China have won four of the past five team titles in the U20 women&rsquo;s 10km and the strength of their squad indicates that they should challenge again at the Caixa World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Bras&iacute;lia 26&nbsp;on Sunday (12).
They won&rsquo;t start as the defending champions, however, as Spain clinched the crown in Antalya two years ago, becoming only the third nation after China and Russia to win this team title.
But China&rsquo;s team boasts three of the six fastest women in the field and they will each be looking to follow in the footsteps of their compatriot Yang Xizhen who won the individual title at the last edition in 2024.
Wang Yaru leads that trio on times. The 16-year-old won both the U18 5km and 10km events at the Chinese Race Walking Grand Prix in Taicang at the start of March, setting a PB of 44:31 for the longer distance. But it was Yang Yutong who won the U20 title in Taicang and the 19-year-old will want to build on the PB of 44:49 she set that day.
They will be joined in Bras&iacute;lia by 18-year-old Ni Lihua who finished third in that Taicang U20 10km won by Yang, in a PB of 45:24. All three athletes will be making their international debuts.
Chlo&eacute; Le Roch sits at the top of the entry list and heads to Bras&iacute;lia with the benefit of global experience. The 18-year-old set a French U20 record of 44:02 when finishing second at the European Race Walking Team Championships in Poděbrady last year and she was just 14 seconds off that mark when winning a national event in Lens last month. Aged 16, she finished eighth in the 10,000m race walk at the World U20 Championships in Lima in 2024, four months after finishing 18th in the U20 event in Antalya.
Italy&rsquo;s Serena Di Fabio also set a national record at the European Race Walking Team Championships last year, clocking 44:08 to finish one place behind Le Roch. She has gone close to that mark this year, too, winning her national title last month in 44:17. As well as her podium finish in Poděbrady, Di Fabio secured silver on the track at last year&rsquo;s European Championships and the then 16-year-old finished seventh at the last edition of the World Race Walking Team Championships, clinching team bronze for Italy and achieving the leading individual performance by athletes eligible to return for this year&rsquo;s edition.
Suzu Okuno also performed well in Antalya two years ago, finishing 13th in a PB of 46:32. She returns to race for Japan, as part of a squad led by Yuna Uchiyama who set a PB of 44:46 to win the national event in Kobe in February. Harumi Tabata, who was fourth that day, completes the Japanese squad that will also be fighting for the team podium.
Italy could also have strong team prospects, as Di Fabio is joined by Valentina Adamo and Francesca Gloria Buselli who completed the podium at their national championships in respective PBs of 46:48 and 47:02.
Gina Torres leads Spain&rsquo;s team title defence after winning the national U20 crown in a PB of 47:03 in February, while Şerife Berra G&uuml;ven and İpek &Ouml;zkavlak race for T&uuml;rkiye.
Ethiopia&rsquo;s Hiwot Ambaw makes her road debut after racing in the 10,000m race walk at the 2024 World U20 Championships and winning the national title in 46:22.07 at the end of March.
Jess Whittington for World Athletics

Caixa World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Brasilia 26

Expected highlights in the U20 women's 10km at the World Race Walking Team Championships in Brasília

WRW Brasília 26 preview: Le Roch and Di Fabio lead entries, China aim to regain U20 team title

