unexpected. A dropped baton or mistimed exchange can dissolve years of preparation in an instant — which is precisely why no team in Gaborone can afford complacency. The road to Beijing begins in Botswana this Saturday.
On the first weekend of May, the Botswana capital of Gaborone becomes the center of the sprinting world. The Debswana World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26, running May 2 and 3, brings together the deepest women's 4x100m field in recent memory — and the stakes go well beyond a trophy. For twelve nations in each of the six relay events on offer, a top-two finish in the heats will mean automatic qualification for the World Athletics Championships in Beijing in 2027. That's the prize. The racing is how you get there.
The structure of the competition gives teams two chances. On the first day, the top two finishers in each of four heats advance automatically. On the second day, a further round offers two more heats, again with the top two from each earning their Beijing spots. Twelve nations per event, total. Enough room for ambition, not enough for complacency.
The women's 4x100m field reads like a who's who of the last decade of global sprinting. The United States arrive as both the reigning Olympic and world champions, though the athletes who won those titles won't be running in Gaborone. In their place, a younger American squad steps up — NCAA 100m and 4x100m champion Samirah Moody, Semira Killebrew, Jadyn Mays, and Jada Mowatt. This is their moment to establish themselves on the international stage.
Jamaica, as ever, are formidable. They have finished on the podium at all but two editions of the World Athletics Championships, and the squad assembled for Gaborone signals they intend to keep that record intact. Five-time Olympic gold medallist Elaine Thompson-Herah and two-time world 200m champion Shericka Jackson are both listed. The wider squad also includes twins Tia and Tina Clayton, and Jonielle Smith, who was part of the Jamaican team that claimed world silver in Tokyo last year.
Great Britain arrive as defending champions from last year's World Relays in Guangzhou, where they won in 42.21. Success Eduan anchored that run and returns to the squad, joined by world under-20 100m bronze medallist Nia Wedderburn-Goodison and two-time Olympic and world relay medallist Imani-Lara Lansiquot. Spain, who surprised the field to finish second in Guangzhou, have entered all four members of that same team — Esperança Cladera, Jaël Bestué, Paula Sevilla, and María Isabel Pérez — though Sevilla may shift focus to the 4x400m. Germany, bronze medallists at the 2023 and 2025 World Championships and at the 2024 Olympics, will again rely on Rebekka Haase and Gina Lückenkemper, both veterans of all three of those podium finishes.
Beyond the headline nations, the depth of this field is striking. Canada and France, both World Championships finalists, return with largely the same squads that competed in Tokyo. Canada's quartet of Marie-Éloïse Leclair, Audrey Leduc, Jacqueline Madogo, and Sade McCreath set national records at both Guangzhou and Tokyo. Italy bring world indoor 60m champion Zaynab Dosso alongside European medal-winning teammates Dalia Kaddari, Alessia Pavese, and Gloria Hooper. Poland, silver medallists at the 2022 European Championships, include two-time world indoor 60m hurdles medallist Pia Skrzyszowska. The Netherlands and Switzerland, both Olympic finalists, round out a field that leaves almost no margin for error.
Then there is Chile. At last year's World Relays in Guangzhou, Chile qualified a women's 4x100m team for the World Athletics Championships for the first time in their history. They are back in Gaborone, and they want to do it again.
Relay racing has a way of humbling favorites and elevating the unexpected. A dropped baton, a mistimed exchange, a lane violation — any of it can unravel years of preparation in four seconds. That unpredictability is part of what makes the format compelling, and it is precisely why no team in Gaborone can afford to treat qualification as a formality. The road to Beijing runs through Botswana this weekend, and the first steps will be taken on Saturday morning.
Citações Notáveis
Jamaica have finished on the podium at all but two editions of the World Athletics Championships — a record they are determined to protect in Beijing.— World Athletics preview
Spain sprung a surprise to finish second in Guangzhou, and all four members of that team have entered for Gaborone.— World Athletics preview
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does this particular relay meet matter more than a regular international competition?
Because it's the gateway. Twelve nations per event earn automatic World Championships qualification here. Miss it, and you're scrambling for another route to Beijing.
The US are listed as reigning champions but their title-winning athletes aren't competing. Does that weaken them?
On paper, yes. But the athletes they've sent — Samirah Moody, Killebrew, Mays, Mowatt — are hungry. This is exactly the kind of meet that makes careers.
Jamaica have Thompson-Herah and Jackson listed. Is that the strongest relay squad in the field?
It might be. But relay racing isn't just about individual talent. It's about the exchanges. A team of slightly lesser sprinters with clean handoffs can beat a star-studded squad that fumbles the stick.
Great Britain are defending champions. What makes them a genuine threat to repeat?
Success Eduan's anchor leg in Guangzhou was exceptional — 42.21 is a serious time. And they've kept the core of that squad together, which matters enormously for relay chemistry.
Chile qualifying for the first time last year felt like a real story. What does their presence here say about the event?
It says the World Relays genuinely opens doors. For smaller sprint nations, this format offers a path that the individual events rarely provide.
Germany keeps winning bronze. Is that a ceiling or just consistency?
Consistency at that level is underrated. Haase and Lückenkemper have been on three consecutive medal-winning teams. That kind of experience is worth more than any individual split time.
What's the single thing that could scramble the expected order this weekend?
A bad exchange in a heat. One team drops the baton, misses qualification, and suddenly the entire Beijing picture shifts. It happens every time.