Children across the globe are celebrating the fifth anniversary of Kids’ Athletics Day with a month-long campaign aimed at inspiring at least 700,000 more young people to embrace active lifestyles in 2026.
The initiative, driven by World Athletics, uses athletics as a tool to encourage children to become more physically active through fun, inclusive and age-appropriate activities. Since its launch in 2022, Kids’ Athletics Day, celebrated annually on May 7, has expanded into a worldwide movement, reaching more than 1.3 million children in schools, clubs and communities. Organisers are now targeting a cumulative participation figure of two million children.
This year’s campaign is themed around the “Power of Five,” celebrating five years of impact while promoting unity and participation through athletics. Organisers said the campaign encourages creativity at local level while contributing to a shared global objective of getting more children moving more often.
The 2026 celebrations began in Botswana, where Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo joined 50 children in a special activation held on the eve of the World Athletics Relays Gaborone 2026. Tebogo, who serves as a Kids’ Athletics ambassador, participated in relay-inspired activities and movement challenges with the children.
In a related event, the Botswana Athletics Association hosted more than 400 children at a Kids’ Athletics Day festival near the National Stadium in Gaborone. The youngsters were later given the opportunity to attend the World Relays competition, courtesy of tickets provided by World Athletics and the local organising committee.
Several children also enjoyed a memorable experience as baton kids during selected 4x400m relay events, including the finals. The children handed race batons to participating teams during introductions and interacted closely with some of the world’s leading athletes.
Uganda has emerged as the early leader on the global participation leaderboard, recording more than 37,000 children across 22 activations within the first six days of the May 1-31 campaign period.
Benin, Brazil, Kenya and Venezuela are also among the leading nations, with each country already engaging about 5,000 children through multiple activities.
Brazil has staged 54 activations nationwide under the coordination of the Confederação Brasileira de Atletismo. Organisers disclosed that the athletics training centre with the highest level of participation will receive special recognition from the federation.
In China, Kids’ Athletics Day celebrations began in Linfen on May 4 as part of a larger sports week organised in Shanxi Province. About 700 children participated in activities including a one-kilometre obstacle run, while more activations are planned across the country with a target of reaching 10,000 participants.
Portugal has recorded participation from 3,500 children in 19 school and club events nationwide. Activities in the country have also featured teacher and coach education workshops, alongside equipment-making sessions using recyclable materials to promote sustainability awareness among children.
Per capita participation figures currently place Antigua ahead of other nations, followed by Mauritius and Saint Lucia.
The campaign also comes on the heels of the launch of the Kids’ Athletics app, a free digital platform designed to make athletics activities more accessible to schools, clubs, teachers, coaches and families worldwide.
Organisers confirmed that the 2026 Kids’ Athletics Day campaign will continue until May 31, with countries around the world expected to stage more community-based activities in the coming weeks.
