Incessant rain may have disrupted the middle days of the Asian Games athletics programme at Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium in Nagoya, but it did little to dampen the performances on Super Sunday.
Thai sprinter Puripol Boonson once again provided the biggest highlight, completing the sprint double with an Asian record-equalling 19.88 in the men&rsquo;s 200m.
Having already won the 100m in a Games record of 9.90, Boonson signalled his intent in the 200m by clocking 20.10 in the preliminary round, also a Games record.
His start in the final was relatively moderate, but he accelerated strongly around the bend before powering clear down the home straight. He stopped the clock at 19.88, matching the Asian record set by China&rsquo;s Xie Zhenye in 2019.
Boonson finished well clear of China&rsquo;s Huang Youwen, who took silver in 20.45, while Japan&rsquo;s Soshi Mizukubo earned bronze in 20.56.
China&rsquo;s Yan Ziyi produced another of the standout performances of the programme, dominating the women&rsquo;s javelin with a Games record of 70.46m.
The world U20 record-holder was nearly eight metres clear of Japan&rsquo;s Olympic champion Haruka Kitaguchi, who took silver with 62.70m.
World and Olympic champion Winfred Yavi also completed a golden double, adding the women&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase title to the 10,000m crown she had won earlier in the Games.
The Bahraini prevailed in a high-quality tactical contest, clocking a Games record of 9:04.36 to finish ahead of Kazakhstan&rsquo;s 2022 world champion Norah Jeruto, who ran 9:06.82, and India&rsquo;s Parul Chaudhary, the 2023 Asian Games silver medallist, who clocked 9:08.67.
Bahrain&rsquo;s success continued with Nelly Korir in the women&rsquo;s 1500m and Salwa Eid Naser in the 400m. Both won in Games record times, Korir clocking 4:04.50 and Naser 49.20.
There was also a landmark victory for Thailand in the men&rsquo;s 400m as Joshua Atkinson claimed the country&rsquo;s first Asian Games title in the event, clocking 44.90. Abdulrahman Suleiman of the United Arab Emirates pushed him close but had to settle for silver in 44.99.
In the women&rsquo;s 200m, Singapore&rsquo;s Shanti Pereira successfully defended the title she won in Hangzhou. China&rsquo;s 100m champion Chen Yujie was quickest away, while Pereira and India&rsquo;s Harita Bhadra made slower starts. Pereira, however, surged to the front in the second half of the race and held off Chen to win in 22.78. Chen took silver in 22.93, while Bhadra earned bronze in 23.20.
Several other Games records fell in the field events. Iran&rsquo;s Mohammadreza Tayebisefat won the men&rsquo;s shot put with a Games record of 20.81m, denying India&rsquo;s Tajinderpal Singh Toor (20.64m) a third successive title. China&rsquo;s Su Wen set a Games record of 17.42m to win the men&rsquo;s triple jump.
Japan&rsquo;s Mako Fukube won the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles in 12.74, while China&rsquo;s Chen Yuanjiang took the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles title in 13.15. Japan&rsquo;s Rachid Muratake finished second in 13.29.
The men&rsquo;s high jump produced an upset following the late withdrawal of Asian record-holder Mutaz Essa Barshim. Korea&rsquo;s two-time Asian Games silver medallist Woo Sanghyeok had been expected to challenge strongly for gold but finished third with 2.22m. Chinese Taipei&rsquo;s Fu Chao-Hsuan took the title, while India&rsquo;s Sarvesh Anil Kushare earned silver after clearing 2.25m.
Japanese decathlete Yuma Maruyama upgraded the bronze medal he won in Hangzhou to gold in Nagoya, scoring 8123. China&rsquo;s Chen Xinghua took silver (8012), while India&rsquo;s overnight leader and 2023 Asian Games silver medallist Tejaswin Shankar finished third (7934).
Japan&rsquo;s Hayato Katsuki, boosted by his victory at the World Race Walking Team Championships in Brasilia earlier this year, won the men&rsquo;s marathon race walk in 3:03:36. China&rsquo;s Zhou Yingcheng took silver, with Japan&rsquo;s top-seeded Suwa Mutofumi third.
Kazakhstan&rsquo;s Yasmina Toxanbayeva won the women&rsquo;s race, although the official results remained subject to a protest concerning shoe specifications.
There was also drama in the men&rsquo;s marathon, where Japan&rsquo;s Ichitaka Yamashita and India&rsquo;s Sawan Barwal were locked together until the closing stages. Barwal, competing in only his second marathon after breaking a 48-year-old national record earlier this year, remained with Yamashita until 40km before the Japanese runner edged clear.
Yamashita won in 2:10:49, while Barwal improved to 2:11:37 for silver, earning India its first Asian Games medal in the event for 44 years.
Ram. Murali Krishnan for World Athletics

Incessant rain may have disrupted the middle days of the Asian Games athletics programme at Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium in Nagoya, but it did little to dampen the performances on Super Sunday

