The Australian men’s 4x400m relay team set a new national record at the World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, Botswana, after an opponent’s taunt backfired in a moment of instant karma. Batswana star Collen Kebinatshipi turned during the heat and appeared to direct words at Australian runner Matthew Hunt as he chased him down. Seconds later, Kebinatshipi and his teammate fumbled the baton exchange, allowing the Australians to surge ahead and win the heat. The quartet of Hunt, Reece Holder, Luke van Ratingen and Aidan Murphy crossed the line in 2:57.30, smashing the previous Australian record of 2:59.70 that had stood for 42 years since the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. The time places the team seventh on the all-time world list for the event.
“Everyone is feeling unreal. The team is strong and the time has always been there, it’s just been about getting the race done,” Holder said. “We’re still a young team and we have many years to come, so we’ll just be lowering that time down. All I can say right now is – we’re hot.” The victory upstaged the host nation, with Botswana finishing second in the heat with a time of 2:57.52 – also a national record for them. The Australian team’s performance is a striking turnaround from September 2025, when the men’s 4x400m squad was disqualified at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo for an illegal handover, despite initially crossing the line with a time that would have broken the national record.
Other Australian relay successes
The Australian men’s 4x100m team also made their mark, equalling the national record with a time of 37.87 seconds. Lachlan Kennedy, Joshua Azzopardi, Christopher Ius and evergreen anchor leg runner Rohan Browning finished third in their heat, securing a spot in the final on Sunday and qualification for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing. The same time was achieved by Kennedy, Azzopardi, Ius and Calab Law at last year’s Sydney Track Classic. Kennedy expressed confidence for the final: “I think we’ll go really well tomorrow. That’s just the standard now that we want to be competing for medals each year, and I think that tomorrow we can all go a little bit faster. We have a real red-hot chance, but we have to back it up. Rohan man, he’s still got it.” The result also guarantees Australia a berth in the men’s 4x100m at Beijing 2027, by which time sprinters Gout Gout and Kiwi‑turned‑Aussie Eddie Nketia could be in the frame.
Another Australian record fell at the Botswana National Stadium when the mixed 4x400m relay team of Cooper Sherman, Ellie Beer, Thomas Reynolds and Mia Gross clocked 3:12.20 to lower the national mark set at the 2025 World Athletics Relays. That performance also secured a place in the final and qualification for Beijing. The women’s 4x100m team, headed by Torrie Lewis, were disqualified for an illegal change in the heats but will return on Sunday for another attempt at qualifying for the 2027 world championships.
