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 April 28 - May 5, one U.S. athlete in the top 100 of their respective event had the biggest absolute improvement to their World Ranking, improving their position by 19 spots from 95th to 76th. After a limited 2025 season, Jordan Davis is back to throwing the javelin over 80 meters. The most recent time over this barrier was this past weekend, with a performance of 80.31m at the Torrin Lawrence Memorial. In 2024, Davis was the top U.S. performer in the javelin, breaking the American NCAA record (all divisions). He is currently third on the U.S. season top list for 2026. Of the five performances that comprise his ranking score, four are from this season. With the NCAA Championship season approaching, we can expect to see continued improvement from Davis. 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), the top U.S. athlete did not compete last week and still rose from 2nd to 1st for a 50% improvement, trading positions with another U.S. athlete. Brittany Brown reclaimed the world #1 ranking in the women’s 200m, surpassing Melissa Jefferson-Wooden as one of Jefferson-Wooden’s top five marks fell out of the twelve-month window. Despite being the World Champion in the 200m, Jefferson-Wooden did not run many 200m races last season. As a result, her fifth best performance in the past twelve months is from the semi-finals at the 2025 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships – a race that despite the fast time, comes with no placing points. Therefore, despite not having competed yet this season, Brittany Brown reclaims the world #1 spot and none of her ranking score marks expire until mid-August. 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.