Boonson completes Asian Games sprint double as Yan dominates javelin in Nagoya

Tigst Assefa came within sight of the world marathon record before late drama halted her challenge at the BMW Berlin Marathon, but the Ethiopian held on to win the World Athletics Platinum Label road race in 2:11:04, the third-fastest time in history, on Sunday (27).
Her training partner Guye Adola completed an Ethiopian double, winning the men&rsquo;s contest in a PB of 2:02:50. It was his second victory in Berlin, five years after his first, and finally improved on the PB he had set on his marathon debut in the German capital nine years ago.
Assefa, meanwhile, produced one of the most remarkable record attempts in marathon history. At 40km she was still on course to challenge the world record of 2:09:56 before appearing to suffer a physical problem during the closing stages.
Until then, her pace had been relentless. The world and Olympic silver medallist reached 5km in 15:30 and was already well clear of the field by 10km, which she passed in 30:48. Defending champion Rosemary Wanjiru was second in 31:53, herself 26 seconds ahead of a 10-woman chase pack.
Assefa covered the next 10km in an even quicker 30:46, reaching 20km in 1:01:34, and hit halfway in 1:04:57, the third-fastest halfway split ever recorded in a women&rsquo;s marathon.
By then her advantage had grown considerably. Wanjiru reached halfway almost three minutes behind in 1:07:42 and was just three seconds ahead of a chasing quartet comprising Bedatu Hirpa, Dera Dida, Pascaline Jelagat and Alemitu Tariku.
There was little sign of Assefa relenting. She passed 25km in 1:17:00, keeping her inside 2:10 pace, then produced her fastest 10km section of the race to reach 30km in 1:32:15. Her projected finishing time was back inside world record pace at 2:09:45.
Remarkably, she accelerated again between 30km and 35km, covering that section in 15:17 to reach the latter checkpoint in 1:47:32. That 5km split alone would have been enough for 13th place in the standalone women&rsquo;s 5km at the recent World Road Running Championships in Copenhagen.
With Assefa more than five minutes clear and Ethiopian compatriots Hirpa, Dida and Tariku all projected to finish inside 2:16, the main intrigue centred on the clock.
A 3:02 37th kilometre put Assefa on schedule for about 2:09:36. She reached 40km in 2:03:00, still projecting a 2:09:44 finish and having produced extraordinarily consistent 10km sections of 30:48, 30:46, 30:41 and 30:45.
But almost immediately the picture changed. Assefa began running with a pronounced limp and was visibly grimacing as her pace dropped dramatically. It later transpired that she had suffered a partial tear of her achilles tendon.
With such an enormous advantage, she had time in hand, though, and made it to the Brandenburg Gate before crossing the line in 2:11:04. Despite the difficult finish, she took 49 seconds off the PB and course record of 2:11:53 she had set when winning in Berlin in 2023.
It was also Assefa&rsquo;s third Berlin victory, following her wins in 2022 and 2023, and her third marathon triumph from her past four starts.
Behind her, Hirpa prevailed in a close battle for second, clocking 2:16:53 to finish two seconds ahead of Dida. Bekelech Gudeta was fourth in 2:18:58 and Tariku fifth in 2:19:01.
The men&rsquo;s race remained tightly packed for considerably longer. A large lead group passed 10km in 28:58 and nine men remained together at halfway, reached in 1:01:01. Adola was joined there by Selemon Barega, Gemechu Dida, Andamlak Belihu, Shura Kitata, Asefa Boki, Getaneh Molla and Tanzania&rsquo;s Gabriel Geay among the main contenders.
The group began to stretch out approaching 25km, and by 30km Adola had moved to the front. He reached that checkpoint in 1:26:57, putting him just outside 2:02 pace, with Barega, Dida and Geay still close behind.
Geay began to lose contact a couple of kilometres later and Adola then made the decisive move.
By 35km, he had opened a nine-second advantage over Dida, with Barega another four seconds adrift. The gap continued to grow during the closing stages and Adola was never seriously threatened again.
He crossed the line in 2:02:50, taking almost a minute off the PB he had set on his marathon debut in Berlin in 2017, when he finished second to Eliud Kipchoge.
It completed a perfect marathon season for Adola, who also won in Rotterdam in April in 2:03:54, and earned him a second Berlin title following his 2021 victory.
Dida finished strongly to take second in 2:03:19, while Geay secured third in 2:03:59. Molla was fourth in 2:04:55, three seconds ahead of Barega.
<h3>Leading results</h3>
Women 1 Tigst Assefa (ETH) 2:11:04 2 Bedatu Hirpa (ETH) 2:16:53 3 Dera Dida (ETH) 2:16:55 4 Bekelech Gudeta (ETH) 2:18:58 5 Alemitu Tariku (ETH) 2:19:01 6 Pascaline Jelagat (KEN) 2:20:23 7 Misgane Alemayehu (ETH) 2:20:27 8 Ludwina Chepngetich (KEN) 2:21:25 9 Evaline Chirchir (KEN) 2:21:32 10 Aminet Ahmed (ETH) 2:21:45
Men 1 Guye Adola (ETH) 2:02:50 2 Gemechu Dida (ETH) 2:03:19 3 Gabriel Geay (TAN) 2:03:59 4 Getaneh Molla (ETH) 2:04:55 5 Selemon Barega (ETH) 2:04:58 6 Asefa Boki (ETH) 2:05:32 7 Andamlak Belihu (ETH) 2:05:55 8 Shura Kitata (ETH) 2:06:04 9 Yuhei Urano (JPN) 2:06:09 10 Tadu Abate (ETH) 2:07:16

Tigst Assefa came within sight of the world marathon record before late drama halted her challenge at the BMW Berlin Marathon

Assefa holds on for 2:11:04 as Adola regains Berlin crown

Egide Ntakarutimana and Francine Niyomukunzi ran race records to win the 15km events, while Evelina Henriksson and&nbsp;Ebba Tulu Chala&nbsp;dominated the 30km contests as the TCS Liding&ouml;loppet opened the World Athletics Cross Country Tour season in Liding&ouml;, Sweden, on Saturday (26).
Ntakarutimana and Niyomukunzi secured a 15km double for Burundi, respectively clocking 44:36 and 51:25. Ntakarutimana won ahead of his compatriots Tharcisse Nizigiyimana and Elie Sindayikengdera, while Niyomukunzi clinched the crown ahead of Sweden&rsquo;s Johanna B&auml;cklund and Smilla Szalkai.
Racing in wet conditions, Ntakarutimana and Nizigiyimana started fast and broke away early on. Ntakarutimana was in control and he gradually moved away from his compatriot, building a 12-second lead by the 5.5km checkpoint at Hustegaholm. By Gr&ouml;nsta at 11.4km he had extended his advantage to 33 seconds and he continued unchallenged to win by 51 seconds &ndash; Nizigiyimana following him over the finish line in 45:27. Sindayikengdera was third in 46:48.
&ldquo;The race was good,&rdquo; said Ntakarutimana, whose victory followed two top-10 finishes at two global championships in recent weeks &ndash; eighth in the World Athletics Ultimate Championship 5000m and ninth in the 5km at the World Athletics Road Running Championships. He also finished second in the 5000m at the Wanda Diamond League Final, setting a national record of 12:46.73.
&ldquo;The course was hard, it&rsquo;s up and down, but I tried to push the flat and I was keeping energy for the finish. I am happy for the course record.&rdquo;
Niyomukunzi, who also contested the 5km at the World Road Running Championships a week ago, was even more dominant. After leading by more than three minutes at Gr&ouml;nsta, she maintained the momentum and eventually won by four minutes.
B&auml;cklund was in fourth place at Hustegaholm, 90 seconds behind Niyomukunzi, but she moved up and was clear in second place by Gr&ouml;nsta. She clocked 55:27 at the finish line, more than a minute ahead of Szalkai in 56:40.
Having previously been a&nbsp;World Cross Country Tour Silver level fixture, the Liding&ouml;loppet &ndash; which lays claim to being the world&rsquo;s largest cross-country event &ndash; was upgraded to Gold for the 2026-2027 season. Alongside the 15km races, athletes contested the event&rsquo;s famously demanding 30km course &ndash; the longest race on this season&rsquo;s tour.
Chala and Henriksson secured a Swedish 30km double, respectively running 1:38:50 and 1:53:28.
Like Ntakarutimana and Niyomukunzi in the 15km contests, Chala took control early on. Initially joined by Kenya&rsquo;s defending champion William Nyarondia Morwabe, Chala had built a 46-second lead by the 15km mark at F&aring;gel&ouml;udde and continued to move away.
Sweden&rsquo;s David Nilsson finished strongly to secure second place in 1:40:55, one year on from winning the 15km. Nyarondia Morwabe, who won ahead of Chala last year, narrowly held on to third place in 1:41:06.
&ldquo;It was a bit windy, cold and slippery, and I had to run alone, but my body felt good,&rdquo; said Chala, who regained a title he won in 2024. &ldquo;I'm in good shape and felt like I had it the whole way.&rdquo;
Swedish 10,000m champion Henriksson won by an even bigger margin. Securing top spot for the first time after two consecutive third-place finishes, she claimed the crown by almost three minutes. Kenya&rsquo;s four-time winner Sylvia Mboga Medugu was second in 1:56:26, repeating her placing from last year, while Sweden&rsquo;s Hanna Lindholm was third in 1:56:53.
&ldquo;The race went better than I had imagined,&rdquo;&nbsp;Henriksson&nbsp;told organisers. &ldquo;Previously it felt very heavy in the first mile, so I expected that, but it felt very easy the whole way. Everything flowed.&rdquo;
<h3>Leading results</h3>
Women&rsquo;s 15km 1 Francine Niyomukunzi (BDI) 51:25 2 Johanna B&auml;cklund (SWE) 55:27 3 Smilla Szalkai (SWE) 56:40 4 Louise Wiker (SWE) 57:32 5 Fanny Schulstad (SWE) 57:56
Men&rsquo;s 15km 1 Egide Ntakarutimana (BDI) 44:36 2 Tharcisse Nizigiyimana (BDI) 45:27 3 Elie Sindayikengdera (BDI) 46:48 4 Jonathan Grahn (SWE) 47:01 5 Karl Ottfalk (SWE) 47:13
Women&rsquo;s 30km 1 Evelina Henriksson (SWE) 1:53:28 2 Sylvia Mboga Medugu (KEN) 1:56:26 3 Hanna Lindholm (SWE) 1:56:53 4 Frida Michold (SWE) 1:58:32 5 Emy Thor&eacute;n (SWE) 1:59:11
Men&rsquo;s 30km 1 Ebba Tulu Chala (SWE) 1:38:50 2 David Nilsson (SWE) 1:40:55 3 William Nyarondia Morwabe (KEN) 1:41:06 4 Leonid Latsepov (EST) 1:41:06 5 Mohammadreza Abootorabi (SWE) 1:42:10

