Asian Championships medallist Sachin Yadav is all set to kick off his 2026 competitive season at the Indian Athletics Series – 3, scheduled to take place in New Delhi on April 11.
Confirming the schedule, Sachin’s coach Naval Singh shared that the upcoming event will mark the athlete’s first appearance of the season. Following the Delhi meet, the javelin thrower will compete at the National Federation Cup Athletics Championships, which will be held in Ranchi.
Sachin Yadav last competed at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, where he delivered an impressive performance. The Indian thrower finished fourth and registered a personal best throw of 86.27m, marking one of the standout moments of his career so far.
With a strong finish to his last international outing and momentum on his side, Sachin will be aiming to begin the 2026 season on a high note as he prepares for another important year in global athletics.
Gulveer Singh delivered a historic performance at the NYRR United Airlines NYC Half, finishing third with a time of 59:42 to set a new Indian half marathon national record.
With this run, Gulveer became the first Indian ever to break the 60-minute barrier in the half marathon — a landmark achievement in Indian distance running.
The performance further cements his dominance across long-distance events, as he now holds India’s national records in the 3000m, 5000m, 10000m, and the half marathon.
A breakthrough moment that signals a new era for Indian endurance running on the global stage.
Abdulla Aboobacker started his season by winning gold at the Indian Open Jumps, registering a jump of 16.83m.
Meanwhile, India’s national record holder Praveen Chithravel settled for silver with 16.78m.
Gailey Venister claimed bronze, registering a lifetime best jump of 16.48m in Men’s Triple Jump.
Lokesh Sathyanathan, representing Tarleton State University, won gold in the men’s long jump, registering a massive lifetime best of 8.21m.
This mark is the best-ever jump by an Indian indoors and ranks third on India’s all-time list outdoors.
The 26-year-old had a previous PB of 8.02m in 2023.Last season, he also jumped 8.14m, but it was wind-assisted.
As per the latest TOPS inclusion list, a total of 72 athletes have been included across the Core, Development, and TAGS categories, with two athletes from Indian athletics making the list.
Gulveer Singh, who was earlier in the Development Group, has now been upgraded to the Core Group.
Meanwhile, 2023 Asian Games gold medallist Annu Rani has been included in the TAGS (Target Asian Games Group).
Two Indian athletes will be in action tonight at the NCAA Championships as Pavana Nagraj and Lokesh prepare to compete in the long jump events.
Out of the four Indian athletes who qualified for the prestigious NCAA Championships, Pavana Nagraj will participate in the women’s long jump, while Lokesh will compete in the men’s long jump.
Pavana Nagraj is scheduled to begin her event at 3:15 AM IST, followed by Lokesh in the men’s long jump at 5:30 AM IST.
Both athletes will be looking to deliver strong performances on one of the biggest collegiate athletics stages in the United States.
Armand “Mondo” Duplantis has once again proven why he is considered the undisputed king of pole vault. The Swedish-American athlete set a new world record by clearing 6.31 meters, further cementing his dominance in the sport.
This latest achievement adds to an extraordinary run of performances by Duplantis. In June last year, he cleared 6.28 meters in Stockholm, setting a world record on home soil in Sweden. It marked the second time he broke the world record in his home country, a moment that thrilled the local crowd and athletics fans around the world.
The Stockholm jump was also one of four world-record-breaking performances by Duplantis during the 2025 season, highlighting a year of unmatched consistency and excellence.
With each record-breaking vault, Duplantis continues to raise the bar—literally and figuratively—in pole vaulting. As he pushes the limits of the sport, the question now is not whether he will break the record again, but how high he can ultimately go.
Eliud Kipchoge is set to return to Brazil on July 12, 2026, when he competes at the NB42K Porto Alegre marathon as part of his ambitious World Tour project.
The legendary marathoner plans to run seven marathons across all seven continents over the next two years, bringing his message of endurance and inspiration to runners around the world.
The race in Porto Alegre will mark Kipchoge’s South American stop on the tour. His return to Brazil also carries historical significance, coming ten years after he won his first Olympic marathon gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics.
Speaking about the upcoming race, Kipchoge emphasized the universal power of running.
“Running is a universal language that speaks to hope, discipline, and unity. I am very excited to come to Brazil and experience the passion of the people of Porto Alegre. Every continent has its own spirit, and I look forward to sharing this journey with South America while inspiring people to believe that no human is limited,” he said.
Before the Brazil race, Kipchoge will open the tour in Cape Town on May 24, marking the first stop of his multi-continent marathon journey.
Nandini Agasara is targeting a return to competition at the upcoming Inter-State Athletics Championships as she prepares to open her season after recovering from injury.
“I will probably start my season at the Inter-State Athletics Championships. I had an injury earlier, but it has now healed and my training is going well,” Nandini said.
The Indian heptathlete, who recently joined JSW Sports, last competed at the Asian Athletics Championships where she won the gold medal in the heptathlon.
Her 2025 season included three major victories:
National Games – 5601 points
Federation Cup – 5813 points
Asian Championships – 5941 points (Personal Best)
With her injury now behind her, Nandini will look to build on that momentum when she returns to competition later this season.
Michael Johnson’s ambitious attempt to reinvent track and field is now facing a messy and deeply uncomfortable aftermath.
The former Olympic champion, who launched the Grand Slam Track (GST) league with big promises of transforming athletics, has been accused in a US bankruptcy filing of paying himself $500,000 just days before the project collapsed, leaving athletes and vendors owed millions.
According to court documents filed in the US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, vendors and creditors claim Johnson initiated the payment on 4 June, only eight days before the league effectively fell apart. The filing alleges that Johnson withdrew the money even though he knew the project was already in serious financial trouble and struggling to cover its debts.
Lawyers representing unsecured creditors say the move effectively prioritised Johnson over athletes and other creditors, many of whom are still waiting to be paid.
The documents also reveal that Johnson himself was owed around $2.2 million by the project. But creditors argue that taking out half a million dollars at such a critical moment raises serious questions about how the league was managed.
The collapse marks a dramatic end to what was once pitched as a bold new era for athletics.
When Grand Slam Track was launched, Johnson promised it would “bring fantasy to life” by creating a league where the sport’s biggest stars would regularly compete against each other for huge prize money. The idea was to give track and field something closer to Formula One or tennis, a season-long, star-driven spectacle.
But warning signs appeared early.
The very first event in Jamaica last April drew thin crowds, raising concerns about the league’s financial viability. And after just three events, the project unravelled shortly after the Philadelphia meet on 1 June.
By December, Grand Slam Track filed for bankruptcy, revealing liabilities estimated between $10 million and $50 million, owed to more than 200 creditors.
Now, what was meant to be a revolutionary moment for track and field has turned into a legal battle and another failed attempt to reshape the sport’s struggling commercial model.
