By John Salvado

The Australian men’s 4x400m relay team has smashed one of the oldest national track and field records for the second time in as many days at the World Athletics Relays in Botswana.

The squad of Luke van Ratingen, Reece Holder, Thomas Reynolds and Aidan Murphy finished third in the final in Gaborone on Sunday (early Monday AEST) in two minutes 55.20 seconds.

That was more than two seconds quicker than they went in the heats on Saturday and a whopping four and a half seconds better than the previous Australian record which had stood unchallenged since the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Host nation Botswana won gold in 2:54.47 and the silver went to South Africa.

“It was so surreal and such a vibe out there,” said Holder, who set the fastest split times 43.11 and 43.12 in the heat and final.

“To come out and win a medal and do a time like that is pretty incredible.”

The men’s 4x400m bronze medal capped a successful meet for Australia, which qualified all six relay teams for next year’s world athletics championships in Beijing.

The men’s 4x100m team of Lachlan Kennedy, Joshua Azzopardi, Christopher Ius and Rohan Browning finished a creditable fourth in the final in 38.00 behind traditional powerhouses the United States, South Africa and Germany.

“We wanted to make the final and came wanting a medal, so to get so close is disappointing,” Ius said.

“But to show the rest of the world what we can do is such a good thing, and I think we are improving every year which is exciting.”

The squad could well be even stronger next year in Beijing and at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics with the potential inclusions of Gout Gout and Kiwi-turned-Aussie Eddie Nketia.

Wearing black armbands to honour team member Alanah Yukich’s father Philip, the women’s 4x400m squad finished second in their qualifying race to confirm their spot at next year’s world championships.

“All the girls have been so incredibly supportive of me after my dad’s passing two weeks ago,” Yukich said.