Egide Ntakarutimana and Francine Niyomukunzi ran race records to win the 15km events, while Evelina Henriksson and Ebba Tulu Chala dominated the 30km contests at the TCS Lidingöloppet

Ntakarutimana, Niyomukunzi, Henriksson and Chala win as Cross Country Tour kicks off in Lidingö

It was clear to those watching Mizuki Noguchi zip around the track on the south-west shore of St Moritz Lake that she was not resting on her hard-won Olympic laurels.
Twelve months on from her masterclass in the 2004 Olympic women&rsquo;s marathon in Athens, the Japanese athlete was undergoing an interval session of epic proportions at the high-altitude training centre in the Swiss Alps.
&ldquo;There were some men&rsquo;s runners from Europe watching me,&rdquo; Noguchi recalled later. &ldquo;They were convinced I was crazy.&rdquo;
At an altitude of 1856 metres, she reeled off 45 repetition efforts around the 400m track &ndash; readying herself for the challenge of her first marathon as Olympic champion, on the streets of Berlin in September 2005.&nbsp;
Her fastest time at that stage of her career was the 2:21:18 it took her to win the Osaka Women&rsquo;s Marathon in 2003. Noguchi&rsquo;s goal in Berlin was to become the fastest ever female from her marathon-crazy homeland. To do so, she would need to better not just Naoko Takahashi, who became the first woman in history to crack 2:20 with her 2:19:46 in Berlin in 2001, but also Yoko Shibui, who improved the Japanese record to 2:19:41 in Berlin in 2004.
Only three other women had broken 2:20 at that point: Catherine Ndereba of Kenya with 2:18:47 in Chicago in 2001, Britain&rsquo;s Paula Radcliffe with a stunning 2:15:25 in London in 2003 and Sun Yingjie of China, who clocked an Asian record of 2:19:39 in Beijing in 2003.
&ldquo;My aim in Berlin is a Japanese record,&rdquo; Noguchi said. &ldquo;The course is good for breaking it. It is flat and I will be running with pacemakers. It will also be the first time I have run in a marathon with men in the field. I have only run in marathons for women so far."
The 27-year-old duly accomplished her mission. Wearing the F2 bib she has kindly donated together with a pair of shoes from her 2008 season to the Museum of World Athletics, Noguchi crossed the finish line in 2:19:12. She had broken the Japanese and Asian records and moved to third on the world all-time list, behind Radcliffe and Ndereba &ndash; two of the rivals who had been unable to get the better of her on the Olympic road from Marathon to Athens the previous year.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6ab79a1fe14a1c231ef805d6.JPG" alt="Mizuki Noguchi makes her donation to the Museum of World Athletics" />
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Mizuki Noguchi makes her donation to the Museum of World Athletics (&copy; MOWA)
&ldquo;It was not easy to run against the clock for the first time, instead of running against rivals next to me,&rdquo; Noguchi confessed, &ldquo;but I am very happy to have broken the Japanese record. I wanted to do this as a present to my coach, Nobuyuki Fujita.&rdquo;
There were two bonus presents to come when it was confirmed that Noguchi had set world records with her split times at 25km (1:22:13) and 30km (1:38:48). Both marks had been held by her Japanese compatriot Takahashi, who clocked 1:22:31 and 1:39:02 en route to her Berlin Marathon victory in 2001.
&ldquo;I did realise that I broke the 30km record when I passed the marker,&rdquo; Noguchi said. &ldquo;I looked at my watch and was happy about it. But I did not know about the 25km record. That came as a surprise. I am very happy with what I have achieved in Berlin. I will take home all the records as souvenirs.&rdquo;
Sadly, there were to be no more souvenir records for Noguchi and her long-time coach. Victory in the 2007 Tokyo Marathon, in a time of 2:21:37, proved to be the last hurrah in a marathon career that also included a silver medal behind Ndereba at the 2003 World Athletics Championships in Paris.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6ab7a076b2055c70912ecba8.jpg" alt="Mizuki Noguchi's donation to the Museum of World Athletics" />
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Mizuki Noguchi's donation to the Museum of World Athletics (&copy; MOWA)
The high point for the woman from the coastal city of Ise was that epic victory in Athens in 2004, on the course on which Spyridon Louis won the original marathon race in the inaugural Games of the modern Olympic era.
Noguchi had prepared assiduously for that challenge in the mountains around St Moritz. With the undulating Marathon to Athens route in mind, she concentrated on improving her hill running &ndash; taking a break only to inspect the course in the Greek capital with Fujita.
&ldquo;Be sure to take all the fluid and make your move at 25km,&rdquo; her coach told her before she headed for the start line with the mercury pushing 35&deg;C. On cue, at 25km, Noguchi launched her attack at the start of a series of inclines.
Radcliffe, beset by injury and illness, was unable to respond, dropping out at 36km. Ndereba closed in the final stages but finished 12 seconds behind as runner up.
Noguchi took the gold medal in 2:26:20, a record on the original marathon course.
Simon Turnbull for World Athletics Heritage 
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It was clear to those watching Mizuki Noguchi zip around the track on the south-west shore of St Moritz Lake that she was not resting on her hard-won Olympic laurels

