The World Athletics Council confirmed the hosts for three World Athletics Series events and made a series of other decisions during the 237th World Athletics Council Meeting in Nanjing, China, on 24-25 March.
The World Athletics Council has awarded the 2026 World Athletics Relays to Gaborone in Botswana (2-3 May 2026) and the 2028 World Athletics Relays to Nassau in The Bahamas (22-23 April 2028). The 2026 World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships will be staged in Brasília in Brazil (12 April 2026).
“I am delighted that Botswana’s commitment to athletics, both through their elite athletes and their event hosting capabilities, has led them to hosting the World Athletics Relays next year,” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe. “This is the fourth World Championship event Africa has staged over the last decade, in addition to the Diamond League and Continental Tour Gold events, and we are seeing a real increase in experience, expertise and skills.
“We are determined to support Member Federations in their ambitions to grow through hosting our events. Both The Bahamas and Brazil have hosted events in the past and their talented athletes will, I know, generate local and international excitement.”
The World Athletics Relays in Gaborone will see Botswana host a World Athletics Series event for the first time. The country’s capital city held a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting for the first time in 2023 and this year’s Botswana Golden Grand Prix, taking place in Gaborone on 12 April, will also be a Gold-level meeting.
Jacob Kelebeng, Minister of Sport and Arts, said: “This is a moment of immense pride for Botswana. The World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26 will ignite a national passion, drawing the world to our shores and showcasing our unique spirit. We humbly welcome athletes and fans alike, knowing that this event will inspire generations and leave a lasting legacy of triumph and unity.”
The World Athletics Relays will return to Nassau for the fifth time in 2028, following the city’s hosting of the event in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2024.
Mario Bowleg, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, said: “The Government of The Bahamas is delighted to host the world back to our shores for yet another edition of The Bahamas World Athletics Relays. We have had fond memories of great competition, fun and excitement, and we can’t wait to for you to come back.”
The 2026 World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships will be the third time that Brazil has hosted a World Athletics Series event, following the 1998 World Road Relay Championships in Manaus and the 2008 World Half Marathon Championships in Rio de Janeiro. Rio de Janeiro then hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016, and 10 years on the world’s best race walkers will head to Brasília.
Renato Junqueira, Secretary of Sports and Recreation of the Federal District, said: “Brasília is ready to walk with the world. Our city has all the conditions to host an event of the magnitude of the World Race Walking Team Championships. We are the capital of Brazil, we have sports infrastructure, efficient logistics, security and an iconic setting for the competition. The warm welcome from the Brazilian public and the sporting tradition of the Federal District make Brasília the ideal choice for this great event.”
Eligibility in the female category
Preserving the integrity of competition in the female category is a fundamental principle of the sport of athletics. The majority of stakeholders consulted last month on the proposed new eligibility conditions for the female category agreed that allowing only biological female athletes to compete in the female category was essential to maintaining fairness.
On reviewing the consultation, the Council approved the recommendations from the
Group on Gender Diverse Athletes to:
• Formally affirm the design of and goals for the female category.
• Revise the eligibility regulations so that they are consistent with the design and goals.
• Merge the DSD and Transgender Regulations and, if the effect is to restrict opportunities for DSD athletes, adopt measures to address the reliance interests of those who are currently in the pipeline.
• Adopt a pre-clearance requirement for all athletes competing in the female category.
• Consider forward initiatives, including to support elite gender diverse XY athletes.
Over the next few weeks the new regulations will be drafted, and the pre-clearance SRY (a genetic surrogate for a Y chromosome) test provider, process and timeline will be agreed.
Any new DSD and Transgender Regulations will be implemented with the following standing commitments:
• World Athletics does not judge or question gender identity;
• World Athletics respects and preserves the dignity and privacy of individuals;
• World Athletics strictly observes confidentiality obligations and complies with data protection laws;
• World Athletics never has and never would impose any obligation to undergo surgery.
Working group on Belarus and Russian participation
The Council also approved the recommendation of the working group on Belarus and Russian participation that the current Council sanctions are adequate and do not need to be replaced, added to or varied unless either the current circumstances deteriorate significantly or there is a peace agreement. In anticipation of peace at some stage, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) continues to maintain Russian and Belarusian athletes in its International Testing Pool (ITP).
Coaching development
The Council agreed to explore the creation of a dedicated coaching body reporting to Council to promote coach representation, drive forward coaching specific projects, and align coaching priorities and interests to decisions made across the organisation. A proposal on the format and terms of reference for the new body will be developed and brought back to the Council as a priority.
Governance and gender leadership
Following the strides made in gender leadership, the World Athletics Gender Leadership Strategy 2025-2027 has been approved by the World Athletics Council and will be published shortly. Some of the priority action areas identified by the Gender Leadership Taskforce for the next three years include to sustain and grow the pipeline of female leaders for decision-making positions throughout athletics; to increase gender equity across administrators, referees and coaches; and to strengthen governance frameworks and initiate policy to embed gender equity.
World Athletics is committed to fostering gender equity across all aspects of the sport. The 2025-2027 Gender Leadership Strategy provides a clear roadmap to empower women, promote sustainable change, and position athletics as a global model for equity and inclusion. Through collaboration, innovation, and data-driven initiatives, this strategy aims to ensure lasting progress for women in athletics.
The World Athletics Council also considered, finalised and approved the proposed Guidelines on Member Federations & Area Associations alignment to better governance principles that aim to foster a culture of better governance in athletics worldwide. The guidelines will be published shortly.
“Over the last two days this hard-working Council has made a number of impactful decisions for our sport – further cementing our leadership position in the global sports arena,” said Coe. “I am very proud of the important, and at times difficult, work World Athletics is doing. We never shy away from doing the right thing for our sport and our athletes.”
Other competition updates
In other event news, the World Athletics Council approved the timetable for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Tallahassee 26. The event, which will take place on 10 January 2026, will kick off with the mixed relay at 9:45am local time and end with the men’s 10km from 12:20pm.
Saturday 10 January 2026
9:45am mixed relay
10:20am women’s U20 6km
10:55am men’s U20 8km
11:35am women’s 10km
12:20pm men’s 10km
Related to the relays, the World Athletics Council approved the running order for the 4x100m mixed relay at the upcoming World Athletics Relays Guangzhou 25 as woman, woman, man, man. This running order will be reviewed after the event in Guangzhou. Records for the 4x100m mixed relay will be recognised as of 1 January 2026 (with the inaugural performance to better the recognised world best performance as of the end of 2025). As well as forming part of the race programme for the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, the mixed 4x100m will be contested at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest in 2026.
Following the announcement that the half marathon and marathon will become the official senior road distances for race walking events, it has been confirmed that those distances will be implemented as of 1 October 2025.
Changes to the World Athletics Race Walking Tour calendar will see the qualifying period – for the calculation of standings and corresponding awards – updated to being between 1 January and 31 December.
The 300m hurdles will become an official event, forming part of the Competition Rules & Technical Rules. As such, it will serve all World Athletics statistical purposes, including world rankings towards which it will score as a similar event to the 400m hurdles. A list of world best performances will be kept, while conditions for setting an inaugural world record will be decided at a later stage, once the popularity of the event will have reached a meaningful level.
Credit: World Athletics
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