This is the USATF release for Day 1 of the World Indoors on March 20, 2026.
TORUN, Poland — Jordan Anthony and: Chase Jackson it was the first day of gold for Team USATF at the World Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday.
Finishing his rookie season as a pro with gold in the men’s 60, Anthony burst out of the blocks and sprinted down the field at the Kujawsko-Pomorska Arena, stopping the clock in 6.41 to become the fourth-fastest finisher of all time. Trayvon Bromellwho won the event 10 years ago on home soil in Portland, came up agonizingly short to go 1-2 for the U.S., earning bronze in 6.45, just 0.001 behind Jamaica’s Kishan Thompson. Last year’s champion, British Jeremiah Azu, was fourth with a coefficient of 6.46.
Anthony led the world in 6.43 at the Tyson Invitational in mid-February, and it held until Bromell ran a near-perfect race in the second half to win in 6.42. Anthony then took the third semi in 6.43 and had an epic battle in the final. It was the eighth time in tournament history that the United States has won two medals at the tournament.
Jackson, the American indoor and outdoor record holder, threw the fourth-farthest throw in US history and won his first gold after two golds at the 2022 and 2023 outdoor world championships. Jackson, who broke his own national record of 20.44/67-0.75 to win the USATF Championships three weeks ago. 19.96/65-6 in the second round and she improved that to 20.14/66-1 in the fourth round to hold off two-time defending champion Sarah Mitton of Canada. Abria Smith Was seventh in his World Championship debut, throwing 18.86/61-10.5 in the fourth round.
The second American woman to ever win the event and now the owner of a complete collection of World Indoor medals, Jackson has unofficially announced her retirement from indoor competition. Last year at the Copernicus Cup meet, he set an American indoor record in this arena.
Garland, Baldwin in medal position after first day of heptathlon
The first day of the men’s heptathlon featured Switzerland’s Simon Ehammer, the 2024 champion and a great jumper, who will face the Americans. Kyle Garland and: Heath Baldwin. Ehammer clocked a 6.69 in the 60 to open the competition, more than 0.2 ahead of his nearest competitor. In her major, the long jump, the Swiss star topped Garland by 232 points with a scale of 8.15/26-9. The American gained some ground, shooting a 16.21/53-2.25 to stretch Ehamer’s lead to 150, while Baldwin also moved up the leaderboard in third with a throw of 15.86/52-0.5.
Garland closed the gap to 38 with a clearance of 2.14/7-0.25 in the high jump, 12 centimeters better than Ehammer, while Baldwin cleared 2.08/6-9.75. At the end of the day, Ehammer led the points standings with a world record pace of 3,698 points, while Garland (3,660) and Baldwin (3,510) were medalists.
Mahuchich and Diaz Hernandez earn their second career golds in other field events
Olympic champion and outdoor world record holder Yaroslava Mahuchych of Ukraine reclaimed her status as world No. 1 in the women’s high jump, clearing 2.01/6-7 in her first attempt to claim her fourth world gold. Mahuchich, who previously won the 2022 title, quickly cleared the three bars to her winning height and left a trio of silver medalists in her wake. Australia’s two-time defending champion Nikola Ollislagers shared silver with Serbia’s Angelina Topic and Ukraine’s Yulia Levchenko as all three had clear cards in the 1.99/6-6.25 range before going out in 2.01. USATF champion Charitable Hufnagel 1.89/6-2.25 best result took 9th place.
Italy’s Andy Diaz Hernandez repeated his 2025 gold medal with a world-leading 17.47/57-3.75 in the men’s triple jump ahead of silver medalist Jordan Scott of Jamaica and bronze medalist Yasser Tricky of Algeria. Russell Robinson had one legitimate attempt, a marginal 16.53/54-2.75 on his first attempt to finish 11th.
Three of the four Americans have advanced to the 1,500 final
Qualification for the women’s 1,500 final was based on the top three finishers in each of the three heats, with no time qualifying, so racing was at a premium. A very slow early pace first heat saw the pack hit the 400 in 71 seconds with the USATF Champion. Nikki Hiltz in the third. The pace fell even further, going through the 800 in 2:25, but Hiltz was steady in third and looked very comfortable, and the field was very closely packed in the 1,200 in 3:34. Hiltz was still third a lap ago, but a strong push around the final corner moved the four-time defending U.S. champion into second, crossing the finish line in 4:16.32 to advance to Sunday’s final.
