The best women's distance runners in the US will be lining up on a familiar stage next year. USATF announced Wednesday that the 2027 USA Track & Field Marathon Championships will run through the Chicago Marathon on October 10th.
The race already holds a special place in US women's marathon history after Emily Sisson set the national record of 2:18:29 on the same course in 2022.
Chicago Marathon Doubles as 2027 USATF Championships
Come next year, 20 women and 20 men will chase the national title in the Windy City.
They'll do so by running Chicago's 26.2-mile route, passing through 29 neighborhoods in front of more than a million spectators. The USATF will distribute nearly $110,000 in prize money to the Top 10 finishers on each side.
The championship comes at a pivotal moment for US women's marathoning.
At the 2026 Boston Marathon, Jess McClain broke the US course record with a 2:20:49 fifth-place finish. Meanwhile, Americans Annie Frisbie, Sisson, and Carrie Ellwood rounded out the Top 10 in that same race.
More Olympic Qualifying Opportunities for Marathon Runners
With the 2028 LA Olympics fast approaching, the 2027 Chicago Marathon will also open 300 spots in its High Performance Program so more athletes can target the Olympic Team Trials qualifying standard.
"This is our opportunity to ensure Team USA's top runners can compete in a world class field," Chicago Marathon Executive Race Director Carey Pinkowski said.
NBC will broadcast the race locally in Chicago, with Peacock streaming nationwide. Qualification criteria for the USA Track & Field Marathon Championships have not yet been released.
Claire Thompson announced her retirement from the PWHL, marking the end of a groundbreaking run in Canada women's hockey and beyond. The Vancouver Goldeneyes defender helped the PWHL expansion franchise through its debut season, before stepping away from the sport.
Her next step? She plans to head back to NYU Grossman to finish her medical degree, with orthopedic surgery as her focus.
Inside PWHL Star Claire Thompson's Olympics Career with Canada
Thompson leaves behind one of the most decorated careers in the sport. At Beijing 2022, she posted 13 points as a defender — the most ever posted by a hockey player in her position in one Games. Her performance helped Canada capture gold that year.
She added a silver medal at the 2026 Milan Games, finishing with 17 points across 14 Olympic appearances, more than any defender has recorded in Olympic play.
Before arriving in Vancouver, Minnesota selected Thompson third overall in the 2024 PWHL Draft. She helped the Frost win the 2025 Walter Cup, then became the PWHL expansion club's inaugural signing and an alternate captain. In 28 games with the Goldeneyes, she recorded 13 assists and four goals during the club's debut season.
Why Claire Thompson Is Leaving Hockey for Medicine
Despite still performing at a high level on the ice, Thompson says the timing of her retirement felt right.
"A career in medicine has always been an overarching goal of mine," she said. "I feel very content and ready for this next chapter of my life."
Thompson plans to use her degree to help fellow women's sports athletes in their own professional journeys.
Simone Biles is keeping everyone guessing about LA 28. The 29-year-old, who will turn 31 before the 2028 LA Olympics opening ceremony, told the Associated Press she's still weighing whether to pursue a fourth Games.
"I don't know what the decision (is) I should make, but I don't necessarily have to make it just yet," Biles said.
Is Simone Biles Already Training for LA28?
Still, the pull of a home Games clearly has her attention. She recently hit a double layout in the gym with her sister Adria, just to see if she still could. The answer, apparently, was yes.
"Like a home Olympic Games, like, how could you not?" Biles said. "It's absolutely incredible."
Of course, this time around, Biles is factoring in family planning with her husband, Jonathan Owens, something that didn't apply during earlier Olympic cycles. Meanwhile, several of her USA Gymnastics teammates are already working toward LA. Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, and Jade Carey have each signaled they're training with 2028 Olympic Games in mind.
Biles hasn't competed since her Paris 2024 performance, where she became the third woman to win multiple Olympic all-around golds. Still, for now at least, another run isn't off the table.
USA Softball is crushing it, exiting Oklahoma City’s WBSC Women’s World Cup group stage with a perfect 6-0 record — and a ticket to next spring’s finals.
The US outscored Group C by a 59-0 margin, as Mexico, Brazil, Netherlands, New Zealand, and China failed to take a single point off the home side.
Left fielder Maya Brady blasted off three home runs in Wednesday’s 7-0 win over China, adding to her .647 group-stage batting average.
The WBSC World Cup next moves to Australia, kicking off the final stage in April 2027 — with trip to the 2028 Olympics on the line.
Already-qualified USA Softball joins the 18-team field in Redcliffe, as Mexico, China, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Japan, and Puerto Rico battle to make the LA 28 cut.
Simone Biles swapped the balance beam for the front row at this year's New York Fashion Week. The 11-time Olympic medalist sat beside Venus Williams at the Simkhai Spring 2027 NYFW presentation, sporting a plum A-line dress with matching knee-high boots.
But she wasn't the only athlete making an entrance in Manhattan.
Alexandra Eala Joins Women's Sports Athletes in NYFW Takeover
Alexandra Eala subsequently logged the busiest NYFW schedule of any sports figure. She appeared at Calvin Klein, Tory Burch, and Michael Kors across the week. Coming off her first WTA title and solid US Open run, the Filipino tennis sensation also crossed paths with Anna Wintour — who called herself a "big fan."
"I love that in tennis, we're able to express ourselves through fashion," Eala said.
Beyond Biles and Eala, the runway-to-arena pipeline kept growing. Two-time Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles wore a black feathered dress and rhinestone heels to the Simkhai show. Dallas Wings guard Azzi Fudd went with a laid-back varsity jacket look at Coach. And six-time Olympic medalist Suni Lee brought a preppy edge to Tommy Hilfiger.
