INDIANAPOLIS — USA Track & Field (USATF), the national governing body for track and field, road running and race walking, today announced the structure and competition schedule for its 2026 Relay Program. The program is designed to leverage domestic events while offering experience and building a rapport between the athletes who will compete on Team USATF’s relays at the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
The 2026 program has its foundation in USATF’s “One Team” philosophy, prioritizing relay chemistry, preparation, and shared success across the entire relay squad. USATF’s stated goal in its 2025-2028 High Performance Plan is to win six gold medals in the six relay events at the LA28 Olympic Games.
“Relays are not won solely in the final 100 meters,” said Wallace Spearmon, Jr, General Manager of International Teams at USATF and a World Champion on the 2007 U.S. 4x100m relay. “They are won in the warm-up areas, in the exchange zones, and through the trust built between teammates. Our goal is to ensure the United States remains the most cohesive and prepared relay program in the world, to give us the best opportunity at six gold medals in the relays in 2028.”
2026 Relay Competition Schedule
USATF relay athletes will compete across several major events throughout the 2026 season:
Team rosters will be selected by USA Track & Field’s High Performance Directors with input from Team USATF relays coach Darryl Woodson. Athletes will be chosen based on factors including recent performance, prior international relay experience, and availability for each event. Each competition will be precluded by mandatory practice sessions in the days prior to the event. All travel and accommodations will be paid for by USATF and athletes will athletes will have access to USATF’s Sport Science initiative, including performance monitoring through wearable sensor technology and markerless motion capture video analysis, designed to provide advanced data insights for relay splits and race execution.
USATF also announced that it will implement an Equal Share Prize Money Model for relay events.
Under this model, any athlete officially named to a relay squad—whether competing in preliminary rounds, finals, or serving as a designated alternate—will receive an equal share of prize money earned by the team.
The initiative recognizes the collective effort required to win relay medals and reinforces the importance of depth, preparation, and teamwork across the entire squad.
The USATF Relay Program continues to be a cornerstone of the United States’ global success in track and field. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Team USATF swept the women’s 4x100 and 4x400 and also won gold in the men’s 4x400. They won silver in the mixed 4x400. At the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Team USATF won every relay except the men’s 4x400 where they took the silver medal.
For more information on USATF national teams and relay programs, visit www.usatf.org