World Athletics Ultimate Championship Budapest 26 Set for Three-Day, $10 Million Season Finale

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Track and field’s newest global championship gets underway Friday as Olympic champions, world champions, Diamond League winners and many of the season’s leading performers meet in Budapest for the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship.

The three-day competition runs from Sept. 11-13 at the National Athletics Centre. Final entry lists include 381 athletes from 65 federations, with 28 events scheduled across three evening sessions. World Athletics has put up a record $10 million prize purse, with each individual champion earning $150,000.

The format leaves little room for recovery. There are no opening heats in most track events. The sprint, hurdles, 400-meter and 800-meter competitions begin with 2 semifinals of 8 athletes, with the first 4 in each race moving directly to the final. Field events are straight finals.

That setup brings several major matchups into focus from the opening night.

Russell, Duplantis headline Friday

The women’s 100-meter hurdles puts Masai Russell back at the center of attention after a season in which she broke the world record and won the Diamond League title.

Russell lowered the global mark to 12.09 seconds in Zurich and enters Budapest unbeaten over the barriers this season. Former world record-holder Tobi Amusan, Bahamian record-holder Devynne Charlton, European champion Nadine Visser and 2-time world champion Danielle Williams are among the athletes trying to stop her.

Both the semifinals and final will be held Friday, adding to the pressure of the shortened championship format.

The men’s pole vault brings another major attraction. Mondo Duplantis, who improved his world record to 6.31 meters earlier this season, leads the field. Emmanouil Karalis, the 2026 Diamond League champion who has cleared 6.20 meters, is among his leading challengers.

In the men’s 110-meter hurdles, world record-holder and Diamond League champion Ja’Kobe Tharp enters as one of the leading names, with Jamal Britt also in contention.

Hungary will have a major medal hope in the men’s hammer. European champion and world leader Bence Halász competes at home against Olympic champion Ethan Katzberg, who has been one of the event’s most consistent performers.

The women’s high jump brings together Eleanor Patterson, Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Nicola Olyslagers, while the women’s long jump includes European champion Larissa Iapichino, Diamond League Final winner Monae’ Nichols and Commonwealth champion Jazmin Sawyers.

Friday also includes the men’s 5,000 meters and the new mixed 4×100-meter relay. Jamaica enters the relay discussion after its success at the World Relays, with the United States and Great Britain also among the teams to watch.

Seville targets another title Saturday

The men’s 100 meters could provide one of Saturday’s biggest races.

Jamaica’s Oblique Seville arrives as world champion and Diamond League champion. His 9.82-second season best makes him the fastest athlete in the Budapest field this year.

Nigeria’s Kayinsola Ajayi has run 9.84 and already owns victories over Seville this season. Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme, South Africa’s Akani Simbine, Olympic medalist Kenny Bednarek, former world champion Christian Coleman, Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs and Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo add depth to the field.

World leader Noah Lyles, who ran 9.79 in New York, is absent through injury. Seville will therefore have the opportunity to add the first Ultimate Championship title to a season that has already produced world and Diamond League crowns.

The women’s 100 meters offers another major sprint matchup. Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Olympic champion Julien Alfred enter with a 1-1 head-to-head record this season.

The men’s long jump features Jamaican Diamond League and Commonwealth champion Tajay Gayle against European champion and world leader Miltiadis Tentoglou.

There is also a deep women’s 800-meter field. Diamond League champion Audrey Werro meets Femke Bol, while Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson returns to competition.

In the women’s 1,500 meters, Klaudia Kazimierska enters after her Diamond League Final victory, with Dorcus Ewoi, Jessica Hull, Georgia Hunter Bell and Freweyni Hailu among the other leading entries.

Dos Santos, Warholm and Benjamin renew rivalry

The men’s 400-meter hurdles brings together 3 of the event’s biggest names.

World record-holder Alison dos Santos meets Karsten Warholm and Rai Benjamin, creating another chapter in a rivalry that has helped shape the event in recent seasons.

Saturday also includes the women’s 400-meter hurdles semifinals before the event reaches its conclusion later in the championship. The field includes world leader and Diamond League champion Anna Cockrell, European champion Emma Zapletalová and Jasmine Jones.

The women’s pole vault features Diamond League champion Hana Moll, European champion Angelica Moser and Sandi Morris.

200m stars take over Sunday

The championship closes Sunday with another group of major finals.

The women’s 200 meters brings Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Gabby Thomas together in one of the weekend’s most anticipated sprint matchups.

The men’s race gives Kenny Bednarek another opportunity after the 100 meters. Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo is also entered in both sprints.

The men’s 1,500 meters features world-class depth, with Josh Kerr, Cam Myers, Phanuel Koech, Cole Hocker and Jakob Ingebrigtsen among the prominent names.

The women’s triple jump includes Diamond League champion Saly Sarr, Cuba’s Leyanis Pérez Hernández and Davisleify Velazco, along with world leader and Commonwealth champion Thea LaFond.

Sunday’s men’s javelin also brings together Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage, Julian Weber and Arshad Nadeem, while the mixed 4×400-meter relay will put national-team depth to the test.

World Athletics created the Ultimate Championship as a biennial season-ending event, bringing many of the sport’s leading athletes together in a compact 3-night program. It is scheduled to feature 26 individual events and 2 mixed relays, with no traditional preliminary rounds and every session built around semifinals and finals.

The first edition now arrives with $10 million on the line and 381 athletes chasing something the sport has never awarded before — the title of Ultimate Champion.

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