Chebet promises more after Kenya bags historic bronze in 4x400m mixed relay

Mercy Chebet has promised more success after Team Kenya made a major milestone with a sensational performance against the formidable Team USA at the World Athletics Relay Championships in Guangzhou, China.

Running in Kenya’s 4x400m mixed relay team, Chebet played a pivotal role as the squad raced to a historic bronze medal finish.

Chebet, still new to the international spotlight, described the race as the pinnacle of her journey so far.

“The race was very interesting because I have never run like that in my life and I thank God,” she said after the event. “Running against the USA, the fastest in the world, was really exciting. You know, this is just the beginning — more are to come. We are hoping for the best as we head to Tokyo.”

The Kenyan quartet—David Sanayek, Mercy Chebet, Brian Tinega, anchored by former national 400m champion Mercy Oketch—clocked a season-best time of 3:13.10 to clinch third place. The bronze medal marked Kenya’s first in the mixed relay since claiming the same at the 2019 World Relays in Yokohama.

Team leader David Sanayek praised the group’s chemistry and belief. “The competition has been good and we are happy with what we got. We didn’t expect to win it, but we had the morale,” he said. “As the leader of the team, I told them if we do our part as men, the women will bring it home strong—and they did.”

The United States continued their dominance in the event, sealing gold with a championship record of 3:09.54. Australia followed with silver.

In other events, Kenya’s men’s 4x100m relay team made history of their own. The squad—comprising Steve Onyango, Boniface Mweresa, Ferdinand Omanyala, and Meshak Babu—secured qualification for the World Championships, becoming the first Kenyan men’s 4x100m team to do so since 1983.

They will be joined in Tokyo by Kenya’s men’s 4x400m and the 4x400m mixed relay teams. Despite a stellar performance that shattered a 32-year-old national record with a time of 2:59.29, the men’s 4x400m team narrowly missed out on the podium, finishing fifth.