World Athletics statement on USATF participation at World Athletics Road Running Championships Copenhagen 26
worldathletics.org • • sports
Key Points:
- World Athletics has granted a one-time exception allowing the USA Track and Field (USATF) to select seven female athletes for the 2026 World Road Running Championships (WRRC) instead of the usual four.
- This decision follows an incident at the USATF Half-Marathon Championships in Atlanta, where the lead pack of three women was mistakenly led off course, causing them to finish outside automatic qualifying positions.
- To address this, USATF will designate four athletes as scoring competitors eligible for medals and team results, while the additional three non-scoring athletes can compete but cannot win medals or prize money.
- The non-scoring athletes will still earn world ranking points and will wear a distinct USA national kit different from the scoring athletes.
- World Athletics showed understanding and support for USATF, recognizing the unprecedented nature of the qualifying event mishap.
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