2026 will see a record number of meetings featuring in the World Athletics Continental Tour.
More than 280 meetings are so far included in this year’s calendar, which is divided into four levels – Gold, Silver, Bronze and Challenger. The status of each meeting is determined by the quality of competition and prize money on offer.
For the first time ever several countries will be privileged to host the Continental Tour meetings for the first time this year, including Egypt, Ethiopia, Korea, Lesotho, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
The Continental Tour will feature 11 Gold meetings across five continental areas in 2026.
Gold level action will again kick off in Australia with the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne on 27-28 March before the tour heads to Kenya for the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi on 24 April.
After this, the athletes will be welcomed to the SEIKO Golden Grand Prix in Tokyo, Japan, on 17 May and the Irena Szewińska Memorial in Bydgoszcz, Poland, on 29 May.
The month of June wil be offering a mouth watering six Gold meetings including the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland; the USATF Lone Star Grand Prix in Texas, USA; the USATF LA Grand Prix in Los Angeles, USA; the Ostrava Golden Spike in Czechia; the FBK Games in Hengelo, Netherlands; and the Boris Hanžeković Memorial in Zagreb, Croatia.
For many athletes this will be a platform to prepare for this year’s major events. The inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship takes place in Budapest on 11-13 September and before that the Hungarian capital will host the final Continental Tour Gold meeting of the season – the Gyulai István Memorial – on 14 July.
More than 20,300 athletes from almost 200 countries competed in the Continental Tour in 2025, setting three world records, 10 area records, 222 national records and 10,184 personal bests.
Gold level meetings in the 2026 World Athletics Continental Tour;
27-28 March: Maurie Plant Meet – Melbourne (AUS)
24 April: Kip Keino Classic – Nairobi (KEN)
17 May: SEIKO Golden Grand Prix – Tokyo (JPN)
29 May: Irena Szewińska Memorial – Bydgoszcz (POL)
3 June: Paavo Nurmi Games – Turku (FIN)
6 June: USATF Lone Star Grand Prix – College Station, TX (USA)
13-14 June: USATF LA Grand Prix – Los Angeles (USA)
16 June: Ostrava Golden Spike – Ostrava (CZE)
21 June: FBK Games – Hengelo (NED)
26 June: Boris Hanžeković Memorial – Zagreb (CRO)
14 July: Gyulai István Memorial – Budapest (HUN