Budapest to Host Inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship - 381 Athletes, $10 Million Prize Pot
Budapest is set to become the hottest spot on the track‑and‑field calendar when the National Athletics Centre opens its gates to the world’s best on 11 September. The first World Athletics Ultimate Championship will run for three days, drawing 381 athletes from 65 national federations into a high‑stakes, prize‑money‑driven showdown.
Unlike a traditional championship, this invitational gathers only the cream of the crop—defending Olympic champions, world champions, Diamond League winners, and the top‑ranked names in the World Athletics Rankings. The idea is simple: make it a television spectacle where performance pays off in dollars rather than medals. The total prize pot tops $10 million, with each individual champion walking away with $150 000.
Pole vault fans will be treated to a duel between Swedish world‑record holder and Olympic champion Mondo Duplantis, who cleared 6.31 m earlier this year, and Greek Diamond League champion Emmanouil Karalis, who has already cleared 6.20 m this season. The hurdles will feature record‑breakers at every turn: Ja’Kobe Tharp’s 12.75‑second world record in the 110‑metre hurdles, Masai Russell’s 12.09‑second run in the women’s 100‑metre hurdles, and Alison dos Santos’ 45.80‑second men’s 400‑metre hurdles performance in Zurich last month.
Olympic champions such as Gabby Thomas (100 m), Marileidy Paulino (400 m), Keely Hodgkinson (800 m), Yaroslava Mahuchikh (high jump), Letsile Tebogo (400 m hurdles), and Ethan Katzberg (400 m) are all on the entry list. They’ll be joined by world champions Melissa Jefferson‑Wooden (400 m), Oblique Seville (400 m hurdles), and Collen Kebinatshipi (400 m hurdles).
The middle‑distance races promise razor‑sharp battles. Women’s 800 m will feature world leader Audrey Werro, Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson, and Femke Broeders‑Bol. Men’s 1500 m will pit Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen and England’s Josh Kerr against Olympic champion Cole Hocker and world champion Isaac Nader.
Two mixed‑relay finals will also light up the program. Jamaica, the world‑record holder in the mixed 4×100 m relay, will head a nine‑team field, while the United States tops the entries for the mixed 4×400 m relay.
World Athletics will publish event‑by‑event previews on its website ahead of the first session on Friday, 11 September. The entry lists are current as of the time of publication but remain subject to change.
The National Athletics Centre, a modern arena built on the eastern bank of the Danube, hosted the 2023 World Athletics Championships and will again serve as the venue for this high‑profile competition. The Ultimate Championship is designed to bring together the sport’s elite athletes in a format that rewards performance with substantial prize money and offers a new spectacle for fans worldwide.
With a $10 million pot, the 2026 edition will be the richest track and field event in history. Winners will receive a share of the pot, with individual champions taking home $150 000 each. The championship will close out the 2026 athletics season and set the stage for the next edition, scheduled to follow the 2028 Olympic Games.
