Eight track highlights that shone bright in 2025
A rewind on performances that defined last year.
With the first major outdoor meet of 2026 fast approaching, the Continental Gold event at Melbourne’s beautiful Lakeside Stadium (27–28 March), now feels like the perfect moment to build excitement by revisiting some of the standout performances from 2025.
2025 delivered a year of track and field rich in achievements: global championships, fearless record attempts, unforgettable relay finishes and the rise of athletes unafraid to push the limits of what’s possible on the track.
1. A perfect season from Chebet and Duplantis
World Athletics’ Athletes of the Year selections were hard to dispute. Beatrice Chebet (KEN) enjoyed a flawless season, highlighted by a historic 5,000m world record of 13:58.06 in Oregon, the first sub-14 by a woman, and world titles in both the 5,000m and 10,000m in Tokyo.
On the men’s side, Swedish pole vault star Armand “Mondo” Duplantis soared to new heights, breaking four world records and clearing 6.30m at the World Championships, completing a perfect 16-for-16 season and extending his win streak to 37.
2. Faith Kipyegon redefined what is possible
If one athlete embodied courage in 2025, it was Faith Kipyegon (KEN). Kipyegon delivered a remarkable 2025 season, winning her fourth 1,500m world title, setting a new WR in Oregon (3:48.68), and collecting silver in the 5,000m. She continued to push limits with near misses at 1,000m and 3,000m races.
Kipyegon set her sights high in Paris for an audacious, unofficial mile attempt to break the four-minute barrier. She clocked 4:06.91, still the fastest mile ever run by a woman, reaffirming her status as one of the sport’s most fearless athletes.
“On a newly installed Rekortan track, Kishane Thompson (JAM) exploded to the fastest 100m time of the past decade at the Jamaican National Championships in Kingston with a win of 9.75 seconds.”
3. A historic hurdles race at Grand Slam Track
Masai Russell (USA) and Tia Jones (USA) gave historic performances in the 100m hurdles at the Grand Slam Track meet in Miami. Russell’s PB of 12.17, edged out Jones’ 12.19, earning the Americans the second and third fastest times ever in the discipline, along with a new US record for Russell.
4. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone reinvented her race
American sensation Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s pivot was undoubtably a highlight of 2025. She shifted from the 400m hurdles, an event she has totally dominated, to focus on the 400m flat, where she claimed the USA Track & Field Championships in August.
Unbeaten all season, she saved her best for Tokyo, where her 47.78 finish secured world championship gold and marked the fastest 400m performance since 1985.
5. Jamaica delivers a sprinting statement
On a newly installed Rekortan track, Kishane Thompson (JAM) exploded to the fastest 100m time of the past decade at the Jamaican National Championships in Kingston with a win of 9.75 seconds. While world championship gold later went to fellow Jamaican Oblique Seville, Thompson’s performance was a defining sprint moment of 2025, one that earned his title as the sixth-fastest man in history.
6. A soaked relay finish to remember
The men’s 4x400m relay at the World Championships delivered one of the season’s most thrilling moments with Botswana, USA and South Africa locked in a dramatic battle down the home straight. Racing in heavy rain, Botswana emerged victorious in 2:57.76, highlighted by a memorable anchor leg from individual 400m champion, Busang Collen Kebinatshipi.
“At just 15 years old, Sam Ruthe (NZL) became the youngest athlete in history to break four minutes for the mile, running on a Rekortan Gel track at the Go Media Stadium in Auckland.”
7. Youth meets world class speed
At just 17 years old, Quincy Wilson (USA) announced himself on the global stage as one of track and field’s booming young talents with a stunning 43.99 split in the boys’ 4x400m at the Penn Relays on Rekortan, the fastest ever by a high school athlete. Wilson’s run helped set a new American high school record, and confirmed his world class potential, a status he reinforced later in the season with the fastest 400m time ever by a U18 athlete.
8. A new sub 4 star is born
At just 15 years old, Sam Ruthe (NZL) became the youngest athlete in history to break four minutes for the mile, running on a Rekortan Gel track at the Go Media Stadium in Auckland. His breakthrough followed in the footsteps of Australia’s Cameron Myers, whose 3:55.44 at age 16, also run on Rekortan, remains the fastest ever for that age group.
Looking forward to 2026
As the 2026 athletics year begins to gather pace, we want to thank the athletes, coaches and teams who made 2025 unforgettable. For more than half a century, from Olympic Games to National Championships, Rekortan has been the trusted surface of champions, engineered to support athletes as they chase their next breakthrough. Here’s to a new season, new stories, and the performances that will define the sport.