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WORLD ATHLETICS RELAYS · GABORONE 2026 · MEN

Men's 4 × 100 metres relay prize money

United States won the men's 4 × 100 metres relay at the 2026 World Athletics Relays in 37.43 and took $40,000. Second was worth $20,000 and third $10,000, and the money ran eight deep, so the final paid $91,000 in all. Every dollar of it went to a federation: there is no individual prize at this meeting.

Eight teams ran the final in Gaborone. One of them did not finish, so 8th place paid nobody. The event carries $93,000, which is what every event on the Gaborone programme carries, and the championships put up $558,000 in all. The two finals below are the Guangzhou 2025 and Gaborone 2026 championships.

THE WINNING COUNTRY TOOK $40,000
THE EVENT CARRIES $93,000
TEAMS IN THE FINAL 8
COUNTRIES PAID 9
PAID ACROSS TWO FINALS $179,000

The 2026 final

Gaborone, 2 and 3 May 2026

$91,000 paid
The men's 4 × 100 metres relay final at the 2026 World Athletics Relays, with what each place paid.
POS COUNTRY THE TEAM TIME PRIZE
1 United States USA Ronnie Baker, Max Thomas, Lance Lang, Pjai Austin 37.43 $40,000
2 South Africa RSA Myuyo Moss, Cheswill Johnson, Bradley Nkoana, Akani Simbine 37.49 $20,000
3 Germany GER Kevin Kranz, Marvin Schulte, Owen Ansah, Lucas Ansah-Peprah 37.76 $10,000
4 Australia AUS Lachlan Kennedy, Joshua Azzopardi, Christopher Ius, Rohan Browning 38.00 $8,000
5 Netherlands NED Jaimie Omalla, Taymir Burnet, Onyema Adigida, Elvis Afrifa 38.17 $6,000
6 Botswana BOT Jayson Game Mandoze, Prince Phaezel Selepe, Godiraone Lobatlamang, Calvin Bogosi Omphile 38.35 $4,000
7 Canada CAN Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney, Andre De Grasse 40.06 $3,000
— Great Britain GBR Jeremiah Azu, Zharnel Hughes, Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, Romell Glave DNF —
8 teams 7 finished — $91,000

The seven paid places came to $91,000, short of the $93,000 the event carried that year because nobody was placed 8th. One of the eight teams carries a dash: a relay that drops a baton is not placed, and an unplaced team is paid nothing.

The 2025 final

Guangzhou, 10 and 11 May 2025

$88,000 paid
The men's 4 × 100 metres relay final at the 2025 World Athletics Relays, with what each place paid.
POS COUNTRY THE TEAM TIME PRIZE
1 South Africa RSA Bayanda Walaza, Sinesipho Dambile, Bradley Nkoana, Akani Simbine 37.61 $40,000
2 United States USA Courtney Lindsey, Kenny Bednarek, Kyree King, Brandon Hicklin 37.66 $20,000
3 Canada CAN Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney, Andre De Grasse 38.11 $10,000
4 Japan JPN Naoki Okami, Naoki Nishioka, Rai Atago, Naoki Inoue 38.17 $8,000
5 Italy ITA Fausto Desalu, Matteo Melluzzo, Lorenzo Patta, Filippo Tortu 38.20 $6,000
6 Germany GER Kevin Kranz, Owen Ansah, Julian Wagner, Lucas Ansah-Peprah 38.92 $4,000
— Poland POL Patryk Krupa, Oliwer Wdowik, Łukasz Żak, Dominik Kopeć DNF —
— Great Britain GBR Romell Glave, Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, Jona Efoloko, Eugene Amo-Dadzie DNF —
8 teams 6 finished — $88,000

The six paid places came to $88,000, short of the $93,000 the event carried that year because nobody was placed 7th and nobody was placed 8th. Two of the eight teams carry a dash: a relay that drops a baton is not placed, and an unplaced team is paid nothing.

What each place is worth

The ladder, and the country that took each rung of it

$93,000 an event
The men's 4 × 100 metres relay prize ladder at the World Athletics Relays.
PLACE PAYS GABORONE 2026GUANGZHOU 2025
1st $40,000 United States South Africa
2nd $20,000 South Africa United States
3rd $10,000 Germany Canada
4th $8,000 Australia Japan
5th $6,000 Netherlands Italy
6th $4,000 Botswana Germany
7th $3,000 Canada nobody finished 7th
8th $2,000 nobody finished 8th nobody finished 8th
The event $93,000 $91,000 paid $88,000 paid
United States $40k
South Africa $20k
Germany $10k
Australia $8,000
Netherlands $6,000
Botswana $4,000
Canada $3,000

The winner takes 43% of what the event pays out and the other seven places share the rest, which is the same shape in every event on the relays programme.

