Thailand's Puripol Boonson, 20, won the Asian Games men's 100m in a Games-record 9.90 seconds in Nagoya on 25 September, hours after breaking the same record with 9.91 in his semifinal.
China's Zhang Zhanshuo closed the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sept. 25 with a seventh gold, taking the 400m freestyle in a Games-record 3:41.28. France 24 and The Sun call him the first swimmer to win seven titles at one edition.
China's Yu Zidi, 13, won the 400m individual medley in 4:28.56 on September 23 for her third individual gold of the 2026 Asian Games, breaking Ye Shiwen's Games record by 4.41 seconds after a 2:06.10 in the 200 IM, the second-fastest swim in history.
Erling Haaland scored twice in Norway's 3-2 win over Denmark in Oslo on 24 September 2026, moving to 64 international goals in 56 caps and past the 62 scored by Ronaldo Nazario and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
At the Asian Games on 24 September 2026, Japan's 17-year-old Shin Ohashi swam the 200m breaststroke in 2:04.83, taking 0.65 seconds off Qin Haiyang's world record and becoming the first man under 2:05.
The UFC promoted Ciryl Gane to undisputed heavyweight champion on September 19 and booked his first defense against Josh Hokit for UFC 334 on November 14 at Madison Square Garden - a day after Dana White dismissed the idea.
Real Madrid beat Santiago Wanderers 3-1 at the Bernabeu on 19 September 2026 to take the Under-20 Intercontinental Cup for the first time, before a competition-record crowd of 52,117. Wanderers finished with eight men.
Dawit Seare outkicked Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the final metres of the world 5km road title race in Copenhagen on 19 September, winning in an Eritrean record 12:56 to the Norwegian's national-record 12:59.
Flamengo's 1-1 draw with Independiente del Valle on 17 September completed the Copa Libertadores last four: Fluminense play Palmeiras, Estudiantes face Flamengo, with the final set for 28 November in Montevideo.
Sunderland ended a 53-year absence from European football on 16 September 2026, beating AZ Alkmaar 1-0 at the Stadium of Light through Enzo Le Fée's 66th-minute penalty in their Europa League league phase opener.
Alexander Zverev beat Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 on September 13 to win his first US Open and a second major of 2026. The loss extends the American men's Grand Slam drought to 23 years.
UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall said on 14 September 2026 he is vacating the title because eye complications leave him unable to get medical clearance. Interim champion Ciryl Gane is expected to be elevated.
Ben Shelton beat defending champion Carlos Alcaraz 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(10-7) in a quarterfinal that ended at 3:33 a.m. ET on September 9, 2026, the latest finish in US Open history. His September 11 semifinal against Frances Tiafoe put an American two wins from the first US men's title in New York since 2003.
Kimi Antonelli won the Italian Grand Prix from 19th on the grid, becoming the first Italian to win at Monza since 1966.
Serena and Venus Williams received a wild card into US Open women's doubles, their ninth appearance together at the tournament and first since 2022.