With 300 days until the inaugural Ultimate Championship in Budapest next year, World Athletics has released the schedule for its event that will offer the biggest payouts in the sport and push the action directly to semifinal and finals events.
The Ultimate Championship was created as a method of ensuring championship-level competition in the sport every year to slot in between Olympic and World Championship.
“We have a $10 million prize pot where every athlete who competes goes home with something,” World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said. “These are the things that really keep me up at night. I want to get all those in place, and so I wake up hungry.”
“During a four-year cycle, we want a large global audience every year,” Coe said. “There is one year when we do not have that event and the Ultimate Championship is set to address that issue.”
Meanwhile, event winners from the 2024 Olympics, 2025 World Championship and 2026 Diamond League are eligible for automatic qualification to next year’s Ultimate Championship, which will be held from September 11-13, 2026 at the National Athletics Centre.
Officials from World Athletics decided on a tight three day format of 28 disciplines after a vying for a fast-paced event that is built for a television audience.
“It is three evenings of three hours each: a straightforward final for the field events and a semi-final and a final for the track events,” said Coe. “It is important that our fans get the opportunity to see the best of the best.”
Track events will have eight athletes, and two semifinals (100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 100m hurdles/110m hurdles and 400m hurdles) with the top four from each event making the final. The 1,500m, 5,000m and relay races will only be finals.
All field events will finals only, horizontal jumps and throws to feature four rounds and each of the eight athletes guaranteed two attempts. Following the second round, the top six will get another attempt and the top four in the final round, who will have one final attempt in an 8-8-6-4 format.
Friday, September 11
Mixed 4x100m relay final
Men’s hammer final
Men’s 400m hurdles semifinals
Women’s high jump final
Women’s 400m hurdles semifinals
Women’s 100m hurdles semifinals
Men’s 110m hurdles semifinals
Men’s 5,000m final
Men’s pole vault final
Women’s long jump final
Women’s 800m semifinals
Women’s 100m hurdles final
Men’s 110m hurdles final
Mixed 4x400m relay final
Saturday, September 12
Women’s 400m hurdles final
Women’s javelin final
Men’s 400m hurdles final
Men’s 800m semifinals
Women’s pole vault final
Women’s 400m semifinals
Women’s 100m semifinals
Men’s 100m semifinals
Women’s 1,500m final
Men’s long jump final
Men’s 400m semifinals
Women’s 800m final
Women’s 100m final
Men’s 100m final
Sunday, September 13
Women’s 400m final
Men’s javelin final
Men’s 200m semifinals
Men’s 800m final
Women’s 200m semifinals
Men’s high jump final
Women’s triple jump final
Women’s 5,000m final
Men’s 400m final
Men’s 1,500m final
Men’s 200m final
Women’s 200m final
