diff --git a/src/uu/sort/Cargo.toml b/src/uu/sort/Cargo.toml
index 184f6776be7..8a9570eaa30 100644
--- a/src/uu/sort/Cargo.toml
+++ b/src/uu/sort/Cargo.toml
@@ -60,5 +60,13 @@ name = "sort_bench"
 harness = false
 
 [[bench]]
-name = "sort_locale_bench"
+name = "sort_locale_c_bench"
+harness = false
+
+[[bench]]
+name = "sort_locale_utf8_bench"
+harness = false
+
+[[bench]]
+name = "sort_locale_de_bench"
 harness = false
diff --git a/src/uu/sort/benches/sort_locale_bench.rs b/src/uu/sort/benches/sort_locale_bench.rs
deleted file mode 100644
index d00ec9f4ac8..00000000000
--- a/src/uu/sort/benches/sort_locale_bench.rs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,189 +0,0 @@
-// This file is part of the uutils coreutils package.
-//
-// For the full copyright and license information, please view the LICENSE
-// file that was distributed with this source code.
-
-use divan::{Bencher, black_box};
-use std::env;
-use tempfile::NamedTempFile;
-use uu_sort::uumain;
-use uucore::benchmark::{run_util_function, setup_test_file, text_data};
-
-/// Benchmark ASCII-only data sorting with C locale (byte comparison)
-#[divan::bench]
-fn sort_ascii_c_locale(bencher: Bencher) {
-    let data = text_data::generate_ascii_data_simple(100_000);
-    let file_path = setup_test_file(&data);
-    // Reuse the same output file across iterations to reduce filesystem variance
-    let output_file = NamedTempFile::new().unwrap();
-    let output_path = output_file.path().to_str().unwrap().to_string();
-
-    bencher.bench(|| {
-        unsafe {
-            env::set_var("LC_ALL", "C");
-        }
-        black_box(run_util_function(
-            uumain,
-            &["-o", &output_path, file_path.to_str().unwrap()],
-        ));
-    });
-}
-
-/// Benchmark ASCII-only data sorting with UTF-8 locale
-#[divan::bench]
-fn sort_ascii_utf8_locale(bencher: Bencher) {
-    let data = text_data::generate_ascii_data_simple(200_000);
-    let file_path = setup_test_file(&data);
-    // Reuse the same output file across iterations to reduce filesystem variance
-    let output_file = NamedTempFile::new().unwrap();
-    let output_path = output_file.path().to_str().unwrap().to_string();
-
-    bencher.bench(|| {
-        unsafe {
-            env::set_var("LC_ALL", "en_US.UTF-8");
-        }
-        black_box(run_util_function(
-            uumain,
-            &["-o", &output_path, file_path.to_str().unwrap()],
-        ));
-    });
-}
-
-/// Benchmark mixed ASCII/Unicode data with C locale
-#[divan::bench]
-fn sort_mixed_c_locale(bencher: Bencher) {
-    let data = text_data::generate_mixed_locale_data(50_000);
-    let file_path = setup_test_file(&data);
-    // Reuse the same output file across iterations to reduce filesystem variance
-    let output_file = NamedTempFile::new().unwrap();
-    let output_path = output_file.path().to_str().unwrap().to_string();
-
-    bencher.bench(|| {
-        unsafe {
-            env::set_var("LC_ALL", "C");
-        }
-        black_box(run_util_function(
-            uumain,
-            &["-o", &output_path, file_path.to_str().unwrap()],
-        ));
-    });
-}
-
-/// Benchmark mixed ASCII/Unicode data with UTF-8 locale
-#[divan::bench]
-fn sort_mixed_utf8_locale(bencher: Bencher) {
-    let data = text_data::generate_mixed_locale_data(50_000);
-    let file_path = setup_test_file(&data);
-    // Reuse the same output file across iterations to reduce filesystem variance
-    let output_file = NamedTempFile::new().unwrap();
-    let output_path = output_file.path().to_str().unwrap().to_string();
-
-    bencher.bench(|| {
-        unsafe {
