Team SA men’s 4x400m relay narrowly misses gold in heartbreaking finish

South Africa ended their 2025 World Athletics Championships campaign in Tokyo with a bronze medal in the men’s 4x400m relay on Sunday.

Botswana claimed gold in the pouring rain, while the United States edged out South Africa by two-thousandths of a second for silver.

Botswana became the first African nation to win a men’s 4x400m relay gold medal, finishing with a time of 2:57.76.

The United States and South Africa recorded the same time, but officials had to measure thousandths of a second to determine the silver and bronze positions.

In the end, the United States were credited with a time of 2:57:822 compared to South Africa’s 2:57.824.

After 1 600m of running, South Africa were just 0.07 off winning the gold medal.

South Africa’s relay squad comprised Lythe Pillay, Udeme Okon, Wayde van Niekerk and Zakithi Nene.

Handed a lifeline

Meanwhile, South Africa’s men’s 4x100m relay team were handed a lifeline after failing to finish their heat due to a collision with Italy during the first baton change.

After a successful appeal, the referee gave the quartet another chance to qualify for the final in a solo time trial scheduled for early Sunday morning.

However, needing a time of 38.34 or faster to secure a spot in the final, Shaun Maswanganyi, Sinesipho Dambile, Bradley Nkoana, and Akani Simbine fell short, finishing in 38.64.

The runners’ splits were Maswanganyi (10.50), Dambile (9.27), Nkoana (9.68), and Simbine (9.19).

The United States won the final, with Canada taking second and the Netherlands third.

It was a forgettable championship for Team South Africa who head home with a single bronze medal.

That placed them in a tie for 41st place among the 53 nations who won a medal.

The United States predictably topped the medal table with 26 medals, comprising 16 golds, five silvers and five bronze medals.