Overview

• World Athletics’ president says the Olympic movement must re-engineer the international timetable to protect endurance athletes from dangerous temperatures.
• Tokyo 2025 saw temperatures above 30C with humidity over 90%, prompting 7:30 a.m. starts for road races and expanded hydration and cooling on course.
• Internal research cited by Coe indicates roughly 70% of athletes report heat is disrupting training and competition plans.
• Coe floated holding long-distance events such as the marathon at different times of year or separately from main championships to avoid unsafe conditions.
• The federation will use the 2026 Budapest Ultimate Championships with a $10m prize pot to test format changes, while gene testing for the female category continues with individual outcomes kept confidential.