Medal Count Tops Previous Record of 22 and Includes 12 Golds
EUGENE, OR – USA Track & Field’s rising generation delivered a historic performance at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon, earning a meet-record 24 medals, including 12 gold, along with two world records and an American record.
The 24-medal haul is the most by any country in championship history, surpassing the previous record of 22 set by the United States in 2016 and the Soviet Union in 1988. Team USATF also scored a record 218 points, more than twice the total of runner-up Kenya, which scored 98.
Texas high school phenom Tate Taylor led the way with three gold medals. The incoming Texas Tech freshman's victories in the 100m and 200m made him the first American to sweep the men’s sprints at the World U20 Championships, with his 19.83 in the 200m setting a championship record. Taylor then anchored the 4x100m relay to gold and a world record on the final day, joining Blake Hamilton, Dillon Mitchell and Kyler Brown in a 38.16 performance that shattered the previous mark of 38.51 set in 2021. Taylor’s 8.75-second anchor split ranks among the fastest in history.
Another Texas star, Mia Maxwell, became the first American woman to sweep the 100m and 200m. Her twin sister, Mariah, added a bronze medal in the 200m, making the Maxwells the first twins to share a podium in an individual event at the World U20 Championships. Both will attend the University of Texas in the fall.
University of Georgia standout Le’Ezra Brown continued his record-setting meet in the 110m hurdles. After breaking his own American record with a 12.83 performance in the opening round, Brown ran 12.72 in the final, tying the championship record held by France’s Sasha Zhoya.
Simon Rosselli delivered the United States’ best finish in the discus since 1996, winning gold with a final-round throw of 66.39m that moved him to the top of the standings and established a new American record. The performance thrilled the crowd at Hayward Field where Rosselli will compete for the University of Oregon in the fall. A Spokane native, Rosselli learned after the competition that his family’s home had been spared from the recent wildfires that devastated the area.
Team USA also recorded a new world best in the Mixed 4x100m relay. The team of Joshua Shelton, Taylor Nicole-Overton, Jaelen Hunter and Olivia Harris won the gold medal in 3:15.31.
A full list of American medalist performances can be found below.
“It’s an incredible opportunity to host these championships here in the United States,” said USA Track & Field CEO Max Siegel. “But these athletes did not need a hometown advantage to deliver record-setting 24 medals wons over the past five days. This is among the most talented junior teams the U.S. has ever fielded, and there is no doubt that many of them will be part of a 2028 Olympic team built for LA.”
The World U20 Championships have long served as a global introduction to some of the sport’s biggest stars. Current U.S. standouts including Noah Lyles, Michael Norman, Anna Cockrell and Ja’Kobe Tharp are all past U20 world champions. The 2026 championships marked the first time the event had been held in the United States since 2014, when Eugene also served as host.
TEAM USATF MEDALS (24)