The international athletics calendar is preparing for one of its most intense seasons. The World Athletics Continental Tour will reach its largest expansion since its creation in 2026, with more than 280 meetings held throughout the year across multiple regions of the world. The series is consolidating itself as one of the most important platforms in global athletics, a circuit that combines tradition, high performance, and opportunities for new talent.

The calendar will be organized into four competitive levels — Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Challenger —, categories that reflect the competitive quality of each meeting and the prize money at stake. This growth is also reflected in the geographical expansion of the circuit, with several countries hosting Tour meetings for the first time, including Egypt, Ethiopia, South Korea, Lesotho, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. This movement reflects the global expansion of athletics and the growing interest in bringing the sport to new stages.

A global circuit connecting five continents

The highest level of the circuit, the Gold category, will feature eleven meetings spread across five continental areas. The season will begin in Melbourne with the traditional Maurie Plant Meet, which will open the action on March 27 and 28 in Australia. From there, the Tour will move to Nairobi for the Kip Keino Classic, one of the most iconic events in African athletics, scheduled for April 24 in Kenya.

The journey will continue in Tokyo with the SEIKO Golden Grand Prix on May 17 and then in Bydgoszcz with the Irena Szewińska Memorial on May 29. During June, the circuit will experience its most intense period with meetings in cities such as Turku, College Station, Los Angeles, Ostrava, Hengelo, and Zagreb, before closing the Gold series on July 14 in Budapest with the Gyulai István Memorial.

A key platform for performance and international preparation

For many athletes, the Continental Tour represents more than just a series of competitions: it is a strategic preparation space for the major championships on the global calendar. In 2026, much of the attention will be focused on the debut of the Ultimate World Athletics Championships, which will also take place in Budapest from September 11 to 13, making the circuit a key competitive prelude.

The growth of the Tour is also reflected in the scale of its international participation. During the 2025 season, more than 20,300 athletes from nearly 200 countries competed, in a campaign that produced three world records, ten area records, 222 national records, and more than 10,000 personal bests. These figures show how the circuit has become a global showcase for athletics, where each meeting can become the stage for a new historic mark or the starting point for the next generation of international stars.