MOWA donor Noguchi's path to record-breaking Berlin Marathon victory

Ronal Longa and Orangy Jimenez completed a triple crown in the sprints, while Valentin Soca and Micaela Levaggi achieved a double victory in the distance events at the South American Games in Santa Fe, Argentina, where athletics action concluded on Friday (25).
The 100m winner on the opening day of athletics, South American record-holder Longa added a second gold in the 200m in 20.43 and anchored the Colombian team to a close victory in the 4x100m relay.
&ldquo;I love individual races, but there&rsquo;s something special to compete as part of a team. It&rsquo;s nice to end the season with a team win,&rdquo; said Longa.
After a double victory in the 100m and mixed 4x100m on the opening day, Venezuela&rsquo;s Jimenez sped to a comfortable victory in the 200m with a Games record of 22.63, a personal best and only a tenth of a second off the 14-year-old national record held by Olympian Nercely Soto.
The home crowd celebrated Levaggi&rsquo;s second gold of the week as she won the 5000m in 15:48.73. Despite falling at the last barrier before the water jump on the last lap, Levaggi also managed to finish third in the 3000m steeplechase, a race won by her compatriot and defending champion Belen Casetta in a Games record of 9:35.44.&nbsp;
Uruguay&rsquo;s Soca achieved a similar feat in both distances. The World Indoor Championships finalist moved away from his fellow Uruguayan and defending champion Santiago Catrofe on the last lap. Soca crossed the line in 13:26.53, almost half a minute faster than the previous Games record set by Catrofe in 2022.
Both runners celebrated a historic day for their country as they were joined by 800m runner Deborah Rodriguez and long jumper Emiliano Lasa, both silver medal winners later in the day in their fifth participation at the South American Games.
Another decorated athlete in the region, four-time Olympian and 2024 Olympic finalist Rosa Rodriguez, competed in her fifth Games, 20 years after her debut in Buenos Aires. A two-time winner and defending champion, the 40-year-old clinched the bronze medal in the hammer &ndash; won by Colombia&rsquo;s Mayra Gaviria (66.35m).
Lars Flaming of Paraguay produced the competition of his life. The Pan American champion and former decathlete surpassed 82 metres four times in the javelin final, including a massive 84.36m effort &ndash; a personal best by more than a metre and a half and over four metres beyond the previous Games record.
A historic win for the host nation came in the mixed 4x400m. A day after his false start disqualification in the 400m final, national record-holder and 2022 champion Elian Larregina ran a 44.54 split to move from fourth to the lead at the last hand-off. Individual bronze medallist Megan Powell held on to cross the line first in a national and Games record of 3:16.93. Agustin Pinti and Maria Lamboglia completed the team.
Other Games records fell on the last two days of competition. The record-breakers were Elton Dos Santos in the triple jump (16.84m) and Matheus Lima (48.58) and South American record-holder Gianna Woodruff (54.11) in the 400m hurdles. The Colombian women set a new standard in the 4x100m relay with 44.36 and the Venezuelan 4x400m quartet also rewrote the Games standard with 3:03.38.
Didier Rodriguez completed a historic Games for Panama with his victory in the 3000m steeplechase in a Games record of 8:31.89, the fourth title for his nation.
All gold medal winners secured their qualification to the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Brazil topped the medal tally with 38 medals (14 gold, 15 silver and nine bronze), followed by Colombia (8-5-7), Venezuela, Chile, Argentina and Panama with four gold medals each. Thirteen of the 15 participating nations won at least one medal.
Javier Clavelo Robinson for World Athletics
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7246486?day=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a>

Ronal Longa and Orangy Jimenez completed a triple crown in the sprints, while Valentin Soca and Micaela Levaggi achieved a double victory in the distance events at the South American Games

Jimenez and Longa complete sprint triple, distance double for Soca and Levaggi at South American Games

Puripol Boonson produced the standout performance of the opening days of athletics action at the Asian Games in Nagoya, clocking 9.90 to win the men&rsquo;s 100m and move to second on the Asian all-time list.
The Thai sprinter had already signalled his form by running a season&rsquo;s best of 9.95 in the heats before breaking Su Bingtian&rsquo;s Games record with 9.91 in the semifinals.
He went faster still in the final, stopping the clock at 9.90 to become Thailand&rsquo;s first Asian Games champion in the event for 48 years, following Anat Ratanapol in 1974 and Suchart Jairsuraparp in 1978. Only Su has run faster among Asian sprinters.
Oman&rsquo;s Ali Al Balushi took silver in 10.04, with his brother Mazen Al Balushi earning bronze in 10.11.
China&rsquo;s 17-year-old Chen Yujie also produced a record-breaking sprint performance in the women&rsquo;s 100m. The Asian U20 record-holder improved her continental age-group mark to 11.06 to take gold, also breaking the Games record.
The only Chinese woman to have run faster is Li Xuemei, who clocked a wind-assisted 11.05 to win the Asian Games title in 1998.
Singapore&rsquo;s Shanti Pereira repeated her silver-medal finish from 2023, clocking 11.21, while Bahrain&rsquo;s Edidiong Odiong, a double Asian Games champion in 2018, took bronze in 11.33.
Bahrain also broke the Games record in the mixed 4x400m relay, with Isah Musa, Aisha Abdullah, Alaa Sami and Salwa Eid Naser combining to clock 3:12.87. Naser anchored the quartet with a 48.9 split as Bahrain finished ahead of India, who clocked 3:14.46, and Vietnam, who recorded 3:14.54.
It was the third successive Asian Games at which Bahrain had crossed the line first in the event, although their 2018 title was later forfeited following a doping violation.
Olympic steeplechase champion Winfred Yavi added another gold for Bahrain in the women&rsquo;s 10,000m. Japan&rsquo;s Nozomi Tanaka, reigning Asian champion Daisy Jepkemei of Kazakhstan, India&rsquo;s 2024 Asian cross-country champion Seema Kumari and Yavi were also among the leading group at various stages of the race.
Yavi moved to the front with three laps remaining and went on to win in 32:39.18. Tanaka finished two seconds behind to take silver, with Kumari securing bronze.
In the men&rsquo;s 10,000m, Bahrain&rsquo;s Birhanu Balew successfully defended his title. Japan&rsquo;s Yamato Yoshii led through the first half before Bahrain&rsquo;s Albert Kiptoo took over, with Balew and two-time Asian champion Gulveer Singh remaining close behind.
Balew made his decisive move on the final lap and won in 28:27.51, with Singh taking silver in 28:29.38 and Kiptoo bronze in 28:34.38.
Uzbekistan also enjoyed a strong start to the athletics programme, winning both the women&rsquo;s triple jump and men&rsquo;s hammer.
Sharifa Davronova successfully defended her triple jump title, overtaking China&rsquo;s Huang Yingying with a fifth-round leap of 14.31m before improving to 14.35m with her final attempt.
Sukhrob Khodjaev, meanwhile, upgraded the bronze medals he won at the previous two editions of the Games to gold in the hammer.
His second-round throw of 74.38m proved enough for victory, while Japan&rsquo;s Shota Fukuda took silver to end the host nation&rsquo;s 16-year wait for a medal in the event.
Shigenobu and Koji Murofushi, who between them won seven of Japan&rsquo;s 11 Asian Games gold medals in the men&rsquo;s hammer, had jointly lit the Games flame at the opening ceremony in Nagoya.
China claimed the top two places in the women&rsquo;s shot put. Song Jiayuan won with 19.40m, ahead of Zhang Linru&rsquo;s 18.14m, while Manpreet Kaur took bronze for India with 17.17m.
Japan&rsquo;s Misaki Morota delighted the home crowd with a personal best of 4.55m to win the women&rsquo;s pole vault. China&rsquo;s Asian record-holder Niu Chunge cleared 4.50m to take silver, while India&rsquo;s Baranica Elangovan and Kazakhstan&rsquo;s Polina Ivanova shared bronze.
Japan also secured a one-two in the heptathlon through Yuri Tanaka and Nanaka Kajiki.
The athletics programme had begun on Wednesday (23) with the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s half marathon race walks, which replaced the traditional 20km events for the first time. Japan&rsquo;s Toshikazu Yamanishi, the world record-holder for both the 20km and half marathon race walks, was beaten by China&rsquo;s Shi Shengji, who won in 1:23:32.
The victory delivered the first athletics gold medal of the Games and China&rsquo;s 200th athletics title in Asian Games history. China soon added another gold as Yang Liujing won the women&rsquo;s race.
Ram. Murali Krishnan for World Athletics

Puripol Boonson produced the standout performance of the opening days of athletics action at the Asian Games in Nagoya

