UIPM 2026 Obstacle World Championships: Sedova (RUS) and Shrim (ISR) shine in youth-dominated 400m
Youth and a lack of global experience are clearly not barriers at the highest level of Obstacle Sports. This was evident on the opening day of the UIPM 2026 Obstacle World Championships as teenagers and young adults bossed the demanding 400 metres event.
Aged 22, Junling Chen of China can hardly be described as a veteran but she was the oldest of six Elite medallists on a day when Anna Sedova of Russia and Gal Shrim of Israel announced themselves the youthful trailblazers of middle-distance Ninja-style Obstacle Racing, winning the biggest prizes in the sport.
Sedova (RUS), 14, has been the revelation of the Championships so far. Clearing the opening Cargo Net with astonishing ease, she looked to be running her own race in every Semi-final and Final.
First she bested the U19 category, which was essential a dress rehearsal for the Elite finals, with a time of 1min 41.39sec and almost 10sec between herself and fellow medallists Chen (CHN) and Jaleesa Himka of United States.
Then she lined up against Chen (CHN), Himka (USA) and 15-year-old Pentathlon sensation Farida Khalil of Egypt and again left her rivals choking on fumes. Another victory margin of almost 10sec, an even better time of 1:39.96 and a cheque for $5,000 left nobody in doubt that the 400m is ruled by a new queen. Amazingly, Khalil (EGY) pipped Chen (CHN) to the silver medal to demonstrate her remarkable versatility.
The Men's Elite final was rather more tense as 2025 champion and gold-medal favourite Luke Beckstrand of United States lost the shoe from his left foot on the Cargo Net. Remarkably the 18-year-old stayed very much in the race but he couldn't claw back the lead of 21-year-old Shrim (ISR), who held his nerve to triumph in 1:20.61 ahead of his rival's 1:23.74. Another Israeli, 20-year-old Shneor Sameach (ISR), battled hard to claim the bronze ahead of Liqi Yi (CHN).
The Russian team, followed by Israel, enjoyed the most success on the first of four Finals days at Universal CityWalk in Beijing (CHN). But there were also gold medals across the age groups for Australia, Belarus, Japan, Lithuania and New Zealand, with podium joy for athletes from Georgia, Germany, Guam, Philippines, Poland, Portugal and Singapore.
Click here to view all competition results.
How it works
Across five days, athletes will compete over three individual distances. The explosive 100m remains the sport’s pure speed test, while the 400m returns after its successful introduction to the World Championships programme in 2025. The 3km provides a different examination of endurance, obstacle technique and race management.
The 3km will also gain unprecedented international exposure in Beijing as the event is live-streamed for the first time, bringing one of the formats most familiar to the established global short-course Obstacle Racing community to viewers around the world.
Team racing will have an enhanced presence too. The 3km Team Event returns, while a new 4x100m Relay adds another high-speed dimension to the programme.
Away from the elite competition, the World Championships will again demonstrate the broad demographic reach of Obstacle Sports. Racing stretches from the U11 category through to 40+, bringing children, teenagers, elite athletes and masters competitors together at the same global gathering.
There is also significant prize money at stake for the leading elite athletes, with rewards available across the individual 100m, 400m and 3km competitions from $1k for bronze medals to $5k for gold.
Watch and follow
The UIPM 2026 Obstacle World Championships take place from September 2-6, with live and highlights coverage from major broadcasters around the world including TV Tokyo (Japan), Eurovision Sports (Pan Europe), Jio (India), Polsat Sports (Poland), Stan Sport (Australia), TV Start (Russia), PX Sports (LATAM), SuperSport (Pan Africa).
Livestream is also available free on UIPM YouTube and iQiyi based on the following schedule (TV start times listed in Central European Summer Time):
Friday September 4
- 3km Finals (09:00 CEST)
Saturday September 5
- 100m Finals (14:00 CEST)
Sunday September 6
- 4x100m Relay Finals (09:00 CEST)
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