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 17-24, 2026, one U.S. athlete in the top 100 had the biggest absolute improvement to their World Ranking, improving their position by twenty-one spots – and it isn’t their first time being the biggest mover of the week. Jessica Mercier took ninth place at her first ever overseas competition, the World Athletics Indoor Championships Kujawy Pomorze 26, and vaulted a new personal best of 4.70m. This 13cm PB moves her world ranking from 55th to 34th – an incredible feat, especially considering that her first time breaking into the top 100 was only a month ago. 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), Mercier still showed the biggest improvement of any U.S. athlete at 38%. 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.