Boonson and Chen sprint to Asian Games records in Nagoya

To mark Global Coaches Day (25), World Athletics has announced a new-look Coach of the Year award that will form part of the World Athletics Awards on 29 November.
Continuing its recognition of and support for athletics coaches around the globe, World Athletics will employ the expertise of its new Coaches&rsquo; Commission to shine the spotlight on those who play a vital role in guiding athletes in the sport.
The Coach of the Year honour builds on the previous Coaching Achievement Award that in recent years has been presented to leading figures such as Helena and Greg Duplantis, Laurent Meuwly, Trevor Painter and Michael O&rsquo;Connor. Helena and Greg Duplantis were jointly recognised with the honour in 2020 for their work with their world record-breaking son Mondo, while Swiss coach Meuwly, British coach Painter and Irish combined events coach O&rsquo;Connor respectively received their awards in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Now, members of the <a href="https://worldathletics.org/organisation/our-organisation/structure/commissions" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coaches&rsquo; Commission</a> &ndash; which was established at the end of 2025 &ndash; will drive a revamped voting system to decide on three finalists and one winner of the award each year.
<h3>Revamped voting system</h3>
<ul>
<li role="listitem" aria-setsize="-1">The Coaches&rsquo; Commission will select a long list of between six and eight nominees</li>
<li role="listitem" aria-setsize="-1">Area coaches&rsquo; associations, or alternative nominated bodies in areas where a coaches&rsquo; association is not established, will vote by ranking the nominees to ensure full voting representation across all six areas</li>
<li role="listitem" aria-setsize="-1">The three finalists will be announced on 16 November</li>
<li role="listitem" aria-setsize="-1">The winner will be announced live on stage during the World Athletics Awards</li>
</ul>
&ldquo;In this new award, the coaches&rsquo; community selects its ambassador of excellence,&rdquo; said Coaches&rsquo; Commission Chair Frank Dick. &ldquo;It also celebrates World Athletics&rsquo; commitment, through the new Coaches&rsquo; Commission, to reflect the highest value placed on coaches as architects of possibility in pioneering change.&rdquo;
The 2026 World Athletics Awards will take place in Monaco on 29 November. Other awards presented on stage will include the World Athlete of the Year and Rising Star honours, the President&rsquo;s Award and, for the first time, the Moment of the Year award.

World Athletics

World Athletics has announced a new-look Coach of the Year award that will form part of the World Athletics Awards on 29 November

World Athletics launches revamped Coach of the Year award

Ethiopia&rsquo;s Tigst Assefa returns to the scene of her world record in 2023 when she races at the BMW Berlin Marathon, a World Athletics Platinum Label road race, on Sunday (27).
The Olympic and world silver medallist clocked an incredible 2:11:53 in the German capital three years ago &ndash; a time that now places her third on the world all-time list &ndash; and she heads back to Berlin aiming to run even faster. The men&rsquo;s race, meanwhile, looks highly competitive with Tanzania&rsquo;s Gabriel Geay and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Guye Adola, Shura Kitata and Getaneh Molla among the contenders.
Assefa headlines a field of record depth for Berlin &ndash; seven women have PBs under 2:20, while 14 have gone sub-2:22.
They include Kenya&rsquo;s Rosemary Wanjiru, who defends her title, and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Dera Dida, a training partner of Assefa and the runner-up in Berlin last year.
But Assefa is the heavy favourite as she competes for the first time since her TCS London Marathon win in a women-only world record of 2:15:41 in April.
&ldquo;I am really looking forward to running on the fast course in Berlin again and hope that I can continue my success story here on Sunday,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I am very well prepared and want to run a personal best.&rdquo;
Assefa goes on the hunt for a hat-trick in Berlin. The 29-year-old ran 2:15:37 to win in 2022 and retained the title with her world record the following year. She has claimed silver medals at the Olympic Games and World Championships and won the London Marathon twice since then.
She lines up alongside another Berlin champion as Wanjiru returns to defend the title she won in 2:21:05 in unusually warm conditions last year. Her PB of 2:16:14 was set in Tokyo in 2024, while she clocked 2:24:47 in Japan&rsquo;s capital earlier this year. Her aim this time is to dip under 2:15.
That is also the goal of Dida, who is back in Berlin a year on from running 2:21:08 to finish second to Wanjiru. The 2019 world cross-country silver medallist clocked 2:23:18 in Cape Town in May, while her PB of 2:18:32 was set in Dubai last year.
Further strength comes from Ethiopia&rsquo;s Zeineba Yimer, Misgane Alemayehu, Bedatu Hirpa and Bekelech Gudeta, who have all broken 2:20 this year. Yimer was third in Barcelona in March in a PB of 2:18:47, while Hirpa was second in the Osaka Women's Marathon in January. Alemayehu was runner-up in Paris in April and Gudeta was second in Seoul in March. Yimer placed fourth and Dida sixth behind Assefa in her world record performance in 2023.
Finland&rsquo;s Alisa Vainio contests her seventh marathon race within a year, just six weeks on from her European Championships victory, while she also raced the Finnish Championships marathon earlier this month. The 28-year-old, who finished fifth in the World Championships marathon just over a year ago, is expected to run as part of the third women&rsquo;s group on sub-2:20 pace after setting a national record of 2:20:39 in Seville in February. Esther Pfeiffer also targets a similar pace as she looks to break the long-standing German record of 2:19:19.
The men&rsquo;s race looks wide open following the withdrawal of world record-holder and last year&rsquo;s Berlin champion Sabastian Sawe due to injury.
Adola is among the leading contenders as he looks to regain a title he won in 2021. The 35-year-old&rsquo;s PB of 2:03:46 was set in Berlin in 2017 but he went close to that mark when winning in Rotterdam in 2:03:54 in April. He finished fourth in Berlin last year.
His Ethiopian compatriot Kitata also brings a great deal of major marathon experience and like Vainio he won in Seville in February, clocking 2:03:59. Dejene Hailu was third in Seville in a PB of 2:04:15 and also races, as does Molla, the Seoul Marathon runner-up in March.
Tanzanian record-holder Geay starts as the fastest in the field thanks to the 2:03:00 he ran to finish second in Valencia in 2022. He was second in the Boston Marathon in 2023 and races his second marathon of the year after winning in Daegu in 2:08:11 in February.
The field also features Selemon Barega, the Olympic 10,000m champion in 2021 who finished seventh in the Tokyo Marathon in March in a PB of 2:05:00, as well as Kenya&rsquo;s Erick Sang who ran 2:05:34 in that Rotterdam race won by Adola.
Aaron Bienenfeld, who ran 2:08:47 in Hamburg in April for the fastest marathon debut by a German athlete, looks to build on that performance as he contests his second marathon.
<h3>Leading entries</h3>
Women Tigst Assefa (ETH) 2:11:53 Rosemary Wanjiru (KEN) 2:16:14 Bedatu Hirpa (ETH) 2:18:27 Dera Dida (ETH) 2:18:32 Zeineba Yimer (ETH) 2:18:47 Misgane Alemayehu (ETH) 2:19:08 Bekelech Gudeta (ETH) 2:19:39 Evaline Chirchir (KEN) 2:20:33 Alisa Vainio (FIN) 2:20:39 Zhang Deshun (CHN) 2:20:53 Gadise Mulu (ETH) 2:20:59 Eebbisee Addunyaa (ETH) 2:21:13 Aminet Ahmed (ETH) 2:21:24 Rika Kaseda (JPN) 2:21:55
Men Gabriel Geay (TAN) 2:03:00 Getaneh Molla (ETH) 2:03:34 Guye Adola (ETH) 2:03:46 Shura Kitata (ETH) 2:03:59 Dejene Hailu (ETH) 2:04:15 Erick Sang (KEN) 2:04:30 Selemon Barega (ETH) 2:05:00 Taresa Tolosa (ETH) 2:05:17 Tadu Abate (ETH) 2:05:38 Asefa Boki (ETH) 2:05:40 Kenya Sonota (JPN) 2:05:59 Tsubasa Ichiyama (JPN) 2:06:00 Kiyoto Hirabayashi (JPN) 2:06:14 Yuhei Urano (JPN) 2:06:23 Hidekazu Hijikata (JPN) 2:06:26

Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa returns to the scene of her world record in 2023 when she races at the BMW Berlin Marathon, a World Athletics Platinum Label road race, on Sunday

World record-breaker Assefa headlines Berlin Marathon field

Alison dos Santos delighted the crowd with two meeting records, while his fellow Brazilian Caio Bonfim prevailed in the race walk and Chile&rsquo;s Martina Weil erased her mother&rsquo;s 32-year-old Games mark during the first two days of athletics at the South American Games.
After an unforgettable and unbeaten hurdles season that saw him break the 400m hurdles world record, Dos Santos opted for the flat 400m for the competition in Santa Fe, Argentina. He opened his competition on Tuesday (22) by comfortably winning his heat in 44.99, a Games record and the fastest time ever recorded on Argentinean soil.
A day later, he lowered his Games standard to 44.61 to win gold ahead of Venezuela&rsquo;s Javier Gomez (45.48) and Chile&rsquo;s Mart&iacute;n Kouyoumdjian (45.99).
&ldquo;I love being here and competing in Argentina. It&rsquo;s been a dream season, and I am happy to finish it in South America,&rdquo; said Dos Santos, who will return to the track on Friday for the 4x400m final.
In the women&rsquo;s 400m, Weil sped to a 50.45 victory to improve the 32-year-old Games record of 51.31 held by her mother, Colombia&rsquo;s Ximena Restrepo.
&ldquo;These are my favourite Games. I love competing here. We (Chile) did so well today. We are coming,&rdquo; said Weil, who upgraded her silver from four years ago. She was immediately hugged by her parents Restrepo and Chile&rsquo;s four-time Olympian Gert Weil, himself a three-time South American Games winner, including at the second edition in Santa Fe in 1982.
World champion Bonfim opened a successful day for Brazil on the second day of athletics on Wednesday (23). Sitting last in the first 5000m of the men&rsquo;s half marathon race walk on the track, the Olympic silver medallist was still 14 seconds behind the lead pack at the halfway mark. He caught up with the leaders just before the 13km mark and sped up to a South American record on the track of 1:22:31.
He led a string of national records by Ecuador&rsquo;s David Hurtado (1:22:38), Colombia&rsquo;s Cesar Herrera (1:23:56) and Peru&rsquo;s Luis Campos (1:24:45). Jordy Jimenez joined his compatriot Hurtado on the podium with bronze in 1:23:26.
&ldquo;Race walking in South America is world-class. I had a similar time at the 20km mark (1:18:34) when I won the World Championships in Tokyo,&rdquo; said Bonfim.
On the opening day, Colombia&rsquo;s Ronal Longa and Venezuela&rsquo;s Orangy Jimenez clinched the 100m titles.
Longa, who became South American record-holder with 9.85 at the Pan American Championships on home soil, cruised to a comfortable victory in 10.10, while Jimenez completed a golden day by running 11.39 in cool conditions. Earlier in the day, she ran the second leg in the gold medal-winning team in the mixed 4x100m relay.
Both Longa and Jimenez led the 200m qualifiers and will aim for a sprint double on Thursday.
Four other records fell during the first two days of competition. Uruguay&rsquo;s Santiago Catrofe became the first athletics champion in Santa Fe with his 28:16.79 performance in the 10,000m. Chile&rsquo;s Claudio Romero improved his own Games discus throw mark twice, winning with a 65.33m effort. Brazilian record-holder Vitoria Sena Alves set a new standard in the 100m hurdles of 13.05.
In her debut season over 10,000m on the track, 2024 Olympic marathoner Mary Zeneida Granja led a hotly contested final with 32:29.50, erasing the 36-year-old Ecuadorian record for the distance.&nbsp;
Granja led all other six woman across the finish line with personal bests, including Peru&rsquo;s Pan American Games champion Luz Mery Rojas (32:32.00) and Argentina&rsquo;s Nelida Pe&ntilde;aflor (32:34.35).
The home crowd erupted in joy when Micaela Levaggi overtook all rivals on the home stretch in the women&rsquo;s 1500m to win Argentina&rsquo;s first athletics gold in Santa Fe.
&ldquo;You made all the difference tonight. This gold medal belongs to you, too,&rdquo; said Levaggi, who will aim for an unprecedented distance triple at the Games. The South American 1500m record-holder will contest two more finals: the 5000m on Thursday and 3000m steeplechase on Friday.
All individual and relay winners also secured automatic qualification to the 2027 Pan American Games, to be held Lima, Peru.
The athletics competition of the 13th South American Games will end on Friday (25).
Javier Clavelo Robinson for World Athletics
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7246486?day=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a>
&nbsp;

Alison dos Santos delighted the crowd with two meeting records, while Caio Bonfim and Martina Weil also impressed during the first two days of athletics at the South American Games

Dos Santos, Weil and Bonfim shine at start of South American Games

The World Athletics Cross Country Tour returns on Saturday (26), with one of the discipline&rsquo;s most distinctive events providing the starting point for the 2026-2027 season.
Having previously been a Silver level fixture, the TCS Liding&ouml;loppet in Liding&ouml;, Sweden, has been upgraded to Gold for this season as it joins the top tier of a tour that will take athletes to some of the world&rsquo;s most prestigious cross-country races over the coming months.
At the time of publication, 20 meetings feature on the 2026-2027 Cross Country Tour calendar, 13 of them at Gold level. They include some of the sport&rsquo;s most prestigious cross-country races, among them the Cinque Mulini and six leading Spanish meetings, as well as new additions to the Tour such as the Broken Hill Man in Kabwe, Zambia.
First held in 1965, Liding&ouml;loppet lays claim to being the world&rsquo;s largest cross-country event, with tens of thousands of runners taking part across the weekend. Its history includes victories for distance running greats such as Grete Waitz, Ingrid Kristiansen, Douglas Wakiihuri and Benson Masya.
It is also unlike most other stops on the Cross Country Tour. Alongside the 15km races, athletes can tackle the event&rsquo;s famously demanding 30km course &ndash; the longest race on this season&rsquo;s tour.
Recent global finalist Egide Ntakarutimana and fellow Burundian Francine Niyomukunzi are among the leading contenders in the 15km races, while several former winners return for the 30km.
<h2>Ntakarutimana and Niyomukunzi target another winning start</h2>
Ntakarutimana will arrive in Liding&ouml; at the end of a breakthrough track and road season in which he has repeatedly shown his range.
The Burundian has recorded top-10 finishes at two global championships in recent weeks, placing eighth at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship and ninth at the World Athletics Road Running Championships.
Before that he finished second over 5000m at the Wanda Diamond League Final, setting a Burundian record of 12:46.73. He also achieved top-four finishes at the Paris and Zurich Diamond League meetings and has set PBs this year of 7:28.13 for 3000m, 13:12 for 5km and 1:00:34 for the half marathon.
Cross country is also familiar territory. Ntakarutimana began 2026 with victory at the Campaccio and followed it with another win at the Italian Cross Country Championships. Nine months on, he will be looking to make a similarly successful start to his 2026-2027 campaign.
His compatriots Elie Sindayikengdera and Tharcisse Nizigiyimana add further Burundian strength to the field. Sindayikengdera, who has run 13:01.96 for 5000m, finished 20th at the World Road Running Championships last weekend.
Sweden&rsquo;s Axel Djurberg returns after finishing second at Liding&ouml;loppet last year, while two of the host nation&rsquo;s leading young distance runners will also be in action.
Karl Ottfalk won 5000m silver and 3000m bronze at last year&rsquo;s European U20 Championships, while Jonathan Grahn was the European U20 3000m champion in 2023 and added 10,000m silver at the European U23 Championships in 2025.
Niyomukunzi will make her first cross-country appearance since finishing second at the Campaccio in January, having spent much of the intervening period racing on the track and roads.
The Burundian has improved her PBs to 8:33.27 for 3000m and 14:41.46 for 5000m this year, while her 30:42 road 10km best is a national record. She finished 18th in the 5km at the World Road Running Championships last weekend.
Niyomukunzi, who competed over 10,000m at the World Championships in 2025, has already enjoyed success at some of Europe&rsquo;s most established cross-country meetings, winning the Campaccio in 2024 and in Albufeira in 2025.
Among those challenging her will be Denmark&rsquo;s Sara Schou Kristensen, the 2024 Liding&ouml;loppet winner and national half marathon record-holder.
Estonian steeplechase record-holder and national cross-country champion Laura Maasik is also entered, along with Amanda Kleijn, who finished fifth in the 15km last year, and Moa Gustafsson, fifth in last year&rsquo;s 30km.
<h2>Former champions return for 30km</h2>
The 30km races bring together several athletes with proven form on Liding&ouml;&rsquo;s challenging course.
Kenya&rsquo;s William Nyarondia Morwabe will defend the men&rsquo;s title after making a remarkable winning return last year. Returning to racing after a six-year break, he covered the course in 1:37:15 to beat 2024 champion Ebba Tulu Chala by just 11 seconds.
The pair will meet again on Saturday, while David Nilsson steps up in distance after winning the 15km race last year. Olle Kalered, fifth over 30km in 2024, is another returning contender.
The women&rsquo;s race could provide a piece of Liding&ouml;loppet history for Sylvia Medugu Kiberenge. A winner in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022, the Kenyan is aiming to become the first woman to win the 30km race five times. She came close to adding another victory last year, finishing second in 1:51:18.
That performance remains the second-fastest in the history of the race, bettered only by Carolina Johnson&rsquo;s course record of 1:49:19 set in winning last year.
Swedish 10,000m champion Evelina Henriksson, third in 2025, returns to challenge again, while 2:28:59 marathon runner Hanna Lindholm is also entered.
The huge fields across the weekend will include athletes with experience stretching across several generations of Swedish distance running.
Swedish record-holder and 2016 European 800m bronze medallist Lovisa Lindh is among the entrants, as is 1989 world U20 cross-country champion Malin Ewerlof. Ewerlof has won the Liding&ouml;loppet 30km three times, with victories in 1996, 2001 and 2009.

