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Australia secured a thrilling bronze and ran the sixth-fastest men’s 4x400m time in history at the World Athletics Relays in Botswana.

The team of Luke van Ratingen, Reece Holder, Thomas Reynolds and Aidan Murphy pushed home heroes Botswana and South Africa right to the line in a marvellous contest that was not settled until the final metres.

Their time of 2:55.20 broke the Australian record they set in the preliminary round the previous day, and would have won gold at every Olympics apart from Paris 2024, when the United States held off Botswana.

The time set by the United States’ 1993 world championship-winning team, anchored by Michael Johnson, remains one of athletics’ longest-standing marks. Australia finished within a second of it, underlining this young team’s status as a medal threat at Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032.

The Australians’ performance make up for the pain of last year’s world championship in Tokyo, when a positioning error by Murphy triggered the squad’s disqualification from their heat.

“It was so surreal and such a vibe out there,” Holder said, reflecting on the carnival-like atmosphere created by the adoring home fans in Gaborone. “To come out and win a medal and do a time like that is pretty incredible.”

Holder ran the second leg in a split time of 43.12sec, the third fastest in the race behind only Botswana anchor Collen Kebinatshipi and South African Lythe Pillay, whose 42.66sec was recognised as the fastest split ever recorded in the event.

Although split times are not formally ranked, Pillay’s second leg – when he surged past Botswana’s 200m Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo – eclipsed Johnson’s previous mark from 1993 by a quarter of a second.

The swift times and dramatic finale, when Murphy pushed world champion Kebinatshipi and South Africa’s Zakithi Nene around the bend and up the final straight, as the jubilant home fans urged on their countrymen, made this one of the most memorable 4x400m races in history.

Australia’s prominent contribution underscored its emergence as a force in team-based events. Australian Athletics has invested in dedicated relay camps and training in recent years, and the decision appears to be paying dividends.

The world relays event sits beneath the Olympics and world championships in the hierarchy of international athletics meets, and was only established in 2014. But its reputation is building, leveraging the dramatic appeal and unpredictable nature of the relays format.

This year’s meet in Botswana served as a qualification path for next year’s world championships in Beijing. All six Australian teams secured a berth, and Australia’s men’s 4x100m came agonisingly close to a medal, finishing fourth.

“We wanted to make the final and came wanting a medal, so to get so close is disappointing,” bend-specialist Chris Ius said. “But to show the rest of the world we can do is such a good thing, and I think we are improving every year which is exciting.”

The mixed 4x400m team finished seventh in their final, while the other three squads – the women’s 4x100m, 4x400m and mixed 4x100m – all progressed through the qualification races to book their places in China.