This breakdown compares the 2025 Elite 15 fields to the athletes who qualified for the 2026 World Championships.

Men’s Elite 15: Stability at the Top

Returning Athletes (2025 → 2026)

🇩🇪 Tim Wenisch (1st)
🇺🇸 Hunter McIntyre (2nd)
🇺🇸 Dylan Scott (3rd)
🇦🇺 James Kelly (4th)
🇳🇱 Hidde Weersma (7th)
🇦🇹 Alexander Roncevic (8th)
🇺🇸 Rich Ryan (11th)
🇨🇿 Tomas Tvrdik (13th)

New Athletes in 2026

🇨🇦 Cole Learn
🇳🇿 Dexter Buchanan
🇩🇰 Sebastian Ifversen
🇧🇪 Louis Osselaer
🇬🇧 Luke Greer
🇬🇧 Charlie Botterill
🇮🇪 Sean Noble

Did Not Return from 2025

🇺🇸 Rylan Schadegg (RIP)
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Graham Halliday
🇪🇸 Pelayo Menendez Fernandez
🇳🇿 Beau Wills
🇬🇧 Jake Dearden
🇦🇺 Tom Rodgers
🇦🇺 Jon Wynn

Men’s Takeaway

Ten of fifteen athletes returned from the 2025 field, and the core of the Elite 15 remains largely unchanged. The same names continue to anchor the top of the sport, suggesting the men’s field is becoming increasingly difficult to break into.

The biggest surprises are Jon Wynn and Tom Rodgers, who went from 5th and 6th at Worlds last year to missing this year’s World Championships entirely.

Women’s Elite 15:

Returning Athletes (2025 → 2026)

🇩🇪 Linda Meier (1st)
🇦🇺 Joanna Wietrzyk (2nd)
🇺🇸 Lauren Weeks (3rd)
🇬🇧 Sinéad Bent (4th)
🇬🇧 Lucy Procter (5th)
🇳🇱 Emilie Dahmen (6th)
🇺🇸 Vivian Tafuto (7th)
🇦🇺 Jess Pettrow (9th)
🇩🇪 Seka Arning (14th)

New Athletes in 2026

🇳🇿 Gabrielle Nikora-Baker
🇧🇪 Lena Putters
🇺🇸 Morgan Schulz
🇦🇺 Calypso Sheridan
🇺🇸 Alyssa McElheny
🇩🇪 Stefanie Oswald

Did Not Return from 2025

🇬🇧 Kate Davey
🇩🇰 Ida Steensgaard
🇺🇸 Lauren Griffith
🇺🇸 Amy Bevilacqua
🇨🇭 Melanie Maurer
🇺🇸 Kris Rugloski

Women’s Takeaway

Nine of fifteen athletes returned from the 2025 field, including the entire top seven from last year’s World Championships. While there is turnover in the women’s Elite 15, it is largely concentrated in the bottom half of the field, with the top tier remaining firmly in place.

Bigger Picture: 2024 to 2026 Field Composition

Men

The 2026 Elite 15 men’s field includes 10 returning athletes from 2025 and 5 new qualifiers. Of those returners, six were already part of the 2024 field: Alexander Roncevic, James Kelly, Hunter McIntyre, Dylan Scott, Tomas Tvrdik, and Rich Ryan. The remaining four established themselves in 2025 and held their place into 2026.

This highlights a growing level of continuity on the men’s side, with a core group maintaining their position across multiple seasons. Rylan Schadegg was also new in 2025, but does not appear in the 2026 field following his passing.

Five athletes from the 2024 field did not return in either 2025 or 2026: Michael Sandbach, Tobias Lautwein, Colin Stiefer, David Magida, and Ryan Kent.

Women

The 2026 Elite 15 women’s field includes 9 returning athletes from 2025 and 6 new qualifiers. Of those returners, three were already part of the 2024 field: Lauren Weeks, Vivian Tafuto, and Linda Meier. The remaining six entered the Elite 15 in 2025 and held their place into 2026.

Compared to the men, fewer women have maintained their position across multiple seasons, indicating a faster rate of turnover and a more open pathway into the Elite 15.

Nine athletes from the 2024 field did not return in either 2025 or 2026: Megan Jacoby, Viola Oberländer, Zara Piergianni, Maria Fecik, Mikaela Norman, Jana Lebenstedt, Antje Hardes, Alina Willnow, and Camilla Massa.