World Athletics has officially ratified eight new world records set during the first five months of 2026, including seven senior records and one World U20 mark.
Among the athletes to make history were Switzerland's Simon Ehammer and the Bahamas' Devynne Charlton, who set their records at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Kujawy Pomorze in March.
Ehammer reclaimed the world indoor heptathlon title with a record score of 6,670 points, breaking the previous mark of 6,645 points set by American Ashton Eaton in Istanbul in 2012.
The Swiss athlete made a strong start to the competition, running 6.69 seconds in the 60 metres before producing a jump of 8.31 metres in the long jump. He then set a world heptathlon best of 7.52 seconds in the 60m hurdles before finishing the competition with a personal best of 2:41.04 in the 1,000 metres.
A day later, Charlton retained her world indoor 60m hurdles title in 7.65 seconds, equalling the world record she had set two years earlier when she won her first of three world indoor titles in Glasgow.
Kenya's Sabastian Sawe and Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa also produced record-breaking performances at the TCS London Marathon on April 26 while successfully defending their titles.
Sawe made history by becoming the first man to run a ratified marathon in under two hours, winning in 1:59:30. His time improved the previous world record of 2:00:35 set by the late Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago in October 2023.
The Kenyan was involved in a thrilling battle with Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha and Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo before making his decisive move with one mile remaining. Sawe pulled away from his rivals to win in 1:59:30, while Kejelcha also broke the two-hour barrier in 1:59:41. Kiplimo finished third in 2:00:28.
Assefa also defended her London Marathon title in record-breaking fashion, clocking 2:15:41 to improve the women's-only world record she had set in London the previous year by nine seconds.
The Ethiopian gradually moved away from Kenya's Hellen Obiri and Joyciline Jepkosgei during the final stages of the race. Obiri finished second in a personal best of 2:15:53, while Jepkosgei was third in 2:15:55. It was the first time three women had finished the same marathon in under 2:16.
Swedish pole vault star Mondo Duplantis continued his record-breaking career by improving his own world record by one centimetre at the Mondo Classic in Uppsala on March 12.
Competing in the city where he was born, the multiple world and Olympic champion cleared 6.31 metres to improve his previous record of 6.30 metres, which he had set while winning his third consecutive world title in Tokyo in September 2025.
The United States also produced several record-breaking performances.
Khaleb McRae broke the men's world short track 400m record at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville on February 13. He clocked 44.52 seconds, improving the previous ratified record of 44.57 set by fellow American Kerron Clement on the same track in 2005.
Michael Norman and Christopher Morales Williams have both run faster times, but their performances were not eligible for ratification as world records.
China's Yan Ziyi, meanwhile, made history in the women's javelin at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Xiamen on May 23.
A section of the crowd at the Stade Charléty in Paris, France, during the 2026 edition of the Wanda Diamond League. (Photo: Amina Wako)
The 18-year-old threw 71.74 metres in her opening attempt, adding almost six metres to the world U20 record of 65.89 metres that she had set in Quzhou in August 2025. Her throw was also the second-best performance in women's javelin history, leaving her behind only world record-holder Barbora Špotáková on the senior all-time list.
The final ratified record came in the men's short track 4x800m relay, where an American quartet of Clay Pender, Luke Houser, Luciano Fiore and Sean Dolan combined for a time of 7:10.29 at the Penn Classic in Philadelphia on February 6.
The team improved the previous world record of 7:11.30, set by another United States team in Boston in February 2018.
Together, the performances underline an impressive start to 2026 in athletics, with athletes across the marathon, pole vault, hurdles, javelin and track events continuing to push the limits of what is considered possible.
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