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What You Need To Know About The 2026 World Cross Country Championships
- Cory Mull
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Written by Cory Mull
Back on American soil for the first time since 1992, the 2026 World Cross Country Championships are expected to bring all the heat to Tallahassee, Florida on January 10th at Apalachee Regional Park.
Hundreds of distance runners and approximately 10,000 spectators from across the globe will descend on the 2,000-meter course that will bring a dizzying amount of obstacles. Those obstacles include a 10-foot tall “roller coaster-style” ramp, a 90-foot long sand pit, a 20-foot long water pit, a 100-foot long mud section, and the piéce de résistance -- a selection of two-foot tall wood barriers featuring fake alligators on top of them.
A total of 485 athletes from 52 federations are entered for the World Championships, with 246 athletes split between the men's and women's senior races and 163 athletes set for the junior ranks. A total of 15 teams have been added to the mixed relayed. The full entry lists can be found here.
Historically, East African countries have dominated cross country on the world stage. The Kenyan men have won 14 out of the last 20 world cross country competitions, while the Ethiopian women have claimed 11 out of the last 20 races (the Kenyan women won the other nine).
No other country besides Kenya, Uganda or Ethiopia has won a men’s or women’s race at the World Cross Country Championships since 1994 (the Portugal women were the last to do it).
East African success, in fact, goes all the way back to 1981 on the men’s side, with England being the last federation to claim a victory in 1980.
The U.S. women last won a world cross country competition in 1987 and have secured six titles overall. The men have never won.
The last American woman to win a world cross country title was Lynn Jennings in 1992 (part of a three-peat from 1990-1992). It was also a moment which came during the event’s last visit to the U.S. in Boston. Craig Virgin, an Illinois legend, was the last American man to accomplish the feat in 1981.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of Saturday’s competition...
What Are The World Cross Country Championships?
The World Cross Country Championships are traditionally a biennial competition featuring athletic federations from across the globe. Each federation has a qualifying championship, or selects a team of distance runners to represent their country during the world championships.
Overall scoring consists of the finishes of the top four runners of a team and the lowest combined score. The last world race took place in 2024 in Belgrade, Serbia.
The Americans were seventh overall in the men’s race and fourth in the women’s race, led by a top 15 finish from Weini Kelati.
Who Are The Top Americans To Watch At The World Cross Country Championships?
The American contingents were determined at the USATF Cross Country Championships on December 6th in Portland, Oregon. The six men who qualified for worlds include: Parker Wolfe (Swoosh TC), Rocky Hansen (Wake Forest University), Wesley Kiptoo (HOKA NAZ Elite), Ahmed Muhumed (HOKA NAZ Elite), Nico Young (adidas) and Graham Blanks (New Balance).
Muhumed, 27, is the sole returner on the men’s side for the Americans, having finished 35th in the 2024 event.
The six women on the American team consist of Kelati (UA Dark Sky), Katie Izzo (adidas), Ednah Kurgat (U.S. Army), Karissa Schweizer (Swoosh TC), Emily Venters (Swoosh TC) and Grace Hartman (North Carolina State University).
Kelati, the 29-year-old Olympian, was 14th in her last visit to world cross country in Serbia.
Two men’s and two women’s athletes also qualified for the 8k mixed relay: Ethan Strand (Swoosh TC), Wes Porter (UA Mission Run), Gracie Morris (PUMA) and Sage Hurta-Klecker (On Athletics).
Six U20 athletes on each side also qualified for a men’s 10k race and a women’s 8k category.
The men include Aidan Torres (University of Texas), Tyler Daillak (Cal Poly), Daniel Skandera (Unattached), Salvador Wirth (University of Minnesota), Dylan Maloney (University of New Mexico) and Juan Gonzalez (University of Oregon).
The women include Daniela Scheffler (North Carolina State), Caroline Barton (Princeton), Abigail Sewell (University of Cincinnati), Norah Hushagen (University of Minnesota), Avery Marasco-Johnson (University of Minnesota) and Blair Bartlett (Lawrenceville School), who qualified by virtue of her runner-up finish at Nike Cross Nationals and the Brooks XC Championships.
What Is The Latest News To Impact The World Championships?
On Tuesday, LetsRun's Jonathan Gault reported on Visa issues Ethiopia encountered with its under-20 teams, with the delegation unable to field proper men's or women's teams for the 2026 installment.
That will mean the country will be unable to podium for the first time since the junior race was instituted in 1982 -- a run of 36 straight competitions.
What Is The World Cross Country Championship Schedule?
The schedule consists of five races:
9:45 a.m. EST -- Mixed Relay
10:20 a.m. EST -- Women’s U20 Race
10:55 a.m. EST -- Men’s U20 Race
11:35 a.m. EST -- Women’s Senior Race
12:20 a.m. EST -- Men’s Senior Race
What Else Should I Know About The World Cross Country Championships?
Apalachee Regional Park is located at 7550 Apalachee Parkway, Tallahassee, Florida 32311. Spectators will have to purchase $10 tickets to watch the championships (though children 12 and under are free with identification).
Parking is on-site.
Besides professional and U20 races, the World Cross Country Championships will also feature several fun-runs that are meant for fans and are limited to the 2k and 4k distances.
To learn more, visit here.
