Virginia athletes turned in a strong performance at the 2026 USATF Outdoor Championships, held July 23-26 at Icahn Stadium in New York City. The championships marked the 150th edition of the event and its first return to New York City since 1991, with Virginia competitors earning a runner-up finish and several top-10 performances against the nation's best.
Leading the way was Cooper Teare (NIKE), who captured the silver medal in the men's 5,000m with a time of 13:45.88. Teare's runner-up finish highlighted a championship that saw Virginia athletes advance to multiple event finals and contend for podium positions.
Virginia narrowly missed adding two more podium finishes as Christian Jackson placed fourth in the men's 800m (1:45.05) and Rachel McArthur (ASICS) finished fourth in the women's 1,500m (4:09.59), each finishing just one place shy of the medal stand.
Additional top-eight performances came from Javonte' Harding, who placed sixth in the men's 200m with a time of 20.61 after advancing through the preliminary round, and Michaela Rose (adidas), who finished 10th in the women's 800m (2:01.58).
Virginia athletes also posted several strong performances throughout the championships. Alaysia Oakes placed 12th in the women's long jump, while Lindsey Butler finished 14th in the women's 1,500m. Javonte' Harding, Christian Jackson, and Rachel McArthur each advanced through their preliminary rounds to earn spots in their respective championship finals.