The World Athletics Cross Country Tour returns on Saturday (26), with one of the discipline’s most distinctive events providing the starting point for the 2026-2027 season.

Ntakarutimana and Niyomukunzi the favourites as 2026/2027 Cross Country Tour gets underway in Lidingö

For an athlete who has swept all before him this season &ndash; with seven Diamond League wins from seven races, a 400m hurdles world record and a commanding win at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship &ndash;&nbsp;it seems greedy to ask Alison dos Santos if he can go even quicker.
But ever since he repositioned the limits of his event, clocking a world record of 45.80 in Zurich last month, it's been a valid question. How close is that to the limit in the 400m hurdles?
"We're far from our limit," said Dos Santos. "The time that I run and say, 'This is my limit,' you're not going to see me next season. I'm excited to be able to run 45.8 now, but I'm looking forward to running 45.6, 45.4. I can't give you a number, but I know it can be faster."
It has been a year in which the 26-year-old has surpassed by some distance his previous best season, 2022, when he won the world title in Oregon in 46.29.
His stride pattern hasn't changed in recent years. Dos Santos still runs with 13 strides between the first two hurdles, then switches to 12 until hurdle six before returning to 13 for the remainder. But what has changed? His top-end speed and his physical maturity.
"We were just able to get better, get faster, to be perfect in our stride pattern," he said. "I got faster, I got stronger, I've been getting more mature too. The body needs to evolve.
"In 2021 I was 21 years old, I was just a kid, now you can see the body change. I'm way stronger and I'm able to work on the speed. Before I could not do any speed work. So we're just going to get better and better and better."
That's a scary thought for Dos Santos's rivals, given the level he reached in 2026.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6aa6d5eaf50badc13e4db2a3.jpg" alt="Alison dos Santos celebrates his 400m hurdles win at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship" />
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Alison dos Santos celebrates his 400m hurdles win at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship (&copy; Getty Images)
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Dos Santos lowered his 400m PB to 44.38 in April and then took four Diamond League victories in four weeks, winning in Shaoxing, Xiamen, Stockholm and Oslo, beating Karsten Warholm in three of those.
He returned to Brazil in July, winning national titles over 400m (44.60) and 400m hurdles (46.48) &ndash;&nbsp;his first races on home turf since 2019.
"It was amazing," he said. "The energy, the crowd, the people were so loud, taking pictures and enjoying."
He will return home again later this year as the undisputed world number one.
"Now that I'm going back there as a world record holder, as Ultimate champion, I just want to go and enjoy," he said.
Dos Santos has been coached for the past nine years by Felipe de Siqueira, who he convinced to come and watch him in Zurich last month when Warholm's world record of 45.94 &ndash; which had stood for five years &ndash;&nbsp;fell in spectacular fashion.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a90885f574b284248b4fdbf.jpg" alt="Alison dos Santos in Zurich" />
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Alison dos Santos in Zurich (&copy; Getty Images)
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The pair are now based in Clermont, Florida, but they began working together in Brazil when Dos Santos left Sao Joaquim da Barra to move to Sao Paulo and train at the Pinheiros club.
His first sporting love was judo, which he practised from the age of six to 14. &ldquo;I loved that, I really loved that,&rdquo; said Dos Santos.
But his family didn&rsquo;t have much money and it became harder and harder to justify a sport where each training session cost money and offered little potential for return.
&ldquo;In track and field, we saw an opportunity to make money and go to nationals and win a medal, and we needed that," he said in 2022. "I started because of this but after a couple of months I loved it. I made new friends around the city, the states, the country, and now I do it because I love the sport.&rdquo;
And the sport loves him right back.
Few athletes are as effervescent as Dos Santos before or after races, and few are as warmly received by the fans.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6aa2e468c40afc618c6c1a54.jpeg" alt="Alison dos Santos at The Day Before the Ultimate" />
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Alison dos Santos at The Day Before the Ultimate (&copy; World Athletics <img style="width: 16px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline;" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,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" alt="photographer icon" /> Dan Vernon)
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The 400m hurdles has been impossible to look away from in recent years, and Dos Santos believes we shouldn't take for granted the collective greatness being exhibited.
"When it's the three of us running, it's always amazing," he said. "It was me, Karsten and Rai fighting to the last hurdle and this is something that needs to be appreciated more, in my opinion.
"Running 45 is amazing, but because you're running these crazy times, 46-high, 47-low is nothing for you guys (in the media). Just understand that 47-low is insane, 46-something is a crazy time. So having the three of us running (so fast) is amazing."
By one measure of sustained performance, Dos Santos has now edged ahead of both rivals: his 10 fastest career performances average 46.44, compared with 46.49 for both Benjamin and Warholm.
His 45.80 world record in Zurich took many by surprise, but not his coach, who was moved to tears as he and Dos Santos embraced after the race.
"Only we know everything we&rsquo;ve been through to get here," wrote De Siqueira on Instagram. "Every stone laid to build our fortress. Every sacrifice, every lesson learned. Day and night spent studying, improving, and paying attention to every single detail. It&rsquo;s not magic. It&rsquo;s hard work, dedication, and commitment."
Did Dos Santos think all of this was possible heading into 2026?
"I knew I was able to break the world record," he said. "I knew I was able to run 45 and deliver. But as Masai (Russell) was saying the whole season, when you do a sprint or hurdles, you can't plan the world record. You need to be able to have the perfect time, good track, perfect shape."
After Zurich, it was onwards to Brussels where Dos Santos powered to victory at the Diamond League final in 46.70. Then to Budapest and that all-star clash with Warholm and Benjamin for the Ultimate trophy.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/68962798c903bcdcae5d328e.jpg" alt="Alison dos Santos, Karsten Warholm and Rai Benjamin in the 2022 world final in Oregon" />
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Alison dos Santos, Karsten Warholm and Rai Benjamin in the 2022 world final in Oregon (&copy; Getty Images)
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Dos Santos made a slightly more conservative start than he did in Zurich, passing 200m in 21.95, one hundredth of a second ahead of Benjamin, but at 300m, reached in 33.46, he was a hundredth of a second behind the Olympic champion.
But he still had plenty left. The Brazilian pulled clear up the home straight to win in 45.98 &ndash;&nbsp;the third-fastest performance in history.
"The season has been great, and there is no better way to finish," he said. "It was hard. It's really tough. It's 45, it's not something you're going to run every single day. I'm just really happy to be able to deliver again, run fast and enjoy the energy of the crowd."
"This is like the cherry on top of the cake.
"I've been running fast the whole season, so let's do it one more time (and) finish pretty."
What will he do with the $150,000 top prize?
"I'm getting older, I'm no longer thinking about getting that new car," he smiled. "I'm just going to take the money, put it in my house, do some renovation, invest."
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Budapest turned out not to be quite the end of his racing year. Dos Santos stepped down to the flat 400m at the South American Games in Santa Fe, where he won gold in a Games record of 44.61.
Speaking after his Ultimate victory, Dos Santos wasn't keen to look ahead to 2027, preferring to stay in the moment and enjoy all he has achieved in 2026.
"The main thing is my vacation now," he said. "You need to be in the present. If I finish my last race and think about next year, (then) when am I going to enjoy this and digest everything I've done?
"It was a perfect season. I'm in a sweet spot now that I love this sport, I have great energy. Everybody on my team is doing an amazing job.
"The job is done on the track, now it's to go out there and celebrate. Once I leave here, I'm no longer an athlete. I'll be having fun, eating some junk food and just being happy."
After a masterpiece of a season, few deserve that more.
Cathal Dennehy for World Athletics