Heat three was another run in the park for the first 800, back Gracie Morris on the rail at the front of a pack constantly jockeying for position. Morris was side-by-side with Australia’s Jessica Hull through the 1,200 in 3:28, and a lap later Britain’s Georgia Hunter Bell passed Morris for second. Morris kept her cool under pressure from Switzerland’s Joceline Wind to qualify third in 4:12.57.
Slovenia’s Roc Markely raced out to a huge lead in the men’s 1,500 in the season opener, with three qualifying berths at the line, creating a 50-meter lead as he cruised through the 800 in 1:56. The Slovenian maintained his ambitious pace with the rest of the field seven seconds ahead, but looked at him like lions on the hunt. USATF champion Nathan Greene showed his typical racing acumen by staying out of trouble in a pack that shuffled the positions and he followed Italy’s Federico Riva as the chasers won in the chase. Riva and Green raced past Markel on the backstretch of the final lap, and when Green looked over his shoulder with 20 meters to go, he knew he was safe and allowed Australia’s Adam Spencer to slip past Markel into second behind Riva, with Green third in 3:40.97 on his international debut.
Last year, the bronze medalist of this meeting, Luke Hauser was at the back of a field of 10 in heat 2 of the 800 and was still eighth in the 300. It turned out to be a little too much real estate, and despite a 13.09 final in the 100, Houser was the odd one out, finishing fourth in 3:43.87, 12 seconds off where he was in the final.
McRae and Robinson rounded out the meet in the men’s 400
American fortunes were as good as could be predicted in the men’s 400 heats, where the world leader and expected world record holder; Khaleb McRae overcame an early bump to easily win the sixth and final leg in 46.09 to secure his place in the semi-finals and post the fourth-fastest time overall. Earlier, Christopher Robinson Never worried about winning the second leg with 46.34 and moving on too. The new World Athletics format for the final will have two equally weighted divisions of four men each racing against time for medals.
Robinson relinquished pole position to Brazil’s Mateus Lima, then moved into lane 3 over the final 50m to win the first semi in 45.46, with McRae completing that victory in the fourth and final semi in the second fastest time of 45.39.
With seven meets on the schedule, only the top two and the next two fastest in each event will advance to the semifinals in the women’s 400. Bailey Lear measured her effort and ran on pole heels all the way, but Spain’s Paula Sevilla raced to the line to finish third in 51.87. It turned out to be enough to earn a place in the last time qualifier. Rosie Effiong In the second heat, he took the lead with a very fast first lap, but paid the price on the home stretch, finishing third in 52.13 and not advancing.
In the evening session, Lear was third in the first semi-final in 52.07 and did not advance to the final with the ninth-fastest time overall.
Lutkenhaus, Dolan & Wiley lead the 800 from the first round
The youngest man to ever wear the USA uniform at the World Indoor Championships. Cooper Lutkenhaus Looked like a seasoned vet in the second heat of the men’s 800. The 17-year-old Texan bided his time as Croatia’s Marino Bludek paced the opening laps, and he stayed out of trouble in the second lane until the finish, where he finished second in 1:46.24 to earn himself a spot in the semifinals.
Sean Dolan Having hit his World Indoors qualifying standard two weeks ago in a lifetime best, he produced a strong effort in the final heat to finish third in 1:46.17 and join Lutkenhaus in the next round.
USATF champion Addison Wiley In the third leg of the women’s 800, she took the lead shortly before and held off a late push by Australia’s Haley Kitching to win in 2:00.85 and advance to the semifinals. After going through all the traffic in the fourth heat, Valerie Tobias managed to finish second, but was later disqualified when officials found he had run on the inside of his lane in the first 150 meters.
TEAM USATF MEDALS (3)
Gold (2)
Women’s Shot Put – Chase Jackson, 20.14/66-1
Men’s 60 – Jordan Anthony, 6.41
Silver (0)
Bronze (1)
Men’s 60 – Trayvon Bromell, 6.45
