Eugene, San Diego Awarded World Athletics Championship Events

World Athletics has awarded the 2025 Road Running World Championships to San Diego and the 2026 U20 World Championships to Eugene, Oregon, the international federation’s council announced on Monday.

“We are grateful that so many great cities around the world are interested in hosting our events and we’re delighted with the quality of the candidates we have had to choose from to host these World Athletics Series events over the next three years,” World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said. “The standard of bids is so high that we would like to encourage those who were not successful today to continue talking to us about staging future events.”

San Diego will host the second annual Road Running championships, which includes distances of one mile, 5km and half marathon. The inaugural event will be held October 1, 2023, in Riga, Latvia.

“I’m proud San Diego is the first US city to have the opportunity to host the World Athletics Road Running Championships – another success that showcases our city as a premier global destination for sports tourism,” said San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria. “My thanks goes out to the team at Sports San Diego and our local running community for all they did to bring this major event to our city, and I’m excited to welcome runners from around the world for a memorable weekend.”

The announcement of future events continues World Athletics’ continued emphasis on having events in the United States ahead of the 2028 Olympic Summer Games in Los Angeles. Eugene hosted the 2022 World Athletics Championships and will host this year’s Diamond League final event of the season in September. Tallahassee, Florida, will host the 2026 World Athletics Cross Country Championships.

“We extend our congratulations to San Diego for being awarded the 2025 World Road Running Championships,” USA Track and Field Chief Execuive Officer Max Siegel said. “This event will showcase the beauty of the city and the spirit of the athletes who will grace its roads. We look forward to witnessing a championship that captures the essence of excellence and the unity of the global running community.”

Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, will host the U20 Championships for the second time in 2026, having first played host in 2014.

“TrackTown USA is ecstatic to once again partner with USATF and the University of Oregon in welcoming the global track and field family to our Eugene and Springfield communities,” Tracktown USA Chief Executive Officer Michael Reilly said. “Hayward Field will serve as the perfect theatre for showcasing the sport’s emerging talent. This event will continue building the legacy from WCH Oregon22, and further our ongoing commitment to serving the world’s best athletes.”

World Athletics also awarded the 2026 Road Running Championships to Copenhagen and reinstated Lima, Peru, as the U20 World Championship host in 2024. The Peruvian Athletics Federation informed World Athletics in April this year that political instability and social unrest at that time, as well as natural disasters in Peru, had left the federation and the local organising committee unable to stage the event next year. However, the situation has stabilised in Lima.

Copenhagen returns as a host city after staging the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in 2014.

“With a strong city brand, a leading position in the green transition, and extensive expertise in utilising urban spaces for hosting events, Copenhagen stands as one of the foremost event cities worldwide. And now we are very excited to welcome athletes and their friends and families to the World Road Running Championships in Copenhagen in 2026,” said Mikkel Aaro-Hansen, chief executive officer at Wonderful Copenhagen.