Entry lists have been published for the Caixa World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Bras&iacute;lia 26, with 333 athletes from 40 countries set to compete in the Brazilian capital on 12 April.
Download: <a href="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/69c50e48ea4df9c9b65e2816.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Entries by event and season&rsquo;s best</a> <a href="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/69c50e5dea4df9c9b65e2819.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Entries by federation</a>
The competition will feature 114 women and 140 men competing in the new standard senior race walking distances &ndash; half marathon and marathon &ndash; for the first time at a World Athletics Series event. Meanwhile, 39 women and 40 men will compete in the U20 races over 10km.
The men&rsquo;s half marathon entries are led by world 20km champion Caio Bonfim, who headlines the host nation&rsquo;s team. Competing on home roads in Bras&iacute;lia, he will take on Canada&rsquo;s world 35km champion Evan Dunfee and two-time world champion Toshikazu Yamanishi of Japan, as well as two of the top three from the 20km at the last edition of these championships &ndash; Spain&rsquo;s world bronze medallist Paul McGrath and his compatriot Diego Garc&iacute;a Carrera.
The men&rsquo;s marathon field is also packed with global medallists. Italy&rsquo;s 2021 Olympic 20km champion and 35km world record-holder Massimo Stano lines up alongside Sweden&rsquo;s multiple world medallist Perseus Karlstr&ouml;m, Japan&rsquo;s world 35km bronze medallist Hayato Katsuki and multiple German record-holder Christopher Linke.
In the women&rsquo;s half marathon, Peru&rsquo;s 2022 double world champion Kimberly Garc&iacute;a leads the entries. She will face Poland&rsquo;s Katarzyna Zdzieblo, who claimed world silver at both distances behind Garcia in 2022, and Spanish champion Antia Chamosa.
The women&rsquo;s marathon features Ecuador&rsquo;s world 35km bronze medallist Paula Torres, Italy&rsquo;s 2019 world bronze medallist Eleonora Giorgi and Brazil&rsquo;s South American 20km champion Viviane Lyra, another one of the host nation&rsquo;s medal hopes.
Two athletes &ndash; Venezuela&rsquo;s Pedro Marquez Pereira and Italy&rsquo;s Nicole Colombi &ndash; have been entered in both senior events and will decide closer to the time which distance to contest.
The championships will be held in the Brazilian capital, marking the first time the event has taken place in South America and the Southern Hemisphere.
Event-by-event previews will be published on the World Athletics website on 7-8 April.
World Athletics

333 athletes from 40 countries are set to compete in the Brazilian capital on 12 April

Entry lists published for Caixa World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Brasília 26

With 30 days to go until the Caixa World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Bras&iacute;lia 26, the competition&rsquo;s organising committee and World Athletics have revealed the medals that will be awarded to all athletes who reach the podium in the Brazilian capital.&nbsp;
The pieces were inspired by characteristic concepts. The embossed details highlight Brazilian identity, the works of architect Oscar Niemeyer, and Bras&iacute;lia&rsquo;s landmarks.
Niemeyer, alongside L&uacute;cio Costa, was the great architect behind the construction of Bras&iacute;lia &ndash; a city inaugurated in 1960. Both were responsible for planning all urban projects and public buildings.
"Bras&iacute;lia was built to unite the nation of Brazil and we want the 2026 World Race Walking Team Championships to bring people together in the same spirit,&rdquo; said Brazilian Athletics Confederation President Wlamir Motta Campos. "The medals aim to bring together key elements of Brazilian culture and pay tribute to those who built this sense of belonging."
The tribute also extends to race walker Caio Bonfim, an icon of Brazilian sports who was born and raised in the region. Bonfim will be the main star of the competition, where he will try to extend his streak of achievements, which includes silver at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and gold and silver at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25.&nbsp;
The Caixa World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Bras&iacute;lia 26, taking place on 12 April, is organised by CBAt and World Athletics, with sponsorship from CAIXA and the Government of the Federal District, and supported by the Athletics Federation of the Federal District and the Brazilian Olympic Committee.&nbsp;

The medals that will be awarded to all athletes who reach the podium in the Brazilian capital have been revealed

Medals unveiled for Caixa World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Brasília 26