-            env::set_var("LC_ALL", "en_US.UTF-8");
-        }
-        black_box(run_util_function(
-            uumain,
-            &["-o", &output_path, file_path.to_str().unwrap()],
-        ));
-    });
-}
-
-/// Benchmark German locale-specific data with C locale
-#[divan::bench]
-fn sort_german_c_locale(bencher: Bencher) {
-    let data = text_data::generate_german_locale_data(50_000);
-    let file_path = setup_test_file(&data);
-    // Reuse the same output file across iterations to reduce filesystem variance
-    let output_file = NamedTempFile::new().unwrap();
-    let output_path = output_file.path().to_str().unwrap().to_string();
-
-    bencher.bench(|| {
-        unsafe {
-            env::set_var("LC_ALL", "C");
-        }
-        black_box(run_util_function(
-            uumain,
-            &["-o", &output_path, file_path.to_str().unwrap()],
-        ));
-    });
-}
-
-/// Benchmark German locale-specific data with German locale
-#[divan::bench]
-fn sort_german_locale(bencher: Bencher) {
-    let data = text_data::generate_german_locale_data(50_000);
-    let file_path = setup_test_file(&data);
-    // Reuse the same output file across iterations to reduce filesystem variance
-    let output_file = NamedTempFile::new().unwrap();
-    let output_path = output_file.path().to_str().unwrap().to_string();
-
-    bencher.bench(|| {
-        unsafe {
-            env::set_var("LC_ALL", "de_DE.UTF-8");
-        }
-        black_box(run_util_function(
-            uumain,
-            &["-o", &output_path, file_path.to_str().unwrap()],
-        ));
-    });
-}
-
-/// Benchmark numeric sorting performance
-#[divan::bench]
-fn sort_numeric(bencher: Bencher) {
-    let mut data = Vec::new();
-    for i in 0..50_000 {
-        let line = format!("{}\n", 50_000 - i);
-        data.extend_from_slice(line.as_bytes());
-    }
-    let file_path = setup_test_file(&data);
-
-    bencher.bench(|| {
-        unsafe {
-            env::set_var("LC_ALL", "en_US.UTF-8");
-        }
-        black_box(run_util_function(
-            uumain,
-            &["-n", file_path.to_str().unwrap()],
-        ));
-    });
-}
-
-/// Benchmark reverse sorting
-#[divan::bench]
-fn sort_reverse_mixed(bencher: Bencher) {
-    let data = text_data::generate_mixed_locale_data(50_000);
-    let file_path = setup_test_file(&data);
-
-    bencher.bench(|| {
-        unsafe {
-            env::set_var("LC_ALL", "en_US.UTF-8");
-        }
-        black_box(run_util_function(
-            uumain,
-            &["-r", file_path.to_str().unwrap()],
-        ));
-    });
-}
-
-/// Benchmark unique sorting
-#[divan::bench]
-fn sort_unique_mixed(bencher: Bencher) {
-    let data = text_data::generate_mixed_locale_data(50_000);
-    let file_path = setup_test_file(&data);
-
-    bencher.bench(|| {
-        unsafe {
-            env::set_var("LC_ALL", "en_US.UTF-8");
-        }
-        black_box(run_util_function(
-            uumain,
-            &["-u", file_path.to_str().unwrap()],
-        ));
-    });
-}
-
-fn main() {
-    divan::main();
-}
diff --git a/src/uu/sort/benches/sort_locale_c_bench.rs b/src/uu/sort/benches/sort_locale_c_bench.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..378a2abb9ac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/uu/sort/benches/sort_locale_c_bench.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+// This file is part of the uutils coreutils package.
+//
+// For the full copyright and license information, please view the LICENSE
+// file that was distributed with this source code.
+
+//! Benchmarks for sort with C locale (fast byte-wise comparison).
+//!
