The women’s field at the 2026 London Marathon has taken a significant hit, with world champion Peres Jepchirchir withdrawing ahead of the April 26 race.

Jepchirchir cited a stress fracture sustained after her second-place finish at the Valencia Marathon in December, an injury that delayed her training until late January. It marks the second consecutive year she will miss London, having also sat out in 2025 with an ankle issue.

Her withdrawal follows that of Olympic champion Sifan Hassan, who pulled out earlier this month due to an Achilles injury — leaving the race without its two biggest names.

Even so, the field retains depth. Defending champion Tigst Assefa lines up alongside multiple major winner Hellen Obiri, ensuring the race remains highly competitive despite the late reshuffle.

Sunday was one of those rare days when Indian sport seemed to move in fast-forward. Ayush Shetty clinched a historic silver at the Asian Championships, becoming only the second Indian after Dinesh Khanna to reach such heights. At the same time, Sawan Barwal rewrote history by breaking a 48-year-old national record in the marathon.

Yet, in the middle of all this noise, one performance quietly slipped under the radar and perhaps, it shouldn’t have.

Priyanka Goswami finished 10th at the World Race Walking Team Championships 2026 in Brasília. On paper, it may not scream headlines. But in context, it might just be the most significant performance by an Indian athlete that day.

Priyanka clocked 3:43:01 in the women’s marathon race walk, in a field stacked with Olympic medallists and world-class athletes. Ecuador’s Paula Torres won gold with a stunning 3:24:37, the second-fastest time ever.

But Priyanka’s race was never about the podium. It was about endurance, adaptation, and mindset.

Speaking exclusively to NNIS Sports, she said, “The timing was good because the altitude here is 1200m. Sometimes, we need to step out of our comfort zone.”

That “comfort zone” included a 38-hour journey from India to Brazil, minimal acclimatisation, and the challenge of a new race format. Yet, she delivered.

Priyanka has a decorated resume silvers at the Commonwealth Games, Asian Championships, and bronze at the World University Games. But even she believes this performance stands above them.

“You were competing among the best walkers in the world and finished 10th. This is the biggest achievement of your life,” her coach Ronald Weigel told her, a sentiment she agrees with.

And rightly so. Unlike continental events, this was a truly global field. Every athlete on that start line was elite. Finishing in the top 10 here is not just a result, it’s validation.

The event itself marked a shift. The traditional 20km and 35km races were replaced by half marathon and marathon distances.

“It makes a big difference,” Priyanka explained. “For women, 42 km can feel almost like 50 km… the challenge between 30–35 km is much tougher. The mind has to be very strong.”

That mental strength was evident, not just during the race, but in how she handled recent setbacks.

After being beaten at the National Championships, social media noise crept in “Everyone was commenting… that affected me a bit,” she admitted.

But her coach’s response was simple and sharp “No one looks at Nationals. Win a medal at the Asian Games, that’s what matters.”

India finished fifth in the team standings a strong collective effort. Not a single athlete was disqualified. Historically, India has only two medals at this championship. This performance signals progress, even if it doesn’t come with a medal yet.

And Priyanka stands at the centre of that evolution. Her focus is clear, the Asian Games.

“My main aim is to win a medal at the Asian Games,” she said. “I have already achieved the Commonwealth Games qualification, now I need to focus on strong performances.”

There is no noise in that statement. Just clarity. In a day dominated by medals and records, Priyanka Goswami delivered something quieter, but arguably deeper, a performance of resilience, maturity, and global competitiveness.

The new Registered Testing Pool (RTP) list of NADA has been updated for the second quarter of 2026. A total of 348 athletes have been included, of which 120 are from athletics — the highest among all sports.

In Quarter 1, there were 118 athletes from athletics, so only two more have been added this time. However, the updated list does include some fresh names:

High jumper Aadarsh Ram, heptathlete Anamika K A, 18-year-old 2025 National Games hammer throw gold medallist Anushka Yadav, newly crowned women’s pole vault national record holder Baranica Elangovan, Gobika K (who has been out since the Open Nationals due to injury), Krishna Jayashankar (who recently competed at the NCAA final), racewalker Munita Prajapati, 400m hurdler Ruchit Mori, and Yashas Palaksha.

Among the big names included are Animesh Kujur, Avinash Sable, Murali Sreeshankar, Ancy Sojan, Jyothi Yarraji, and Tajinder Pal Singh Toor.

What does being in the RTP actually mean

Here is the complete list.

 

At 19, Cameron Myers is making sub-3:30 look routine.

At the Australian Athletics Championships, he clocked 3:29.85 to win the men’s 1500m, taking down a high-quality field with control and composure. It was another statement run—his second dip under the 3:30 barrier and just 0.05 seconds shy of his personal best of 3:29.80, set in Ostrava last year.

The time also edges him closer to the national benchmark. Olli Hoare’s Australian record of 3:29.41, set in 2023, is now firmly within sight.

There was no drama, just pace and execution. Myers positioned himself well, stayed patient, and closed when it mattered.

At 19, he isn’t chasing times anymore—he’s matching them. And with each run, the gap between promise and arrival continues to shrink.

At 18, Gout Gout isn’t waiting his turn. He’s taking it.

