How Much SA’s 4x400m Relay Team Earned After Ending World Champs Medal Drought
- South Africa's long wait for a medal in the World Athletics Championship came to an end at the 2025 edition in Tokyo, Japan
- Mzansi 4x400m relay team brought home the bronze medal after finishing third in the final, with Botswana taking the gold, while the United States of America won silver
- The relay team led by world record holder Wayde van Niekerk were handsomely rewarded for finishing among the top three
South Africa’s 4x400m relay team rescued the nation’s campaign at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Sunday, September 21, 2025, by ending an eight-year medal drought for Mzansi.
Source: Getty Images
Although several South African athletes reached the finals, including Akani Simbine and Gift Leotlela, and came close to podium finishes in other events, the country had to wait until the final appearance of its nine-day tournament in the Japanese capital to finally secure a medal.
The South African relay team consists of Lythe Pillay, Udeme Okon, Wayde van Niekerk and Zakithi Nene, who teamed up to finish the race in the final at a good time of 2:57.83s despite battling wet conditions.
How much relay team earned in Tokyo
Olympic gold medalist Letsile Tebogo took a leaf out of his performance in Paris 2024 book as he powered Botswana to the gold medal in 2:57.76s. The United States claimed second place, with the South African quartet narrowly pushed into third by a margin of only 0.002 seconds as they both finished in virtually the same time.
According to World Athletics' official page, the South African relay team will earn US$20,000 (approximately R347,000) for finishing third in the 4x400m relay final, which will be shared between them and their management and support staff.
Source: Getty Images
Tebogo and his teammates will take US$80,000 (approximately R1.4 million) home to share, while the US athletes as a team earned US$40,000 (approximately R694,000).
After finishing fifth in the individual 400m final, Nene was relieved to secure a medal through the relay, having fallen short in his main event.
He explained that the team had placed significant emphasis on the relay, determined to end the nation’s medal drought, as no South African athlete had reached the podium in any category since 2017.
“We had clear objectives for the relay and I believe we met them,” Nene said. “The guys ran strongly, set me up perfectly, and I was happy to finish it off. I’m proud of my brothers, and we’re excited about the journey that lies ahead.”
In the 4x100m, South Africa was given a lifeline to qualify for the final, but Simbine, alongside his teammates, were unable to attain the required time (38.34s) to compete in the final. They finished their race in 38.64s.
How much Simbine earned after beating Omanyala
Briefly News also reported that Akani Simbine walked away with a huge sum of money after clocking a world-leading time of 9.90 seconds to defeat African champion and Kenyan sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala at the Botswana Continental Tour.
Simbine’s remarkable performance marked the fastest 100m time globally so far this year, surpassing Bayanda Walaza’s 9.99s set last month.
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Proofreading by Kelly Lippke, copy editor at Briefly.co.za.
Source: Briefly News
