Biggest World Athletics Rankings Movers of the Week – 7/21/2026

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.

July 21, 2026

From July 14-21, two U.S. athletes in the top 100 of their respective events had the biggest absolute improvement to their World Rankings, each improving by 8 spots.

Neither Devan Crumpton nor Jane Hedengren competed between July 14-21, yet they both saw an improvement in their rankings for two separate reasons.

Hedengren entered the week ranked 37^th in the women’s 5000m and now finds herself in 29^th. While most events require five performances in a twelve-month period to establish a ranking, the 5000m is more volatile because rankings only require three races in that time frame due to athletes competing less often than in other events. In Hedengren’s case, the improvement was due to one of her races improving from an “F” category competition to a “D” category. She won the Bryan Clay Invitational on April 17, and her placing score increased from the 8 points of an “F” category win in the 5000m to 25 points for a “D” category win. This increased her ranking score (the average of her three performance scores) from 1198 to 1204, giving her this eight-position improvement.

Crumpton was formerly ranked 99^th in the men’s 400m and is now up to 91^st — the highest of his young career. As previously mentioned, Crumpton did not compete last week but finds himself benefiting from the twelve-month rolling nature of the world rankings. Ahead of him were athletes that competed in various meets across Europe, including the European Athletics U23 Championships and London Athletics Meet which both occurred on July 19, 2025. With marks from those meets expiring and Crumpton’s top five competitions from this season keeping his ranking score the same, he was able to surpass eight athletes this week. The incoming college junior shaved nearly a second off his personal best in the 400m from his freshman to sophomore season and is a staple of the University of South Carolina’s 4x400m relay team. He is no doubt looking to continue this momentum into the 2027 season.

When assessing improvement based on percentage increase in ranking (e.g. 2^nd to 1^st is a 50% improvement as is moving from 30^th to 15^th), two U.S. athletes each saw a 50% improvement.

Gabby Thomas’ rise through the rankings continues, this time moving from 4^th to 2^nd in the 200m rankings after a win at the Gyulai István Memorial (an “A” category competition) and a second-place finish at the Novuna London Athletics Meet (a “GW” category competition). Thomas’ ranking score now includes three “A” category competitions and two “GW” category competitions, eliminating a “C” category meet with significantly fewer placing points. It also helps that the average time run in her top five performances over the past twelve months is now 21.81, improving from 21.88. Thomas will undoubtedly look for another 50% improvement to move into 1^st in the world, a place she is very familiar with. She previously held 1^st place in the 200m world rankings for 43 weeks and is on a collision course with Shericka Jackson, whose ranking score includes three performances from the end of 2025.

Cierra Jackson took her first Diamond League win in spectacular fashion at the Novuna London Athletics Meet over the weekend with one of the biggest discus throws in recent history. She was previously ranked 8^th in the women’s discus throw and is now up to 4^th after setting a new Diamond League Record. On her sixth and final attempt, Jackson threw 71.72m to become the 15^th best woman of all time and 2^nd on the U.S. all-time list. This mark – a nearly four-meter personal best – puts her into the rarified air of the 70-meter club, becoming one of only three Americans in history to do so. Fortunately for U.S. track and field fans, all three are still active athletes and will be competing at the 2026 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships on Sunday, July 26.

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.

About the Author

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.