The fashion world has long embraced women athletes, as Olympic gymnasts, WNBA rookies, and WTA rising stars pull front-row seats at this season's NYFW.
Patty Gasso opened her tenure as USA Softball's newest head coach this weekend at the 2026 WBSC Women's Softball World Cup in Oklahoma City. The group stage at Devon Park is the first qualifying event for Olympic softball ahead of LA 28.
But Gasso already has her eyes on what's next.
"This is really the beginning of the realization that the Olympics are going to be here," she said.
Patty Gasso Makes USA Softball Coaching Debut
USA Softball formally introduced her as the women's national team head coach before group play began September 12th. She carries eight national titles and four consecutive championships at Oklahoma into the role.
And that experience is paying off.
The US has already routed Mexico, Brazil, and the Netherlands in group-stage play. They'll also face China, New Zealand, and South Africa before this year's tournament wraps.
The top two finishers here will advance to the World Cup Finals in Redcliffe, Australia next April, with a single Olympic spot up for grabs. Grasso, for her part, is already planning for Team USA's 2028 run in Oklahoma City.
"I think the expectation for USA in every sport when it comes to the Olympics is a gold medal, so the pressure is definitely real," she said. "We hope and trust that our fans will come out, and we hope all of us just showcase the best that we can."
Azzi Fudd and Ilona Maher bonded over their shared Connecticut roots this week. The Dallas Wings guard sat down for a gym session on Power Hour with Ilona Maher, the Olympic rugby star's YouTube series produced by Wave.
Ilona Maher, Azzi Fudd Talk UConn Basketball, Trade Training Tips
Both athletes carved out college careers in the state.
Fudd became UConn women's basketball royalty before going No. 1 overall in the 2026 WNBA Draft, while Maher captured three national rugby championships at Quinnipiac. That overlap gave their conversation an easy rhythm. However, the duo did more than just talk.
Part of the show's appeal is watching Maher train athletes in her sport — and vice-versa. For Fudd, that meant wrapping one of Olympian's arms in Saran Wrap and forcing her to dribble one-handed.
Apparently, the Dallas guard's father used the same drill on Fudd growing up to strengthen her non-dominant hand.
The podcast episode was taped before Fudd underwent season-ending knee surgery in August. The rookie has been out ever since, cutting short a promising first year in Dallas.
Maher, meanwhile, keeps expanding her off-field reach. Previous Power Hour guests include Kylie Kelce and Bretman Rock, with the series launching on August 20th.
Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva has been barred from international competition after the International Skating Union (ISU) revoked her neutral athlete status this week, blocking her from the entire 2026/27 season.
Russian Figure Skater Kamila Valieva Faces New Sanctions
It's the latest in a series of ISU sanctions for the 20-year-old.
Valieva served a four-year doping ban after testing positive for trimetazidine from a sample taken ahead of the 2022 Beijing Olympics. That suspension stripped her of a team gold medal, later awarded to the US, and kept her off the ice until January 2026. She had been competing domestically since her return.
But her bid to rejoin the international stage fell short.
The ISU reviewed 234 Russian and Belarusian athletes for neutral athlete eligibility this season, requiring applicants to have no ties to the military, no participation in the war in Ukraine, and no public support for it. The organization didn't specify which criteria Valieva failed, though reports point to social media posts backing Russia's invasion.
Russia's figure skating federation plans to appeal the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Valieva is also challenging her original doping suspension through the European Court of Human Rights, arguing the Swiss supreme court refused to consider new evidence in her favor.
Eileen Gu has a stacked résumé, winning six freestyle skiing medals at the Winter Olympics. And now, she's sharing the mental trick that got her there.
The Chinese-American athlete sat down with Jay Shetty on his On Purpose podcast and laid out the psychological framework behind her longevity.
"Train like I've never won and compete like I've never lost," she explained. In practice, that means being ruthlessly self-critical during training, then flipping into full belief the moment she drops in on the competition.
And she's got the results to prove her playbook is working.
Behind Eileen Gu's Unmatched Winter Olympic Record
Gu left the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina with three more medals. She won halfpipe gold plus silver in slopestyle and big air, giving her six across two Games. No freestyle skiing athlete, male or female, owns a track record like that at the Winter Olympics.
Despite that grind, Gu also managed to finish her degree at Stanford between Games. But she maintains that she's still hungry for more wins.
"In order to be a winner, you have to have this insatiable, almost obsessive, religious, all-in mentality," Gu said.
At 22, Gu has already outlasted the competition window of most freestyle skiers, but it sounds like she's nowhere near done with the Olympic podium.
Sha'Carri Richardson heads to Poland this weekend riding her best form in four years. The 2023 world champion clocked 10.77 seconds in the women's 100m twice this season and claimed her third US 100m title in New York just last month. Now, she lines up against arguably the deepest field of the year at the Silesia Diamond League 2026.
Big-Name Women's 100m Field Headlines 2026 Silesia Diamond League
The Sunday showdown at Silesian Stadium features five major-championship gold medalists.
Olympic champion Julien Alfred arrives unbeaten in 2026, while reigning world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden won this same race last year in 10.66 seconds. Meanwhile, two-time world 200m champion Shericka Jackson and four-time Olympic gold medalist Elaine Thompson-Herah add even more depth. Home favorite Ewa Swoboda rounds out the top entries.
Beyond the individual matchups, qualification spots for the Diamond League Final and the inaugural Ultimate Championship hang in the balance.
For Richardson, a strong showing in Silesia would reinforce her standing among the sport's best as the season enters its final stretch. It will also give fans a preview of what to expect in just two years at LA28.
The women's 100m is scheduled for 11:53 AM ET on Sunday, August 23rd. US viewers can stream the race live on FloTrack.