The Caixa World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Bras&iacute;lia 26 unveiled its official poster on Friday (30) following an online vote by athletics fans from around the world.
The chosen poster will be the official visual of the event, which will take place on 12 April in Brazil&rsquo;s capital &ndash; marking the first time a world championship of this magnitude will be held in the Southern Hemisphere.
Voting began on 27 January, with fans able to cast their choices via the social media channels of the Caixa World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Bras&iacute;lia 26. The poll closed three days later, and the public&rsquo;s favourite has now been announced.
The winning design features a race walker in the foreground and blends cultural elements of Bras&iacute;lia into the background, highlighting the city&rsquo;s architecture and its iconic landmarks such as the Metropolitan Cathedral of Bras&iacute;lia, the Candangos Sculpture, the Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge and the National Congress Palace. In addition, it reinforces the competition&rsquo;s slogan: &ldquo;Bras&iacute;lia is ready to race walk with the world.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/697ccd8c5d5593fb0faa38c1.png" alt="Official poster for the WRW Brasilia 26" />
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Official poster for the WRW Brasilia 26
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&ldquo;Seeing such strong participation from fans and the international athletics community in choosing the official poster of the Bras&iacute;lia World Championships only demonstrates that World Athletics made the right decision in bringing this unprecedented competition to Brazil. We are already noticing a great deal of support for the event, and we hope all this success is confirmed on 12 April,&rdquo; said Brazilian Athletics Confederation (CBAt) President Wlamir Motta Campos.
The Caixa World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Bras&iacute;lia 26 is organised by CBAt in partnership with the Government of the Federal District, under the supervision of World Athletics. Caixa is the competition&rsquo;s title partner and the event will be broadcast to all territories globally &ndash; in Brazil, the broadcasting rights belong to TV Globo and SporTV.
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The Caixa World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Brasília 26 unveiled its official poster on Friday

World Race Walking Team Championships selects official poster after public vote

The local organising committee for the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Brasilia 26 has unveiled the event&rsquo;s logo, which captures the energy, colour and landscapes of the host city.
The logo for the championships features some of Brasilia&rsquo;s most iconic landmarks, including the Metropolitan Cathedral, the National Congress building and the Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge, all pictured in Brazil&rsquo;s unmistakable colours: green, yellow and blue.
&ldquo;It will be the first time ever that a global race walking competition has been held in Latin America,&rdquo; said Wlamir Motta Campos, President of the Brazilian Track and Field Federation (CBAt). &ldquo;Brazil is honoured to host the world in its capital, especially as Brasilia is the hometown of Olympic silver medallist Caio Bonfim, a true national icon.
&ldquo;The logo helps to connect the organisation, the athletics community and fans to showcase this major event we are all going to see next year.&rdquo;
The World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Brasilia 26, which is being organised by CBAt with support from the government of Federal District, will take place on 12 April 2026.
The World Race Walking Team Championships is one of the oldest World Athletics Series events. First staged in 1961, the event is held every two years with medals being awarded for individuals and teams across six races: four for senior athletes (men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s 20km and 35km) and two for U20 athletes (men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s 10km). More than 400 athletes from about 50 countries are expected to compete in Brasilia.
This, the 31st edition, will be the first time the championships have been held in South America. It&rsquo;s also the first global athletics event held in Brazil since the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Fans interested in receiving up-to-date information can subscribe at <a href="https://worldathletics.org/worldathletics-plus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">worldathletics.org/worldathletics-plus</a>.
World Athletics

The local organising committee for the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Brasilia 26 has unveiled the event’s logo, which captures the energy, colour and landscapes of the host city.

Logo unveiled for WRW Brasilia 26

World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships

<h2 style="text-align: center;">Brasilia is ready to race walk with the world!</h2>
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On 12 April, the capital of Brazil will host the Caixa World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships, the first edition of the event in the Southern Hemisphere.
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See you there!
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WRW Brasília 26 preview: Lyra and Torres among major medallists set for marathon clash

WRW Brasília 26 preview: global medallists in men’s marathon battle

WRW Brasília 26 preview: Beacroft eyes back-to-back U20 titles

WRW Brasília 26 preview: García, Inga and Zdziebło target women’s half marathon honours

WRW Brasília 26 preview: clash of global titans in men's half marathon