Aussie runners have produced a stunning national record blitz during a famous day for Australia athletics at the 2026 World Athletics Relays in Botswana.
The 4x400m quartet of Luke van Ratingen, Reece Holder, Matthew Hunt and Aidan Murphy smashed a 42-year-old Aussie record as they qualified for Monday’s finals with a time of 2:57.30.
The run makes Australia the seventh fastest nation in the history of the event with van Ratingen, Holder, Hunt and Murphy destroying the previous record of 2:59.70 — which was set at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
The record run was made all the sweeter after Hunt was taunted by Botswana’s Collen Kebinatshipi as they raced down the straight for the final baton handover.
Kebinatshipi moved up on the outside of Hunt and turned to stare down the Australian.
Kebinatshipi then blundered his team’s final exchange when he and Bayapo Ndori got their timing wrong.
You can watch the taunt and Australia’s victory in the video player above.
A brief momentum halt was all it took for Murphy to charge out to a 5m lead to win the heat by 0.22 seconds.
Australia heads into the final having set the fastest time across the three heats.
Finishing in the top two, Australia and Botswana secured their place at next year’s World Athletics Championships.
“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 told Athletics Australia.
“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.”
More national records fell in Gaborone with the 4x400m mixed team of Cooper Sherman, Ellie Beer, Thomas Reynolds, and Mia Gross advanced to the final and booked a spot in the final with a national record of 3:10.57
“That was one of the coolest experiences that I have ever been a part of, I could feel the whole stadium yelling and screaming. I genuinely ran with goosebumps,” Gross told Athletics Australia.
“Tom Reynolds has been saying this entire week that we are going to break the Australian record. We knew that we could do it, but to do it but by that much and with such a great team, it’s amazing.”
Australia’s 4x100m men’s team also qualified for the final, finishing third in their heat.
The result books their spot at next year’s World Athletics Championships.
The Aussie quartet were running without teen sensation Gout Gout — who was never in calculations to be part of the team — and Australia’s fastest ever runner Eddie Nketia.
Osei-Nketia was selected in Australia’s preliminary squad, but did not make the trip to Botswana having previously committed to run at college meets in the United States.
The Aussie 4x100m women’s team of Torrie Lewis, Ebony Lane, Monique Hanlon and Georgia Harris were disqualified for an illegal baton change but have a second chance to reach the final in Sunday night’s qualification round two.
The women’s 4x400m team of Alice Dixon, Alanah Yukich, Alexia Loizou and Sarah Calri claimed fifth place in their heat and will also get a second chance in the second round of qualification.
