- UIPM 2026 Obstacle World Championships concludes in Beijing theme park
- Beckstrand (USA) and Shrim (Israel) share 100m gold after stunning tied Final
- 14-year-old Russian sensation Sedova takes home complete set of medals
UIPM’s Race Across China has taken sport further into the realms of entertainment and tourism with spectacular results. Athletes, fans and support teams are taking treasured memories of a unique experience home from Beijing.
Over two weeks, the UIPM 2026 Pentathlon World Championships and UIPM 2026 Obstacle World Championships showcased the breadth of the UIPM movement across two major Chinese cities, culminating in a pioneering five-day Obstacle Racing showpiece at Universal CityWalk Beijing. There, elite athletes competed against the backdrop of the iconic Universal Globe as thousands of resort visitors encountered the sport in an environment designed for spectacle, imagination and fun.
The journey from Guiyang to Beijing also captured a wider story of transformation. More than 75 nations registered athletes for the combined Race Across China, while the Beijing event marked the first UIPM Obstacle World Championships since the international Obstacle Sports community unified under UIPM governance. Together, the two events took UIPM into a new era of connecting an established Olympic sport with emerging communities and new audiences.
Obstacle World Championships wrap
Obstacle Racing times are measured in thousands of a second for a reason. Because sometimes it is that close.
In a scarcely believable conclusion to the Men’s Elite 100m Final, reigning champion Luke Beckstrand of United States and Gal Shrim of Israel made the clock stop at exactly the same time of 23.622 seconds to be jointly declared gold medallists.
The Israeli team had already celebrated the crowning of one new world champion after 16-year-old May Yahalom(ISR) defeated defending champion Katarzyna Jonaczyk of Poland with an exceptional time of 33.66sec.
There was no doubting the identity of the Championships’ all-round star athlete. Aged just 14, Anna Sedova of Russia won the opening 400m Elite gold and went on to collect medals across the 3km and 100m individual events, the 3km Mixed Team and 4x100m Mixed Relay – an exciting new addition to the programme that saw USA overtake Russia to win a sprint finish for the Elite gold medal.
While the USA, Israel and Russia announced themselves as Obstacle Racing superpowers in this competition, host nation China collected multiple age-group titles besides some eye-catching Elite performances.
- Read the 400m report
- Read the 3km report
- Read the 4x100m report
Joint Men’s Elite 100m gold medallist Luke Beckstrand (USA) said: “Man, that was so amazing. It was such a crazy race. I knew, racing Gal, I would have to give it my all. He’s such an incredible athlete. So I put all on the course, and we tied. I didn’t know who won. It’s crazy.
“Gal is super, super fast. Also, I didn’t do my technique on the Wheels that I wanted to do. I hit every single wheel, so that slowed me down a little bit. But you know, mistakes happen, so he caught me there. But an amazing finish.
“I wouldn’t want to share this with anybody else. Gal’s an incredible athlete, so we both deserve it. What an amazing final. My advice to young Ninja athletes is keep working at your dreams, keep training hard, and you’ll get there one day.”
Joint Men’s Elite 100m gold medallist Gal Shrim (ISR) said: “We got up to the buzzer and we pressed it, and then we looked at each other. We looked at the time, and we’re like, ‘What just happened, man? What is it?’ So we were in shock, complete shock.
“I’m very honoured to share this number one in the world with Luke. He’s an amazing competitor. Everything is possible. Even if I’m at the back and he’s in front of me, just know it’s not over until it’s over.”
Women’s Elite 100m gold medallist May Yahalom(ISR) said: “It feels amazing. I am extremely excited and very happy. I came here with the goal of winning, so to achieve that and become world champion is a wonderful feeling.
“I worked very hard for this competition and trained a lot to prepare myself. There was pressure, of course, but I tried to stay focused and trust myself.
“I knew I had to give everything because anything can happen in a 100m race. You have to stay focused right until the end. It means a lot. I want to thank my family, my coaches and everyone who supported me and helped me to get here. This medal is very special to me.”
- Read the 400m athlete reaction
- Read the 3km athlete reaction
- Read the 4x100m athlete reaction
Pentathlon World Championships wrap
Taking place August 24-30, UIPM’s showpiece annual competition took the sport of Pentathlon to new heights. World No.1 pentathletes Blanka Guzi of Hungary and Matej Lukes of Czechia took home the individual gold medals after being crowned world champions for the first time, with medals also won by Egypt, Great Britain, Korea and Russia and Belarus claiming the Women’s Team gold.
- Read the Pentathlon World Championships wrap
UIPM President Rob Stull OLY said: “The Race Across China has shown exactly what the future of UIPM Sports can look like. From the beautiful setting of Guiyang to the spectacular backdrop of Universal Studios Beijing, we have connected elite sport with entertainment in a way that feels fresh, accessible and relevant.
“Staging a World Championships in an iconic venue where thousands of people could encounter our sport as part of their day was a powerful demonstration of how we can bring new audiences into the UIPM community and the wider Olympic Movement.
“This has been a competition of records in every sense. Our athletes raised the performance level and broke records on the course, while the scale of participation demonstrated the growing international reach of both Pentathlon and Obstacle Racing.
“Away from the field of play, we also reached record audiences through broadcast and social media, reflecting the tremendous work of our organisers and the increasing appetite for this kind of fast, exciting and highly visual sport.
“For UIPM, this is a new chapter – and it is only the beginning. The Race Across China has brought together Pentathlon and Obstacle Racing, established athletes and new communities, world-class competition and entertainment. We now have a stronger platform from which to keep innovating, keep growing and keep creating incredible opportunities for people to get involved in our multisport universe.
“I am hugely grateful to our partners, colleagues and friends here in China for the vision and incredible execution they have brought to this unforgettable fortnight.”
The Race Across China has now concluded but you can watch the key medal events on catch-up
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