Athletics events expected to make waves in 2026
Athletics
By
Stephen Rutto
| Jan 03, 2026
Athletics casts are spoilt for choice as an action-packed 2026 offers numerous opportunities for them to continue to rule the roost.
From the World Cross Country Championships set for Tallahassee, Florida next week, to the inaugural Ultimate Championships in September and Diamond League series as well as World Marathon Majors, the athletics arenas are ready for tantalizing action this year.
Kenyans are keen to continue with their dominance in international championships and other competitive contests locally and globally.
On January 10, athletics superstars are converging in Tallahassee, USA, for the 2026 World Cross Country Champions and Kenyan stars will be keen to lay an early marker as they cruise through Florida’s natural landscape, chasing their dreams.
World half-marathon silver medallist Daniel Ebenyo and 10km world record holder Agnes Ngetich are leading the Kenyan charge in Florida.
Ebenyo won the national trials and was sixth at the 2023 World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, while Ngetich bagged bronze in the same event.
He will have the company of Weldon Langat, Robert Koech, Kevin Chesang, Denis Kipkoech Kipkemoi, Shadrack Koech.
Ngetich, who steps in for defending champion Beatrice Chebet, will be flying the country’s colours alongside national trials winner Maurine Chebor, Brenda Jepchumba Kenei, Rebecca Mwangi, Joyline Chepkemoi and Caren Chebet in the event.
World 1500m bronze medallist Reynold Cheruiyot and Purity Chepkirui will be out to defend Kenya’s gold medal in the mixed relay.
From September 11-13, the global attention will shift, once again to Budapest, the host of the 2023 World Championships.
This time, the Serbian city is hosting the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships, an event that has been touted to shake up the running world this year.
Kenyan stars such as Olympic champions Faith Kipyegon, Beatrice Chebet and Emmanuel Wanyonyi will be chasing glory and rich prize money at the Ultimate showdown.
“There is the Ultimate Championship, which we are all targeting next year. It is the new event by World Athletics, and that is where all our focus is and the Diamond League,” Kipyegon said in December 2025.
Before the Ultimate Championships in September, athletes will have battled for honors and written history in many key races across the globe.
The World Under-20 Championships will be another key event this year. It is set for August 5-9, 2026, at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon.
Hayward Field previously hosted this global event in 2014 when it was then known as the IAAF World Junior Championships.
The venue played host to the 2022 World Athletics Championships Oregon.
On Valentine’s Day, big shots will stomp the scenic Lobo Village as they look to shine at the 2026 Sirikwa Classic Cross Country gold tour in Eldoret.
The 2025 Sirikwa Classic World Cross Tour ended with strong points dominated by rare shows of resilience.
This year, the Sirikwa Classic contest is expected to attract top track and road stars.
Kip Keino Classic Continental Tour will be another international spectacle expected to light up Nairobi. It will be staged in Nairobi on April 24.
Superstars will at the same time be kicking off their tour across continents as the Diamond League series take shape.
Following another record-breaking year in 2025, top figures in track and field will be hoping to write chapters of the history books as the athletics’ premier one-day series returns for its 17th season.
With meetings on four different continents, the Diamond League is one of the most popular global series in the world of sport.
As has been with previous years, athletes will compete for points at 14 meetings as they bid to qualify for the series final in Brussels and a shot at the iconic Diamond Trophy.
The 2026 Road to the Final will begin in Asia, with Doha hosting the season opener on May 8 before back-to-back Chinese meetings in Shanghai and Xiamen.
The African leg of the series will take place in Rabat on May 31, before the first European meeting of the season in Rome the following week.
After stops in Stockholm, Oslo and Paris, the world’s biggest stars will head to Eugene on the US west coast for a meeting which has seen athletes set five world records in the past three seasons alone.
The series then returns to Europe for meetings in Monaco and London, before the Road to the Final enters the home straight in August.
Lausanne, Silesia and Zurich will be the last stops before the world’s biggest stars assemble in Brussels for the Diamond League Final on September 4-5.
The World Marathon Majors (WMM), the well-oiled long-distance events, are expected to be hotly contested.
The 2026 WMM season will feature a candidate race – the Cape Town Marathon scheduled for May 24 and if it meets the standards, the African continent might soon get its first world major.
The World Marathon Majors 2026 season will kick off in Tokyo in March and conclude in New York in November.
The Boston Marathon, set for April 20, 202,6 takes place traditionally on Patriots’ Day.
It will be followed just six days later by the London Marathon, which will run on April 26.
After the candidate race in South Africa, the WMM action shifts to Sydney (August 30), which joined the league last year.
The Berlin Marathon, with the fastest course, will take place on September 27, before paving way for the Chicago Marathon (October 11, 2026), another fast American route.
The New York City Marathon, set for November 1, will close the season.