INDIANAPOLIS – The inaugural USATF Tour concluded this weekend with Olympic and World champions, rising stars and emerging talent competing across a 17-meet circuit that culminated in Valarie Sion and Jamal Britt being crowned the series' first-ever champions. Each athlete earned a $50,000 bonus for winning the overall Tour title.
Sion secured the women's championship by winning all three of her Tour appearances. The reigning Olympic and World discus champion claimed victories at the Oklahoma Throws Festival, Ironwood Classic and the USATF LA Grand Prix to finish atop the standings.
"I feel so fortunate and proud to be the winner of the inaugural USATF Tour," said Sion, who will compete for her seventh consecutive U.S. discus title later this month. "When USA Track & Field announced this concept, my competitive juices really began to flow, and I was excited to attack a new challenge.
"I loved the idea of comparing athletes and their performances across all of the disciplines in our sport. Zebulon and I looked at the schedule and chose to prioritize the Tour and performing at a high level on U.S. soil in addition to my typical Diamond League meetings. I really value USATF and its initiative in creating the Tour for the 2026 season."
The men's title wasn't decided until the Tour's final weekend at the Ed Murphey Classic in Memphis, Tennessee, where both Jamal Britt and Jordan Geist entered with a chance to claim the championship.
Britt's wind-aided 12.91 victory in the 110-meter hurdles proved just enough to secure the overall title, despite Geist producing a personal-best 22.44-meter winning throw in the shot put. Geist finished just four centimeters shy of the distance he needed to overtake Britt in the final standings.
For Britt, the Tour championship caps a breakthrough month that also included a victory at the Prefontaine Classic and a new sponsorship agreement with Nike.
"I always have a mindset of hustling," Britt said. "I'm really just trying to set myself up for the future. The biggest struggle for me on my journey is that everything is so expensive. I couldn't pay for treatment, so this money will really help me focus on that."
Britt won all four of his Tour appearances in 2026, capturing titles at the Miramar Invitational, Drake Relays, USATF LA Grand Prix and Ed Murphey Classic. At the Pre Classic, he also lowered his personal best to 12.86, making him the fifth-fastest performer in history in the event.
To be eligible for the overall title, athletes were required to compete in at least three USATF Tour meets. Final standings were determined by combining each athlete's three highest World Athletics Results Scores earned during the series. Launched in 2026, the USATF Tour features 17 independently operated track and field meets across the United States that hold World Athletics Gold, Silver or Bronze Label status. The series was created to expand high-quality domestic competition opportunities for U.S. athletes while helping organize the national competition calendar. USATF provides marketing, medical, anti-doping, travel and operational support to each meet on the Tour.
The schedules for the 2027 USATF Tour and 2027 USATF Indoor Tour will be announced later this year.