Publication date: 08 Jul 2025
IAAF World Athletics Indoor Championships have been held every 2 years since 1985 by the International Amateur Athletics Federation.
Spain has hosted the Championships most often in Seville (1991), in Barcelona (1995) and in Valencia (2008).
12 of the 16 championships have been held in Europe.
Official website of the athletics championships
2026 World Indoor Athletics Championships: Venue and Dates
In 2026, the main winter athletics tournament — the World Indoor Championships — will be held in Poland, in the city of Toruń. The competition will be held in the modern Arena Toruń, well known to sports fans: major competitions have already been held here, including the 2021 European Indoor Championships.
The exact dates are already known — from 20 to 22 March 2026. Over three days, athletes from all over the world will compete for medals in running, jumping, shot put and other indoor events.
This is the second time that Poland has hosted such a championship — the first time was in 2014 in Sopot. The choice of Toruń is explained not only by experience, but also by the excellent organization of previous tournaments. World Athletics officially approved the city as the host city back in the spring of 2023.
Fans can expect spectacular competition, world stars at the start and a busy program in a short period of time. The tournament promises to be one of the most exciting events in the winter athletics calendar.
History of the championship
The first World Athletics Indoor Championships took place in Paris in 1985. Before 2003, the championships were held in odd-numbered years; since 2004 they have been held in even-numbered years.
Maria Mutola from Mozambique is one of the most decorated athletes in the history of the World Athletics Indoor Championships. She has 9 medals to her credit: 7 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze.
Russian athlete Natalya Nazarova competed from 1999 to 2010. She also has 9 medals consisting of 7 gold and 2 silver.
Among the countries with the most medals are athletes from the United States (101 gold, 63 silver and 67 bronze).
Previous championships results
| The year | Venue | Results / Places by country |
| 2025 | Nanjing, China | 1 – USA (gold – 6, silver – 4, bronze – 6)
2 – Norway (gold – 3, silver – 0, bronze – 1) 3 – Ethiopia (gold – 2, silver – 3, bronze – 0) |
| 2024 | Glasgow, UK | 1 – USA (gold – 6, silver – 9, bronze – 5)
2 – Belgium (gold – 3, silver – 0, bronze – 1) 3 – New Zealand (gold – 2, silver – 2, bronze – 0) |
| 2022 | Belgrade, Serbia | 1 – Ethiopia (4 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze)
2 – USA (3 gold, 7 silver, 9 bronze) 3 – Belgium (2 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze) |
2027 World Athletics Indoor Championships
The exact date of the next championship is still being determined.
Keep an eye on the dates of the Athletics Championships and other events in our Sports Events Calendar.
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