by Lia Skoufos, MS
This article is part of a USATF Campus exclusive series to help understand the World Athletics Rankings. For track enthusiasts and elite athletes alike, this series aims to provide clarity, analysis, and education on all things World Rankings and how they impact Team USATF. For more information on how the World Rankings system works, see this article.
From March 24-31, one U.S. athlete in the top 100 had the biggest absolute improvement to their World Ranking, improving their position by 34 spots by participating in the first competition on the USATF Tour. Ahmed Muhumed took fifth place at The TEN for his first race on the track this season. He has also represented Team USATF at the World Cross Country Championships and earned a spot on the World Athletics Road Running Championships team this year. His performance at The TEN moved his world ranking in the 10,000m from 46th to 12th. In the 10,000m, only two marks are required over an 18-month period to establish a ranking. Interestingly for Ahmed, these two marks are the 2025 and 2026 editions of The TEN. When assessing improvement based on percentage increase in ranking (e.g. 2nd to 1st is a 50% improvement as is moving from 30th to 15th), Ahmed still showed the biggest improvement of any U.S. athlete at 74%. More details on rankings, results, and scenarios can be found on the World Athletics website. You can also experiment with my World Athletics Rankings Dashboard & Calculator and World Rankings Over Time Dashboard, hosted exclusively on USATF Campus.
Lia Skoufos is a Sports Scientist at USATF specializing in throwing events. She holds a BS in Kinesiology from the University of Illinois Chicago and MS in Sport and Exercise Analytics from Marquette University and supports a range of analytics-based projects at USATF. In addition to her work with the throws group, she focuses on creating data-driven visuals and bridging the gap between technical analytics and practical applications by translating complex information into clear, actionable insights for coaches, athletes, and all USATF Campus members.