BLOEMFONTEIN – Mthi Mthimkhulu’s continued improvement on his personal best (PB) has resulted in another significant reward for Team South Africa’s men’s 4 x 400 m relay at the 2026 World Athletics Relays Championship in Gaborone, Botswana. This was the first ever global championship staged on the African continent.
The flying Free State sprinter completed a talented quartet alongside Lythe Pillay, Leendert Koekemoer, and Zakithi Nene, who raced to claim a silver medal in a time of 2:55.07 – setting a new South African record. The relay team secured qualification for two major global events: the inaugural 2026 World Athletics Ultimate Championship, to be staged in Budapest, Hungary, from 11 to 13 September; and the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing.
The national team pushed champions Botswana, with both teams rewriting the record books in an unforgettable race. Botswana claimed the gold medal in 2:54.47 (a championship record), South Africa took the silver medal in 2:55.07, while Australia settled for bronze with a time of 2:55.20.
The quartet’s stellar achievement in the neighbouring Botswana was built on a combination of strong split performances in the heats and the final.
The team’s splits in the final were as follows:
■ Leg 1: Mthimkhulu – 44.40 s.
■ Leg 2: Pillay – 42.66 s (the fastest 4 x 400 m relay split ever recorded).
■ Leg 3: Koekemoer – 44.36 s.
■ Leg 4: Nene – 43.65 s.
The team’s achievement builds on the superb record-breaking performance at the 2025 World Athletics Relays in China. The team set what was then a world-leading time of 3:00.00 in the heats and eventually won gold with a South African record time of 2:57.50.
“My target was to make it into the final at the 2026 World Athletics Relays in Botswana, and I was expecting us as the team to win the gold medal, though,” said Mthimkhulu. He maintains the relay competition was tough as expected, bearing in mind the South African men’s 4 x 400 m team were defending champions after winning at the 2025 World Athletics Relays in China.
“Competition was tough, but I prepared well myself, knowing how strong my team is – it put me at ease,” he said. Mthimkhulu believes guidance by his coach Thomas Jonda remains a major factor in his personal improvement and success.
“I’m where I am now because of coach Jonda,” he said.
Mthimkhulu was part of the national men’s 4 x 100 m relay team that secured a silver medal at the 2025 World University Games in Germany, after clocking a time of 38.80 s in the final.
The performance improved upon their 38.85 s semifinal time.
The team also consisted of Kyle Zinn, Retshidisitswe Mlenga, and Bayanda Walaza. Mthimkhulu’s 43.96-second split in the opening rounds and 44.40-second split in the first leg of the final at the World Athletics Relays in Botswana were a result of his work ethic. Heading into the global athletics showpiece, he carried a new personal best of 20.11 s, set with his victory in the men’s 200 m at the 2026 University Sport South Africa (USSA) Athletics Track and Field Championships held at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). Mthi, as the versatile athlete is known, represented the University of the Free State (UFS) at the championship held in April.
- Gabriella Marais also made history for the Free State and UFS at the World Athletics Relays in Botswana, making her senior national team debut in the women’s 4 x 100 m relay team that broke South Africa’s national record in the heats. The team extended the record, breaking it again in the final with an incredible time of 43.22 s. The team narrowly missed out on the podium after finishing fourth in heats final.
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