Just when athletics supporters had finally got their heads around the Olympic Games, World Championships, European Championships and Diamond League, another major event has arrived on the calendar.
The World Athletics Ultimate Championship makes its debut in Budapest next month. The name sounds as if somebody in a boardroom turned the dial all the way up, but the idea is fairly simple. It is a short, invitation only global championship bringing many of the best athletes in the world together at the end of the outdoor season.
It is not a Diamond League meeting. It is not a replacement for the World Championships either. Think of it as a compressed global final, staged over three evenings, with tiny fields, national kits and a serious amount of prize money on the line.
For Ireland, the timing is particularly interesting. The team has just returned from Birmingham with four individual European medals, and several Irish athletes are now either inside the provisional qualification places or close enough to keep an eye on the final rankings.
When and Where Does It Take Place?
The first World Athletics Ultimate Championship will run from Friday September 11th to Sunday September 13th at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, the same stadium that hosted the 2023 World Championships. The official schedule confirms three evening sessions.
There will be one evening session on each of the three days, lasting less than three hours. Friday begins at 7pm in Budapest, with Saturday and Sunday starting at 6pm. That is 6pm on Friday and 5pm on Saturday and Sunday in Ireland.
World Athletics plans to hold the competition every two years. It has been created to give the outdoor season a major global ending in years when there is no standard World Championships. The next edition is due in 2028 after the Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Does It Have Anything to Do With the Diamond League?
No, although there are some similarities.
The Diamond League is a season long series of meetings. Athletes compete primarily as individuals, usually in their sponsor kit, collect points across the season and try to earn a place in the Diamond League Final.
The Ultimate Championship is one global event run by World Athletics. Athletes will wear their national kit, so any Irish qualifiers will compete in green and will be presented as representatives of Ireland.
There is an unusual detail behind that national presentation. World Athletics invites athletes directly and they compete in an individual capacity. Athletics Ireland does not nominate the team or apply a separate selection policy. There is also no limit of three athletes from one country in an individual event. If six Americans qualify for a sprint, all six can compete.
That makes it look and feel like a championship between nations, but the entry system is closer to an elite invitational meeting.
How Big Is the Competition?
It is far smaller than an Olympic Games or World Championships. Nearly 400 athletes are expected, with 26 individual events and two mixed relays.
The programme includes the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m and 5000m for men and women, along with the sprint hurdles and 400m hurdles. High jump, pole vault, long jump and javelin are included for both sexes. There is also a women's triple jump, a men's hammer and mixed 4x100m and 4x400m relays.
Several familiar championship events have been left out. There is no 10,000m, steeplechase, shot put, discus, race walking, marathon, decathlon or heptathlon.
The small fields are central to the official format. The 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m and hurdle events will have 16 athletes, split into two semifinals. The first four in each race advance to the final. The 1500m and 5000m will have 12 athletes in a straight final, while field events will have eight athletes.
The horizontal jumps and throws will use a four round system. All eight athletes get two attempts, six survive for round three and four remain for the final attempt.
How Does Qualification Work?
There are no entry standards. An athlete cannot run a particular time and automatically book a place.
The Paris 2024 Olympic champions and Tokyo 2025 world champions in the included events receive automatic invitations. The winners of the 2026 Diamond League Final in Brussels will also be invited.
The remaining places are filled through the World Athletics rankings during a qualification period running from September 1st 2025 to September this year. The full qualification system contains the detailed rules, while the Road to Ultimate tool tracks the position of each athlete. Track Athletes has a great page tracking Irish athlete quota positions.
World Athletics also retained the right to issue one exceptional invitation in each event. This is entirely discretionary and is not something an athlete or national federation can demand. The stated deadline for allocating those places was 17 August.
The ranking period closes on September 1st. Provisional entries will be published on September 3rd, the Diamond League Final takes place on September 5th and 6th, and the final entry list is due on September 7th.
In short, being inside the quota today is a very good position, but it is not the same as holding a confirmed invitation.
Which Irish Athletes Are Currently Inside the Quota?
As of 20 August, four Irish athletes occupy provisional World Rankings places.
- Mark English, Men's 800m: sixth in the 16 athlete field.
- Cian McPhillips, Men's 800m: tenth in the 16 athlete field.
- Andrew Coscoran, Men's 1500m: tenth in the 12 athlete field.
- Sharlene Mawdsley, Women's 400m: fifteenth in the 16 athlete field.
English and Coscoran were already inside the quota before winning European gold and bronze in Birmingham. Their medals have strengthened their ranking totals, but did not transform their status. McPhillips also remains in a strong provisional position. Ireland finished the European Championships with four individual medals.
Mawdsley currently sits 15th in the 16 athlete field, but her ranking position tells only part of the story. She is still dealing with the hamstring injury suffered during the 200m at the Irish National Championships, which forced her to miss Birmingham. Even if she remains inside the quota, it is unclear if she will be fit to compete in Budapest.
Could Rhasidat Adeleke or Sarah Healy Get In?
Both are outside the current line, but close enough for their names to remain in the conversation.
Rhasidat Adeleke is 23rd on the current Road to Ultimate list for the women's 200m, seven places outside the 16 athlete quota. Her European silver in an Irish record of 22.28 seconds has moved her much closer after an injury disrupted season. She can still gain ground through ranking movement, later results and athletes ahead of her not taking up invitations.
Sarah Healy is 22nd on the women's 1500m list, ten places outside its 12 athlete field. She is 20th in the 5000m, eight places outside the quota there. Neither position is secure, but both are near enough to watch until the final list is published.
Ireland's mixed 4x400m team is currently 16th in the relay standings, with only eight teams invited. Ireland does not appear in the present mixed 4x100m list, so the individual events offer the clearer route to Budapest.
What About Kate O'Connor?
This is the obvious catch after her European heptathlon title.
Unfortunately, there is no heptathlon planned for the Ultimate Championship.
What Is at Stake?
The prize fund is US$10 million, the largest guaranteed pot in track and field. Each individual champion receives US$150,000, with prize money paid all the way down to the last athlete in every field.
There will be no medals, which may take a bit of getting used to after a summer spent counting gold, silver and bronze. Every invited athlete will receive a participation token, while each winner receives an Ultimate Champion trophy designed to connect with it.
World Athletics is leaning heavily into the new identity. Its plans for Budapest include a black infield, red carpet arrivals, live data on the field and a presentation built for television. It will not be everybody's cup of tea, but nobody could accuse the organisers of quietly slipping another meeting onto the calendar.
For Irish supporters, the most important point is simpler. Budapest could offer one more chance to watch several of the country's leading athletes on a global stage before the 2026 outdoor season is done. The names will not be final until 7 September, but English, McPhillips and Coscoran are currently on the right side of the line. Mawdsley also holds a provisional place, although the hamstring injury that ruled her out of Birmingham leaves her participation in serious doubt, while Adeleke and Healy are still trying to force the door open.
Composite Cover Photos: Perri Williams Photography (Mark English and Andrew Coscoran) & Xinhua (Sharlene Mawdsley)
