Team USA is not forgetting the rivalry with Botswana’s relay team, led by Letsile Tebogo, anytime soon. And Botswana, too, was looking forward to renewing that battle at the 2026 World Relays, set to take place in Gaborone from May 2-3. But just two months before the event, USA Track and Field made a move neither side saw coming.

On March 18, USATF announced it will not send men’s or women’s 4×400m relay teams to the World Relays. Jay Holder, USATF Chief Content and Communications Officer, told LetsRun.com that the withdrawal was based on two key factors.

The first reason was athlete availability. “It is difficult for us to find top-tier US athletes who want to go,” Holder explained. “A lot of our A-team athletes have expressed that they are not interested in competing in this event.

The second factor, he added, was the high cost of sending B- or C-level teams abroad. “Financial costs of sending B or even C teams to Botswana is really significant. We just feel like there’s potentially a better use of resources for programming for those relay teams that we can drive those funds towards for our medal goals for 2027 and 2028…”

The timing of the announcement made it feel like a missed opportunity in the track and field. And Botswanan sprinter Letsile Tebogo didn’t take time to slam USATF’s decision on X:

“First, we took the 4×400 gold right out of their hands in Tokyo last year,” Tebogo added, ” Now, they’re unable to show up to the 2026 World Relays in our own backyard?”

This comes after Tebogo had already been making pointed remarks at the USA’s relay teams.

“USA is doubling down on ‘data,’ but you can’t calculate heart. While they’re running numbers, we’re running laps. See you on our home turf this May. 🏟️🇧🇼 #BotswanaSpeed,” Tebogo had warned Team USA after the announcement of their “Comprehensive 2026 Relay Program” on March 13.

And now, track and field fans had been hoping this would be Team USA’s chance for revenge, a chance to reclaim pride after one of the closest and most dramatic losses in recent history, which Tebogo was referring to.

That defeat was at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo where Botswana actually put its stamp on the international arena. In the gold medal race, the 4x400m relay team of Lee Bhekempilo Eppie, Letsile Tebogo, Bayapo Ndori, and Busang Collen Kebinatshipi overtook the race in heavy rain and finished in a time of 2:57.76. The U.S. was only 0.07 seconds slower at 2.57.83, and South Africa also timed 2:57.83

With the 4×400 events now canceled, but not all hope is gone! As USA Track and Field will still send teams for the other four relay events: Mixed 4×100m, Mixed 4×400m, Men’s 4×100m, and Women’s 4×100m.

USA 4×400 absence leaves everyone waiting for a track and field rivalry rematch

More than just a disappointment, the U.S. 4×400m relay teams’ absence from the 2026 World Relays is a strategic turning point for track and field. As the World Relays are the main qualification event for relay competitions at the 2026 World Athletics Ultimate Championships and the 2027 World Championships

The top six teams in mixed relays events will make it to the World Ultimate Championships this year (only mixed relays), and in other events, the top 12 teams get to make it to the World Championships next year. Although USATF has missed this chance, they are not worried.

According to Jay Holder, the U.S. can continue to enter 4×400 relay teams into the 2027 Worlds through world rankings since there are still sufficient domestic meets where the athletes can record competitive times.

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Still, the absence of Team USA track and field robs fans in Botswana of witnessing one of track and field’s most interesting rivalries. In the past two global outdoor championships, the USA and Botswana have finished 1-2 in the men’s 4×400m relay

At the 2024 Olympics, the showdown between Rai Benjamin and Letsile Tebogo on the anchor leg was worth remembering. Rai Benjamin ran 43.1 seconds to Tebogo’s 43.0, helping the U.S  claim gold in 2:54.43, just 0.1 seconds ahead of Botswana’s 2:54.53.  But Botswana returned the favor at the 2025 World Championships.

A rematch in 2026 at home would have been one of the quickest, with both teams in full strength. Right now, however, fans of track and field sports will have to wait until the 2027 World Championships to get the next installment.