For an athlete who has swept all before him this season, it seems greedy to ask Alison dos Santos if he can go even quicker.

Dos Santos: 'We're far from our limit'

Eddy Ottoz, Grażyna Rabsztyn, Christine Arron, Dawn Harper-Nelson, Camryn Rogers and Masai Russell added significant pieces of their sporting history to the Museum of World Athletics
 Six athletes from different generations of the sport donated personal career items to the Museum of World Athletics (MOWA) during a special Heritage Lunch in Budapest, held as part of the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship.
The ceremony brought together athletes whose careers span more than six decades, with the city of Budapest itself providing a link between many of the stories being celebrated, from Eddy Ottoz&rsquo;s European 110m hurdles title in the Hungarian capital in 1966 to Masai Russell&rsquo;s victory in the inaugural Ultimate Championship 100m hurdles final the previous evening.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe accepted the donations on behalf of MOWA, highlighting the importance of preserving not just the items, but the stories behind the objects that athletes choose to pass on.
&ldquo;The history of sport is not only about the past. It is the route to the future,&rdquo; said Coe. &ldquo;Heritage sits at the heart of everything we do, because it allows us to preserve the stories of those who have shaped our sport and share them with the generations who will come next.&rdquo;
Among the items donated was a pair of starting blocks used by Italian hurdler Ottoz, who won the European 110m hurdles title in Budapest in 1966. Unlike modern starting blocks, the separate foot pads allowed athletes much more precise positioning and were made in Italy for Ottoz at a time when athletes were permitted to bring their own equipment on to the competition track.&nbsp;
The blocks offer a tangible reminder of just how much the technology of athletics has changed during a single athlete&rsquo;s career. Ottoz also won the 1965 World University Games title and went on to win Olympic bronze in Mexico City in 1968.
Polish hurdling legend Grażyna Rabsztyn donated competition outfits from two defining moments of her career: her victory at the first World Cup in 1977 and the final world record of her career in 1980. Rabsztyn was a two-time World (Continental) Cup winner and set a 100m hurdles world record of 12.36 in 1980.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6ab287af32123eddbb6f90e4.jpg" alt="Grażyna Rabsztyn shows her competition kit to World Athletics President Sebastian Coe" />
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Grażyna Rabsztyn shows her competition kit to World Athletics President Sebastian Coe (&copy; Getty Images)
French sprint great Christine Arron donated the spikes she wore when winning the 100m at the 1998 European Championships in Budapest. More than 28 years later, the 10.73 she ran there remains the European record.
Dawn Harper-Nelson, the Olympic 100m hurdles champion from Beijing in 2008, donated the singlet she wore when winning silver in London four years later. The long-awaited donation followed her inability to attend the MOWA ceremony in New York in 2025 due to a hurricane disrupting travel. Serving as an infield host throughout the Ultimate Championship, Harper-Nelson took time out from her event duties to finally make the donation in Budapest.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6ab2878432123eddbb6f90e1.jpg" alt="Dawn Harper-Nelson donates her USA vest to the MOWA" />
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Dawn Harper-Nelson donates her USA vest to the MOWA (&copy; Getty Images)
Two athletes from the modern era also added recent championship memorabilia to the collection. Camryn Rogers, who won her first world title in Budapest in 2023 before successfully defending it in Tokyo in 2025, donated the throwing glove she wore at the latest World Championships. Her 2025 victory came with a championship record of 80.51m.
Speaking at the ceremony, Rogers reflected on the significance of passing part of her career into the history of the sport.
&ldquo;Giving such a big part of ourselves and our career and our lives over to something that will be honoured and treasured and immortalised as being part of the history of sport is just an honour,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;And for me to be standing up here and representing throws, and my sport, as a hammer thrower truly is a joy.&rdquo;
She also acknowledged the wider community behind elite performance, adding: &ldquo;It takes an entire village of people that allows us to do the thing that we love to do so much, that is the passion of so many of our lives.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6ab28852bf0f71f56f9560c6.jpg" alt="Camryn Rogers presents her throwing glove to the MOWA" />
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Camryn Rogers presents her throwing glove to the MOWA (&copy; Getty Images)
In a surprise appearance, Russell completed the ceremony the day after winning the inaugural Ultimate Championship 100m hurdles title in Budapest. Her victory came in 12.22, following her world record of 12.09 in Zurich on 27 August. Russell donated the shoes she wore during her remarkable 2026 season, adding a piece of a current champion&rsquo;s career to the MOWA collection.
The new donations add to a growing collection of competition clothing, footwear, equipment, medals and personal memorabilia that preserves the stories of the athletes who have shaped the sport.
World Athletics Heritage 
<div><a href="https://tinyurl.com/visitMOWA" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6885f79e982e117f1338cb26.jpg" alt="MOWA banner" /></a></div>
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Eddy Ottoz, Grażyna Rabsztyn, Christine Arron, Dawn Harper-Nelson, Camryn Rogers and Masai Russell added significant pieces of their sporting history to the Museum of World Athletics

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