The heptathletes from the USA will once again be led this year by the number 1 in the current world rankings,
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Last year in Götzis, she not only won in impressive style with an outstanding 7032 points, but also wrote herself into the history books: meeting record, annual world best and, of course, personal best - with the second-highest score ever achieved in the women's heptathlon. After this impressive victory in Götzis, three and a half months later in Tokyo she was also crowned world champion with 6888 points. After these successes, the US-American will also be one of the contenders for victory in Götzis this year.
Taliyah Brooks (USA), who is currently ranked fourth in the world, will also be making the trip to Götzis again. After her bronze medal at the World Championships in Tokyo in 2025 and a new personal best of 6581 points, she will hopefully be able to post a result in Götzis this year after failing to finish her competition in Götzis in 2022 and 2023 and injuring herself in training in the Mösle Stadium after her arrival in 2024.
Allie Jones (USA) is another strong US heptathlete returning to Götzis. She finished sixth in Götzis last year with 6367 points, which was a new personal best. Timara Chapman (USA) will also travel to Götzis again after her first appearance in 2025 and demonstrate her potential in the heptathlon. The heptathlon team from the USA will be completed by Cheyenne Nesbitt, who will be competing in Götzis for the first time. In the decathlon, Heath Baldwin (USA), currently eighth in the world rankings, leads the US decathlon team, just ahead of Harrison Williams (USA), five years older and currently number 11 in the world rankings. Baldwin has a best performance of 8625 points, Williams 8630 points. Also registered is Hakim McMorris, who leads the current annual best list with 8420 points.
With the 2020 Olympic champion, 12-time Götzis starter and 8-time Götzis winner Damian Warner (CAN), and the 2023 world champion and
Götzis winner Pierce LePage (CAN), two of the biggest names in the international decathlon world elite will be traveling to Götzis from Canada. Olympic champion Warner performed at a high level in Götzis in 2025 with 8527 points and sixth place, but he was not satisfied. The crowd favorite in Götzis certainly has big plans for this year to make up for last year's unsatisfactory performance. Warner was unable to compete at the World Championships in Tokyo 2025 due to an Achilles tendon injury he suffered during the warm-up. Pierce LePage had to end his decathlon in Götzis and in Tokyo prematurely last year, but depending on his current form, he may well be in contention for a podium place. Canada will be represented in the heptathlon by Sienna Macdonald. She finished 12th last year in Götzis with 6148 points, which was a new personal best for her.
The Netherlands will also be represented by a strong line-up in Götzis. In the heptathlon, the focus will be on the newly crowned indoor world champion from Toruń and third-placed in the current world rankings,
Sofie Dokter (NED). She took second place in Götzis with 6576 points and finished sixth at the subsequent World Championships in Tokyo. If her outdoor season continues as her indoor season ended, then she will be one of the contenders for victory in Götzis. The Dutch heptathlon squad is completed by
Emma Oosterwegel, bronze medal winner at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, who also brings a wealth of experience at top international level. In the decathlon,
Sven Roosen (NED) returns to Götzis after an injury-related break and will be looking to build on his previous performances.
Jeff Tesselaar (NED), who achieved a new personal best of 8249 points in Götzis last year and thus made it into the top 10, is another young Dutch athlete who will be represented in Götzis.
Noor Vidts will be competing for Belgium in Götzis. The two-time world indoor champion and bronze medal winner at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games plans to crown her birthday celebrations in Götzis with a top placing.
This year's high-caliber starting field will consist exclusively of decathletes with a best performance of over 7963 points and heptathletes with a best performance of mostly well over 5916 points.
Clear the stage for the next generation: Successful qualifying heats for the junior competitions Last weekend at the Mösle Stadium in Götzn, the focus was on young athletics talent: as part of the
Montfort Track Challenge (formerly "Fastest Montforter"), a total of 248 young athletes competed in 394 sprint and middle-distance races on Friday afternoon in glorious sunshine. Optimal competition conditions and a great atmosphere were provided by numerous spectators. Once again, it was very pleasing to see that participants who do not belong to an athletics club also qualified for the finals.
On Saturday morning, the qualifying heats of the
Mösle Relay Challenge took place in the Mösle Stadium. Eight teams competed in the U10 age group and as many as 22 relay teams in the U12 age group. The six fastest teams in each age group qualified for the grand final at the 51st Hypomeeting Götzis, where they will compete for victory under the eyes of top international athletes and in front of thousands of athletics fans. The relay teams will also compete in the final for attractive cash prizes for their club.
Many thanks go to all the volunteers who helped to ensure that everything ran smoothly and to the organization and catering, as well as to the dedicated coaches and all the participating teams and young athletes. Special thanks also go to our long-standing junior competition partners Montfort Garage Götzis (Montfort Track Challenge) and VLV Vorarlberger Landes-Versicherung V.a.G. (Mösle Staffel Challenge).
With these and other top international athletes, as well as young, motivated athletics talents in the junior competition finals, the anticipation for the 51st Hypomeeting Götzis on May 30/31, 2026 is growing. Advance ticket sales for standing room tickets are already extremely popular - tickets are currently still available via the online ticket store.
