The World Athletics Continental Tour will feature a record number of meetings in 2026, with more than 280 events divided into Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Challenger levels. Several nations will host meetings for the first time, including Egypt, Ethiopia, Korea, Lesotho, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. The tour includes 11 Gold-level meetings across five continental areas.
The 2026 World Athletics Continental Tour marks the biggest season yet, incorporating over 280 meetings categorized by competition quality and prize money into four tiers: Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Challenger. This expansion introduces first-time hosts such as Egypt, Ethiopia, Korea, Lesotho, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, broadening the tour's global reach.
The Gold level, the highest tier, schedules 11 meetings spanning five continental areas. The season begins in Australia with the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne on March 27-28, followed by the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, Kenya, on April 24. Subsequent events include the SEIKO Golden Grand Prix in Tokyo, Japan, on May 17, and the Irena Szewińska Memorial in Bydgoszcz, Poland, on May 29.
June hosts a busy slate of Gold meetings: the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland, on June 3; the USATF Lone Star Grand Prix in College Station, Texas, USA, on June 6; the USATF LA Grand Prix in Los Angeles, USA, on June 13-14; the Ostrava Golden Spike in Ostrava, Czechia, on June 16; the FBK Games in Hengelo, Netherlands, on June 21; and the Boris Hanžeković Memorial in Zagreb, Croatia, on June 26. The tour concludes its Gold segment with the Gyulai István Memorial in Budapest, Hungary, on July 14.
Many athletes will use these meetings to prepare for major events, including the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest from September 11-13. In 2025, the tour saw participation from more than 20,300 athletes across nearly 200 countries, resulting in three world records, 10 area records, 222 national records, and 10,184 personal bests.
