WXC Tallahassee 26 kicks off action-packed year of global athletics

The opening press conference for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Tallahassee 26 brought together past and present champions and provided World Athletics President Sebastian Coe the perfect platform to reinforce the importance of the event and the discipline, particularly in such a busy year for the sport.

The competition on Saturday (10) kicks off an action-packed international athletics calendar. The World Cross Country Championships is the first of six World Athletics Series events taking place in 2026 – a year that will also feature the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest in September and the new World Treadmill Championship.

Saturday’s event in Tallahassee, Florida, sees the United States host the World Cross Country Championships for the third time, following editions in New York in 1984 and Boston in 1992. It will feature more than 450 athletes as they compete for individual and team titles across a programme of five races.

“The local organising committee has really set some extraordinary standards here,” said Coe during the press conference at the Apalachee Regional Park on Friday (9). “Thank you to our local dignitaries and thank you to Tallahassee for being such gracious hosts.

“Cross country is one of the core pillars of our sport. I joined the World Athletics Council in 2003 and from that moment, I've been pushing the cause of cross country. It's an inseparable part of the journey that distance and endurance athletes make.

“We have royalty in the house this morning,” added Coe, who was joined at the press conference by Kenya’s five-time world cross-country champion Paul Tergat. “Five straight world cross-country titles, and any number of medals on the track, which goes to show that, yes, you can do cross country and run track at the same time.”

Reflecting on his cross-country career, Tergat said: “Cross country is such a unique event. It is where some of us built our careers, through cross country. Winning five times in a row was a major milestone in my career.”

With world champion Jimmy Gressier of France also speaking at the press conference, Tergat was asked about Gressier’s performance in Tokyo – one that saw him win the 10,000m by just six hundredths of a second – and if it reminded him of his own fierce battles.

“It gave me memories of what it used to be in 2000, at the Olympic Games, between me and Haile Gebrselassie,” Tergat said. “This is what sport is all about. Between me and Haile, we were fighting when it came to the competition, but immediately after that, we would hug each other and say we'll meet the next day. Sport is an opportunity to bring people together, for generations. I'm very proud that I have been part of the sport for many years, and I'm still able to see what the sport has given to the newer generations like these guys who are competing tomorrow.”

Gressier is among them and during the press conference he explained how his runner-up finish at the European Cross Country Championships in December left him even more motivated for the competition in Tallahassee.

“Yes, it is true that I fell in the last few metres at the European Championships, and it was really frustrating,” explained Gressier, speaking through an interpreter. “But it just pushed me even more to train harder, as I have a clear objective here, which is to go home with a medal.”

Gressier was sitting alongside Australia’s Olympic and world 1500m medallist Jessica Hull, who was asked about her versatility. As well as the World Cross Country Championships, she is targeting the World Indoor Championships, the Ultimate Championship and the World Road Running Championships in 2026.

“When you have different things to focus on, it keeps it exciting,” said Hull, who claimed bronze as part of the mixed relay team at the 2023 World Cross Country Championships on her home soil in Bathurst. “The 800m was my kind of fun event last year and getting ready to start the year with some 2km cross country, you need to be versatile. Versatility is pretty important to me, and I think it's going to be the key to a long career.”

Weini Kelati Frezghi will be racing for the host nation after winning the trial race in Portland in December, extending her cross-country career.

“I love cross country, but as I’m thinking of moving up the distances, my focus was going to be on longer distance training,” explained Kelati Frezghi, who finished 14th at the 2024 World Cross Country Championships. “But when I heard this event was going to be in the United States, I thought why not give it a try – to race with a home crowd on home soil.”

Local organising committee co-Chairs Taylor Wheaton and Amanda Heidecker hope the experience leaves all athletes with lasting memories.

“As a former athlete, I understand that tomorrow will be a day that these athletes will carry with them forever,” said Wheaton. “From the beginning, our vision for this event went beyond just staging a world-class competition. We set out to really have an immersive destination experience that reflects Florida's global tourism, one that's defined by energy, accessibility and unforgettable moments.”

Heidecker added: “This venue has become a world-renowned cross-country facility. We have hosted over 75 championships on every level and tomorrow marks a milestone unlike any other. Beyond this event, and what it means to Tallahassee and Leon County, we hope that it continues to elevate the sport of cross country and showcase why it deserves a place on the Olympic stage.”

The press conference opened with a welcome from Leon County Commission Chairman Christian Caban and Leon County Administrator Vincent S Long.

“This event is the first time that the World Cross Country Championships has been held in the United States in over 30 years, and it was chosen to be here at home for us and our neighbours in Leon County,” said Caban. “That is something for myself, my colleagues on the county commission and our entire community, our neighbours at home, to be so extremely proud of.”

Long added: “In my 30-plus years at Leon County, we're not supposed to have favourites, but this cross-country facility is one of my favourite projects. It's not just because of the result, it's not just because of big events like this, but it's because of how we got here. Runners built this course for runners.”

World Athletics