The World Athletics Ultimate Championship gets underway this evening in Budapest, beginning three nights of competition featuring many of the biggest names in athletics.
But if you have found yourself wondering exactly what the Ultimate Championship is, you are probably not alone.
This is the first edition of a completely new competition created by World Athletics, with a different format, much smaller fields and considerably more prize money than athletes would normally see at a major championship.
Here is everything you need to know.
What Is the World Athletics Ultimate Championship?
The Ultimate Championship is a new global athletics competition created by World Athletics and designed to act as the major finale to the outdoor season.
The inaugural edition takes place at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest from this eveing Friday, September 11th to Sunday, September 13th.
Unlike the Olympic Games and World Athletics Championships, it is deliberately compact.
There are just three evening sessions, each lasting approximately three hours, with 381 athletes from 65 federations competing across 28 events.
The plan is for the championship to take place every two years.
Why Has It Been Created?
One of the ideas behind the competition is to give athletics another major global event during years without an outdoor World Championships or Olympic Games.
There is no outdoor World Athletics Championships in 2026, meaning the Ultimate Championship effectively gives the season a major championship finale.
World Athletics has also designed the meeting specifically with television audiences in mind.
There are no long mornings of preliminary rounds followed by evening sessions. Instead, competition is concentrated into three evenings with small fields and very little time between major races and finals.
Who Gets to Compete?
This is not an open championship with huge entry lists.
The fields are intentionally small and are made up of many of the leading athletes in the world.
Olympic champions, 2025 world champions and 2026 Diamond League champions were among those able to secure places, with the remaining positions largely filled according to performances and rankings during the season.
Unlike some international competitions, there is no limit on how many athletes from one country can compete in the same event.
Depending on the discipline, fields generally contain between eight and 16 athletes.
That means there are very few easy races.
How Does the Track Format Work?
The 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, sprint hurdles and 400m hurdles begin at the semi final stage.
There are two semi finals containing eight athletes, with the first four in each progressing to the final.
That means there are no heats.
Athletes effectively arrive in Budapest only one race away from a global final.
The 1500m and 5000m are even more straightforward. Both are straight finals.
There are also mixed 4x100m and mixed 4x400m relay events.
How Do the Field Events Work?
Field events contain eight athletes and are also straight finals.
The horizontal jumps and throws use a shortened four round format.
All eight competitors receive attempts in the opening two rounds. Six progress to the third round, before only the leading four remain for the final attempt.
High jump and pole vault operate differently, but still contain only eight athletes.
The idea across the programme is clear: less waiting, fewer preliminary rounds and much greater jeopardy from the beginning.
How Much Prize Money Is Available?
This is where the Ultimate Championship really separates itself from anything previously staged in athletics.
World Athletics has put up a total prize fund of $10 million, the largest ever offered at a single track and field competition.
Every athlete who competes will earn prize money.
For individual events, the money is distributed as follows:
1st: $150,000
2nd: $75,000
3rd: $40,000
4th: $25,000
5th: $16,000
6th: $14,000
7th: $12,000
8th: $10,000
9th: $9,000
10th: $8,000
11th: $7,000
12th: $6,000
13th: $5,000
14th: $4,000
15th: $3,000
16th: $2,000
Winning an individual event in Budapest is therefore worth $150,000.
For context, first prize at a standard Diamond League meeting is considerably lower, making the financial stakes in Budapest unusually high.
Relay winners will share $80,000, with $40,000 for second and $24,000 for third.
Are There Medals?
No.
One of the more unusual decisions taken by World Athletics is that there will be no traditional gold, silver and bronze medals.
Every invited athlete receives a participation token.
The winner of each event receives a trophy designed to connect with that token to form a complete piece.
It is another attempt to give the competition an identity separate from the Olympic Games and World Championships.
Which Events Are Included?
There are 28 events across the three evenings.
On the track, the programme includes the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m, sprint hurdles and 400m hurdles, along with the mixed 4x100m and mixed 4x400m relays.
Selected jumping and throwing events are also included, although the programme does not contain every event found at a traditional major championship.
So Is This Basically Another World Championships?
Not really.
There are similarities, particularly with athletes competing for their countries, but the structure is very different.
A World Championships runs for more than a week, contains large fields and features several rounds in many disciplines.
The Ultimate Championship takes that basic idea and compresses it dramatically.
Three nights. Small fields. Almost no preliminary rounds. Huge prize money.
World Athletics wants it to become the major finale to the season rather than a replacement for the World Championships.
The first edition in Budapest will provide the first real indication of how well that idea works.
And with $150,000 awaiting every individual winner, there will be no shortage of incentive once competition gets underway tonight.