+//! Note: The locale is set in main() BEFORE any benchmark runs because
+//! the locale is cached on first access via OnceLock and cannot be changed afterwards.
+
+use divan::{Bencher, black_box};
+use tempfile::NamedTempFile;
+use uu_sort::uumain;
+use uucore::benchmark::{run_util_function, setup_test_file, text_data};
+
+/// Benchmark ASCII-only data sorting with C locale (byte comparison)
+#[divan::bench]
+fn sort_ascii_c_locale(bencher: Bencher) {
+    let data = text_data::generate_ascii_data_simple(100_000);
+    let file_path = setup_test_file(&data);
+    let output_file = NamedTempFile::new().unwrap();
+    let output_path = output_file.path().to_str().unwrap().to_string();
+
+    bencher.bench(|| {
+        black_box(run_util_function(
+            uumain,
+            &["-o", &output_path, file_path.to_str().unwrap()],
+        ));
+    });
+}
+
+/// Benchmark mixed ASCII/Unicode data with C locale (byte comparison)
+#[divan::bench]
+fn sort_mixed_c_locale(bencher: Bencher) {
+    let data = text_data::generate_mixed_locale_data(50_000);
+    let file_path = setup_test_file(&data);
+    let output_file = NamedTempFile::new().unwrap();
+    let output_path = output_file.path().to_str().unwrap().to_string();
+
+    bencher.bench(|| {
+        black_box(run_util_function(
+            uumain,
+            &["-o", &output_path, file_path.to_str().unwrap()],
+        ));
+    });
+}
+
+/// Benchmark German locale-specific data with C locale (byte comparison)
+#[divan::bench]
+fn sort_german_c_locale(bencher: Bencher) {
+    let data = text_data::generate_german_locale_data(50_000);
+    let file_path = setup_test_file(&data);
+    let output_file = NamedTempFile::new().unwrap();
+    let output_path = output_file.path().to_str().unwrap().to_string();
+
+    bencher.bench(|| {
+        black_box(run_util_function(
+            uumain,
+            &["-o", &output_path, file_path.to_str().unwrap()],
+        ));
+    });
+}
+
+fn main() {
+    // Set C locale BEFORE any benchmarks run.
+    // This must happen before divan::main() because the locale is cached
+    // on first access via OnceLock and cannot be changed afterwards.
+    unsafe {
+        std::env::set_var("LC_ALL", "C");
+    }
+    divan::main();
+}
diff --git a/src/uu/sort/benches/sort_locale_de_bench.rs b/src/uu/sort/benches/sort_locale_de_bench.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..5c760a694e8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/uu/sort/benches/sort_locale_de_bench.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+// This file is part of the uutils coreutils package.
+//
+// For the full copyright and license information, please view the LICENSE
+// file that was distributed with this source code.
+
+//! Benchmarks for sort with German locale (de_DE.UTF-8 collation).
+//!
+//! Note: The locale is set in main() BEFORE any benchmark runs because
+//! the locale is cached on first access via OnceLock and cannot be changed afterwards.
+
+use divan::{Bencher, black_box};
+use tempfile::NamedTempFile;
+use uu_sort::uumain;
+use uucore::benchmark::{run_util_function, setup_test_file, text_data};
+
+/// Benchmark German locale-specific data with German locale
+#[divan::bench]
+fn sort_german_de_locale(bencher: Bencher) {
+    let data = text_data::generate_german_locale_data(50_000);
+    let file_path = setup_test_file(&data);
+    let output_file = NamedTempFile::new().unwrap();
+    let output_path = output_file.path().to_str().unwrap().to_string();
+
+    bencher.bench(|| {
+        black_box(run_util_function(
+            uumain,
+            &["-o", &output_path, file_path.to_str().unwrap()],
+        ));
+    });
+}
+
+fn main() {
+    // Set German locale BEFORE any benchmarks run.
+    // This must happen before divan::main() because the locale is cached
+    // on first access via OnceLock and cannot be changed afterwards.
