# @citiusmag on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DdpCUwIFBfj
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/70804962-citiusmag-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/3d3ef0330d.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-09-23T19:14:18.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** CITIUS MAG (@citiusmag) — https://gondola.cc/citiusmag

## Caption

Unlike “normal” global championship years, this professional season ended with three championships of a sort: the Diamond League final, World Ultimate Championships, and World Road Running Championships. 🏟️ 

As its name implies, the “ultimate” championship feels like the closest thing we had this year to a be-all-end-all determination of who’s the best athlete in their respective events, but it’s easier to look at the calendar and suggest that success in other forays—whether it’s the European Championships, regular-season DL circuit, Commonwealth Games, or something else entirely—could mean the same or more than a trophy in Budapest.

As always, there’s a healthy dose of subjectivity that goes into these rankings. How do you compare a single-event specialist against a more generalized sprinter or distance runner? How much does consistency over the regular season matter compared to winning when it “counts?” How much does the top-end talent of an event or event group like the women’s 800m elevate a star who didn’t win all that much? 🤔 💭 

Congratulations in particular to the great masai_russell , who took issue with her #12 mid-year ranking and proceeded to break the world record, win WUC, and cap an undefeated season just to prove us wrong. 🫡 

The competition was so fierce this year that poor Ja’Kobe Tharp was able to break the world record in the 110m hurdles but not crack the top 5, and Marileidy Paulino finished the year ranked 9th despite completing an undefeated season in the 400m. That’s not to say that they didn’t reach consistently high heights worthy of praise all season, just that others soared even higher.

Power rankings are, as always, excellent fodder for debate. Feel free to take on and tear apart our hierarchy on long runs with your friends or at dinner after practice, keeping the 2026 season alive for a few more weeks as we digest and reflect on everything that happened. We can’t wait to hear what you think! 💬

(We’ll have a separate post for our Field Event Athlete Rankings)

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## Credits

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CITIUS MAG | @citiusmag | https://gondola.cc/citiusmag | Media Company |

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