World Athletics on Monday announced the launch of the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, a bi-annual global championship event.
In a statement, the global body said that the new event will feature World Championships gold medallists, Olympic champions, Wanda Diamond League winners and the best performing athletes in the year against each other.
The first event will be held in Budapest, Hungary from September 11 to 13, 2026 and will feature a total prize money of $10 million. Gold medallists in each event will also pocket a mouth-watering $150,000.
“With only the best of the best on show and cutting straight to semi finals and finals, we will create an immediate pressure to perform for athletes aiming to claim the title of the ultimate champion,” said World Athletics president Seb Coe.
Each tournament will act as the season finale and will feature 8-16 athletes across all track and field events. All events in the tournament will take place over the course of three evenings. While track events will feature semi-finals and finals, field events will directly have finals.
The move to launch the World Athletics Ultimate Championship to ensure athletes earn more money comes months after the World Athletics announced that track and field gold medallists at the Summer Olympic Games will receive $50,000.