At the 2026 Australian Athletics Championships, he stormed to 19.67 (1.7) in the 200m final—winning the title and rewriting history. He didn’t just lower his personal best from 20.02; he broke the World U20 record, surpassing Erriyon Knighton’s 19.69, and set a new Australian national record.

Sub-20 is a line. Gout crossed it—and kept going.

There’s context too. At the same age, Usain Bolt had run 19.93. Benchmarks don’t define careers, but they signal something. This did.

“I guess you could say a big weight off my shoulder knowing that I ran it legally and I have the speed in my body to run times like that,” he said.

Even he didn’t quite see this coming.
On the biggest stage at home, Gout Gout surprised himself—and everyone else.

For 48 years, one number refused to move.
2:12:00 — set by Shivnath Singh in 1978.

It survived generations. Attempts came and went. Nothing changed.
Until Rotterdam.

Sawan Barwal, running his first-ever marathon, crossed the line in 2:11:58—breaking the record by 0.42 seconds. The smallest margin. The biggest shift.

But this wasn’t a perfect race. It was anything but.

For most of the run, Barwal was on pace for something faster. Then came the final two kilometres—cold wind, heavy legs, and a moment that nearly ended it.

“I poured water on my head, which caused a slight blackout… we can call those last 2 kilometers bad luck,” he told NNIS Sports.

He didn’t just slow. He faltered. He had to hold himself together to finish.

And still—he broke the record.

“I came here fully determined to break the national record. I was targeting around 2:08 to 2:10,” he told NNIS Sports.

This wasn’t supposed to happen on a debut. Not after just five months of moving up from the track.

But Barwal didn’t run a perfect race.
He ran a historic one.

History has been rewritten in Indian athletics as Sawan Barwal delivered a landmark performance on the global stage.

Competing at the NN Marathon Rotterdam, Barwal clocked an outstanding 2:11:58 in the marathon, finishing 20th overall and etching his name into the record books.

With this run, he broke one of the most iconic records in Indian athletics history — the long-standing mark of Shivnath Singh, who had clocked 2:12:00 way back in 1978 in Jalandhar.

The significance of this achievement goes far beyond the timing. Shivnath Singh’s record had stood unchallenged for an astonishing 47 years, 10 months, and 15 days, making it the oldest national record in Indian athletics.

Barwal’s performance not only ends a historic drought but also signals a new era for Indian distance running, proving that Indian marathoners are ready to compete at a higher global level.

This is more than just a record — it’s a defining moment for the sport in India.

A long-awaited return highlighted the Indian Series-3 as Jyothika Sri Dandi made her comeback to competitive action.

After being sidelined for nearly two years due to injury and missing the entire previous season, Jyothika finally returned to the track in the women’s 400m. She clocked 55.80 seconds, finishing second in her heat — a solid effort considering it was her season opener after a prolonged break.

Her return carries added significance given her strong form prior to the injury setback. Jyothika’s last major appearance came at the Paris Olympics, where she represented India as part of the 4x400m relay team.

In that same year, she enjoyed a breakthrough phase, registering multiple personal bests, including an impressive 51.53 seconds, which places her as India’s all-time 8th fastest in the women’s 400m.

With this comeback race now behind her, the focus will be on regaining peak form as she looks to re-establish herself among India’s top quarter-milers.

A breakthrough performance lit up the Indian Series-3 meet as Pariksha from Haryana etched her name into the spotlight.

In one of the most exciting moments of the competition, Pariksha breached the prestigious 6-metre mark for the very first time in her career. She delivered a stunning leap of 6.10 metres, marking a new lifetime best and securing a remarkable second-place finish.

What made this achievement even more impressive was the level of competition. Pariksha outperformed Mubassina Mohammed — India’s U23 champion and a South Asian Athletics Federation medallist — who had to settle for third place on the day.

Behind this rising star is a strong coaching setup. Pariksha trains under Sazid Husain, a retired Navy officer known for mentoring elite talent. He is also the father and coach of Mohd. Atta Sazid, one of India’s most promising young jumpers.

And it turned out to be a memorable day for the entire training group.

On the same day, Mohd. Atta Sazid delivered a standout performance of his own, registering a personal best of 7.86 metres to clinch the top position. Impressively, the jump came under a -1.9 m/s headwind, highlighting the exceptional quality and strength behind the effort.

With both athletes hitting personal milestones, this competition not only showcased emerging talent but also signaled a bright future for Indian long jump on the international stage.

Niharika Vashisht didn’t ease into her season—she made a statement.

At the Indian Athletics Series–3 in New Delhi, she won the women’s triple jump with a best effort of 13.41m, breaching the Asian Games qualification mark in her very first competition of the year. In a field where she was the only athlete to go beyond 13 metres, the gap was clear.

What stood out even more was how she did it. Vashisht competed with just a 10-stride approach, a controlled setup that still produced distance and consistency across the series.

Her progression through the rounds reflected that control: 12.84m to open, a foul, then 13.29m and 13.25m to settle into rhythm before peaking at 13.41m. Another foul closed out the series, but by then, the job was done.

Early-season meets are often about finding timing. Vashisht, instead, found a mark that matters.