The first 26 athletes for the 2026 World Athletics Championships have been announced.
This tournament, which will feature around 360 competitors in 28 disciplines, will take place from September 11-13, 2026.
Each competition will consist of a single round, with no preliminary rounds. In the running events, only eight athletes will compete in the semifinals, and only the top four will advance to the final.
However, the 1500m, 5000m, and relay events will be run directly as finals.
The competition schedule is as follows:
September 11, Friday:
- Men’s 5000m
- Women’s 100m hurdles
- Men’s 110m hurdles
- Women’s high jump
- Men’s pole vault
- Women’s long jump
- Men’s hammer throw
- Mixed 4x100m relay
September 12, Saturday:
- Women’s 100m
- Men’s 100m
- Women’s 800m
- Women’s 1500m
- Women’s 400m hurdles
- Men’s 400m hurdles
- Women’s pole vault
- Men’s long jump
- Women’s javelin throw
September 13, Sunday:
- Women’s 200m
- Men’s 200m
- Women’s 400m
- Men’s 400m
- Men’s 800m
- Men’s 1500m
- Women’s 5000m
- Men’s high jump
- Women’s triple jump
- Men’s javelin throw
Athletes Directly Qualifying for the Tournament
A total of 26 athletes will have direct qualification for the competition. These athletes are:
- 100m: Julien Alfred (St. Lucia), Noah Lyles (USA)
- 200m: Gabby Thomas (USA), Letsile Tebogo (Botswana)
- 400m: Marileidy Paulino (Dominican Republic), Quincy Hall (USA)
- 800m: Keely Hodgkinson (UK), Emmanuel Wanyonyi (Kenya)
- 1500m: Faith Kipyegon (Kenya), Cole Hocker (USA)
- 5000m: Beatrice Chebet (Kenya), Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway)
- 100m/110m Hurdles: Masai Russell (USA), Grant Holloway (USA)
- 400m Hurdles: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA), Rai Benjamin (USA)
- High Jump: Yaroslava Mahuchikh (Ukraine), Hamish Kerr (New Zealand)
- Pole Vault: Nina Kennedy (Australia), Mondo Duplantis (Sweden)
- Long Jump: Tara Davis-Woodhall (USA), Miltiadis Tentoglou (Greece)
- Triple Jump (Women): Thea LaFond (Dominica)
- Hammer Throw (Men): Ethan Katzberg (Canada)
- Javelin Throw: Haruka Kitaguchi (Japan), Arshad Nadeem (Pakistan)
Additionally, the winners of the 2025 Tokyo World Championships and the 2026 Diamond League champions (25 athletes) will also have a spot.
In terms of prize money, the individual event winners will earn $150,000, while the winners of the relay events will receive $80,000.
This tournament promises to be one of the most exciting and competitive athletics events in history, with athletes from all over the world competing for the top honors.