+    unsafe {
+        std::env::set_var("LC_ALL", "de_DE.UTF-8");
+    }
+    divan::main();
+}
diff --git a/src/uu/sort/benches/sort_locale_utf8_bench.rs b/src/uu/sort/benches/sort_locale_utf8_bench.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b0ebb340d99
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/uu/sort/benches/sort_locale_utf8_bench.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+// This file is part of the uutils coreutils package.
+//
+// For the full copyright and license information, please view the LICENSE
+// file that was distributed with this source code.
+
+//! Benchmarks for sort with UTF-8 locale (locale-aware collation).
+//!
+//! Note: The locale is set in main() BEFORE any benchmark runs because
+//! the locale is cached on first access via OnceLock and cannot be changed afterwards.
+
+use divan::{Bencher, black_box};
+use tempfile::NamedTempFile;
+use uu_sort::uumain;
+use uucore::benchmark::{run_util_function, setup_test_file, text_data};
+
+/// Benchmark ASCII-only data sorting with UTF-8 locale
+#[divan::bench]
+fn sort_ascii_utf8_locale(bencher: Bencher) {
+    let data = text_data::generate_ascii_data_simple(100_000);
+    let file_path = setup_test_file(&data);
+    let output_file = NamedTempFile::new().unwrap();
+    let output_path = output_file.path().to_str().unwrap().to_string();
+
+    bencher.bench(|| {
+        black_box(run_util_function(
+            uumain,
+            &["-o", &output_path, file_path.to_str().unwrap()],
+        ));
+    });
+}
+
+/// Benchmark mixed ASCII/Unicode data with UTF-8 locale
+#[divan::bench]
+fn sort_mixed_utf8_locale(bencher: Bencher) {
+    let data = text_data::generate_mixed_locale_data(50_000);
+    let file_path = setup_test_file(&data);
+    let output_file = NamedTempFile::new().unwrap();
+    let output_path = output_file.path().to_str().unwrap().to_string();
+
+    bencher.bench(|| {
+        black_box(run_util_function(
+            uumain,
+            &["-o", &output_path, file_path.to_str().unwrap()],
+        ));
+    });
+}
+
+/// Benchmark numeric sorting with UTF-8 locale
+#[divan::bench]
+fn sort_numeric_utf8_locale(bencher: Bencher) {
+    let mut data = Vec::new();
+    for i in 0..50_000 {
+        let line = format!("{}\n", 50_000 - i);
+        data.extend_from_slice(line.as_bytes());
+    }
+    let file_path = setup_test_file(&data);
+
+    bencher.bench(|| {
+        black_box(run_util_function(
+            uumain,
+            &["-n", file_path.to_str().unwrap()],
+        ));
+    });
+}
+
+/// Benchmark reverse sorting with UTF-8 locale
+#[divan::bench]
+fn sort_reverse_utf8_locale(bencher: Bencher) {
+    let data = text_data::generate_mixed_locale_data(50_000);
+    let file_path = setup_test_file(&data);
+
+    bencher.bench(|| {
+        black_box(run_util_function(
+            uumain,
+            &["-r", file_path.to_str().unwrap()],
+        ));
+    });
+}
+
+/// Benchmark unique sorting with UTF-8 locale
+#[divan::bench]
+fn sort_unique_utf8_locale(bencher: Bencher) {
+    let data = text_data::generate_mixed_locale_data(50_000);
+    let file_path = setup_test_file(&data);
+
+    bencher.bench(|| {
+        black_box(run_util_function(
+            uumain,
+            &["-u", file_path.to_str().unwrap()],
+        ));
+    });
+}
+
+fn main() {
+    // Set UTF-8 locale BEFORE any benchmarks run.
+    // This must happen before divan::main() because the locale is cached
+    // on first access via OnceLock and cannot be changed afterwards.
+    unsafe {
+        std::env::set_var("LC_ALL", "en_US.UTF-8");
+    }
+    divan::main();
+}