What each country took from this event

$179,000 across the two finals

9 countries
What each country has been paid in the men's 4 × 100 metres relay at the World Athletics Relays.
# COUNTRY TITLES PAID FINALS BEST FINISH TOTAL
1 South Africa RSA 1 2 1st in 2025 37.61 $60,000
2 United States USA 1 2 1st in 2026 37.43 $60,000
3 Germany GER 0 2 3rd in 2026 37.76 $14,000
4 Canada CAN 0 2 3rd in 2025 38.11 $13,000
5 Australia AUS 0 1 4th in 2026 38.00 $8,000
6 Japan JPN 0 1 4th in 2025 38.17 $8,000
7 Italy ITA 0 1 5th in 2025 38.20 $6,000
8 Netherlands NED 0 1 5th in 2026 38.17 $6,000
9 Botswana BOT 0 1 6th in 2026 38.35 $4,000
9 countries paid 2 13 two finals $179,000

South Africa has taken $60,000 of the $179,000 this event has paid out, 33.5% of it. Four countries were paid in both finals of this event. A total here is built by reaching the final rather than by winning it: 2nd place is worth $20,000 against the winner's $40,000, and 8th is worth $2,000, so a country that qualifies twice leaves with something twice.

The runners who were on a second paid team

The same athletes in another final at the same meeting

2 of 53
Athletes from this event who also ran on a paid team in another World Athletics Relays final.
ATHLETE PAID FINALS TITLES ALSO RAN DIAMOND LEAGUE THEIR TEAMS TOOK
Courtney Lindsey United States 2 0 Mixed 4 × 100 metres relay $69,750 $30,000
Kyree King United States 2 0 Mixed 4 × 100 metres relay $49,750 $30,000

The short relay and the long relay run on different days of the same weekend, and the mixed events pull from both, so a sprinter can be named on more than one team at a single championships. The right-hand column adds up what those teams were paid, and that money is the federation's rather than theirs. The Diamond League column is where the same names are paid in their own right, meeting by meeting, all summer.

Everyone who ran the men's 4 × 100 metres relay

All 53 of them, across the two finals

$40,000 to the winners

A team is named on the result table in running order, and every name here ran a leg of a final. Not one of them was paid in their own name: the purse is a single payment to the federation at every rung from $40,000 for the win down to $2,000 for 8th.

Frequently asked questions

How much does the men's 4 × 100 metres relay pay at the World Athletics Relays?

The event carries $93,000, split eight ways: $40,000 to the winning country, $20,000 for second and $10,000 for third, down to $2,000 for 8th. In Gaborone that came to $91,000, because nobody was placed 8th.

Who won the men's 4 × 100 metres relay at the 2026 World Athletics Relays?

United States, in 37.43 (Ronnie Baker, Max Thomas, Lance Lang, Pjai Austin), for $40,000 to the federation. Eight teams ran the final in Gaborone. One of them did not finish, so 8th place paid nobody.

Do the four runners in the men's 4 × 100 metres relay split the prize money?

Not in any way that is published. The $40,000 goes to the country as one payment, and how a federation divides it between the four who ran the final, and the reserves who ran the heats, is its own business. Every event at this meeting works the same way, which is what makes the World Relays the only World Athletics championship where no athlete is paid in their own name.

How many places does the men's 4 × 100 metres relay pay?

Eight, which is every team in the final. The ladder runs $40,000, $20,000, $10,000, $8,000, $6,000, $4,000, $3,000, $2,000, so a team that qualifies for the final has already earned something before it runs. What it cannot survive is a dropped baton: a team that does not finish is not placed and is paid nothing.

Which country has won the most from the men's 4 × 100 metres relay?

South Africa, on $60,000 from two paid finals and one title. 9 countries have been paid in this event across the two championships, $179,000 between them.

Is there a bonus for a world record in the men's 4 × 100 metres relay?

No. The card at the World Relays is the ladder and nothing else, so a world record is worth the place it won and not a dollar more. At the World Championships a world record adds a bonus on top of the place money; here there is none to add.

Did anyone in this event run on another paid relay team?

Courtney Lindsey has run on teams paid $30,000, Kyree King has run on teams paid $30,000. The short relay and the long relay are two days apart at this meeting, so a sprinter can be on two paid teams in a weekend.

Where to next

The rest of the championships

World Relays prize money holds all 12 finals, the 23 countries that were paid and the $1,087,000 that was put up. World Championships prize money is where these runners are paid in their own names, $70,000 for a title, and Indoor Championships prize money is the one card where a relay team and a single athlete take the same figure. Diamond League prize money is the series most of this field races all summer.

Every other event on the relays programme