Each of its decisions confirms it: World Athletics does not fear change. The international athletics body even seems to love it. Meeting this week in Monaco, its Council made a historic decision: a change in walking distances. As of January 1, 2026, walkers will abandon their habits of the 20 km and 35 km, to align themselves from now on with distances borrowed from running: the half-marathon and the marathon. The reason? "Help put the athletes' remarkable achievements into context, make the events more understandable for fans and encourage mass participation", explains World Athletics in a press release. Sebastian Coe, its president, suggests: " The fact that you have walkers covering the marathon distance in just under three hours puts the event into a broader context for those watching it. The idea is to try to make these events more understandable and more relevant. " The 20km walk was included in the Olympic programme at the Melbourne Games in 1956 for men, and then at the Sydney Games in 2000 for women. The more recent 35km walk replaced the 50km starting at the world championships in 2022. The World Athletics Council also decided to add the mixed 4x100m relay to the World Relays programme from next year. Finally, it announced that the world cross-country championships will now be held in odd-numbered years, after the 2026 edition in Tallahassee, Florida.
