Kenya’s 4x400m mixed relay team won a historic bronze medal on Sunday at the World Athletics Relay Championships in Guangzhou, China.
The quartet — David Sanayek, Mercy Chebet, Brian Tinega, and anchor Mercy Oketch — clocked a season-best 3:13.10, finishing behind the United States and Australia.
This marks Kenya’s first medal in the event since the 2019 Yokohama World Relays.
“We thank God for this medal,” said Sanayek. Oketch called the moment “the highlight of my career” and promised more to come.
In the men’s 4x100m, Kenya made history by qualifying for the World Championships for the first time since 1983. Steve Onyango anchored the team — also featuring Boniface Mweresa, Ferdinand Omanyala, and Meshak Babu — to a second-place finish in 38.51 seconds.
The performance secured Kenya’s spot in Tokyo alongside teams like Belgium, France, Ghana, and China. It’s a major milestone for Kenyan sprinting on the global stage.
Kenya’s men’s 4x400m team also broke a 32-year-old national record with a time of 2:59.29, beating the previous mark set in 1992. Despite the record, they placed fifth.
South Africa claimed gold in both the men’s 4x100m and 4x400m events. Belgium and Botswana followed in the 4x400m with silver and bronze.
Kenya will now send relay teams in the 4x100m, 4x400m, and 4x400m mixed events to the World Championships in Tokyo this September.
