Botswana’s growing success in athletics has earned it the privilege of hosting the 2026 World Athletics Relays.

The competition will be held in the capital city, Gaborone, from May 2 to May 3, 2026, as officially confirmed by World Athletics.

World Athletics President, Sebastian Coe, announced Botswana as the host nation on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, during a council meeting in Nanjing, China.

Reacting to the news, Botswana’s Minister of Sport and Arts, Jacob Kelebeng, took to X (formerly Twitter) to celebrate and commend the Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) for the achievement.

"We made it. We have won the bid to host World Relays 2026. Congratulations to BAA," he wrote.

Botswana has one of the top relay teams in the world, with their 4x400m squad securing a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Before the Olympics, they also won gold at the World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas.

So far, the team has earned three medals at the World Relays—one gold, one silver, and one bronze.

The World Athletics Relays is a prestigious international track and field event organized by World Athletics. It focuses on relay races, where teams of athletes pass a baton to complete a race. The event is held every two years and serves as a platform for countries to showcase their relay teams. It also acts as a qualification stage for major competitions like the World Athletics Championships and the Olympic Games.

The relays typically include events like the men's and women's 4x100m and 4x400m, as well as the mixed 4x400m relay. Over the years, the competition has evolved, with new relay formats being introduced to keep the event exciting and engaging for both athletes and fans.