Three American Road Record Holders Head to Denmark
INDIANAPOLIS, IN — Three American road record holders will headline Team USATF at the 2026 World Athletics Road Running Championships this September. USA Track & Field announced the 19-athlete roster for the global championship, which will take place September 19-20 in Copenhagen, Denmark and feature men’s and women’s races in the one mile, 5K, and half marathon.
Athletes for the one mile and 5K teams qualified exclusively through selection events held in Des Moines, Iowa, and Indianapolis, Indiana, respectively. The half marathon team was selected through the USATF Half Marathon Championships in Atlanta, Georgia, and also includes the top-ranked American athlete in the World Athletics Road Running Rankings as of May 5.
That criteria secured spots for Weini Kelati and Conner Mantz, both American record holders in the half marathon. Mantz also owns the American record in the marathon.
Kelati, a 2024 Olympian in the 10,000m, leads a women’s half marathon squad that also includes six athletes from the USATF Half Marathon Championships. Scoring will be limited to Kelati and three athletes who were misdirected late in the race after the lead vehicle went off course with just over one mile remaining; Jess McClain, Emma Grace Hurley and Ednah Kurgat.
McClain represented Team USA in the marathon at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, while Hurley and Kurgat have both competed for the United States at the World Cross Country Championships.
The top three finishers at the U.S. Championships, Molly Born, Carrie Ellwood, and Annie Rodenfels will each make their international debut following a special exception granted by World Athletics. They will not be eligible for medals or prize money, though all performances will count toward World Athletics Rankings points.
Joining Mantz on the men’s half marathon team are Wesley Kiptoo, Hillary Bor, and Ahmed Muhumed. Bor is a two-time Olympian in the steeplechase, while Muhumed has represented Team USA twice at the World Cross Country Championships. Kiptoo made his Team USA debut earlier this year at the World Cross Country Championships.
In the men’s 5K, Drew Hunter earned his spot by winning the U.S. title. Hunter claimed the 5000m title at the 2025 NACAC Championships and will make his first World Championships appearance in Copenhagen. He will be joined by Dylan Jacobs, who was a finalist in the 3000m at the 2025 World Indoor Championships in China.
The women’s 5K team features two accomplished Team USA veterans making their road racing debuts. Karissa Schweizer, a two-time Olympian and two-time World Championships team member, won the U.S. title in the event. Copenhagen will mark her second Team USA appearance of 2026 after competing at the World Cross Country Championships in January. She will be joined by Olympic silver medalist and American steeplechase record holder Courtney Frerichs. Frerichs finished fourth at the U.S. championships, but second-place finisher Hurley had already qualified for the half marathon team, while third-place finisher Gracie Hyde qualified for the mile team.
Hyde earned her first Team USA berth by finishing second at the U.S. 1 Mile Championships behind Addy Wiley, the bronze medalist in the 800m at the 2026 World Indoor Championships.
American record holder Yared Nuguse will compete in his first World Athletics Road Running Championships after qualifying in the men’s mile. Nuguse owns the American records in both the road mile and outdoor track mile and earned Olympic bronze in the 1500m. He will be joined by three-time U.S. road mile champion Vincent Ciattei, who will make his Team USA debut in Copenhagen.
A full team roster can be found below. The 2026 World Athletics Road Running Championships will be held September 19-20 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Media credential information will be announced this summer.
Team Staff