On Friday, World Athletics announced changes to their traditional track and field program with their new global competition, the Ultimate Championship, set to debut in Budapest in 2026. While the “Ultimate” event promises innovation, it leaves out many disciplines we’ve traditionally seen at championships, including the 10,000m and 3,000m steeplechase.
The World Athletics Ultimate Championships aim to redefine track and field with a fast-paced, TV-oriented, fan-focused format that departs from tradition. The biennial championship was created to fill the gap in years without a World Championships or Olympics, focused on providing entertainment and appealing to modern audiences.
“This new global event will be a game-changer for our sport and for our athletes,” World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said in a press release. “We want to bring our fans athletics like they have never seen it before—with the best of the best athletes in our sport competing head-to-head in a passion-fueled, high-octane festival of sport.”
The decision to eliminate events (like the 10,000m) stems from time constraints and audience interest. The 10,000m can take upwards of 30 minutes, which clashes with the championship’s goal of delivering action-packed, TV-friendly sessions in a three-hour window. Instead, the focus is on building a fast-moving program designed to keep live and broadcast audiences engaged.
The championships will have 28 events across three, three-hour evening sessions, with 400 athletes vying for a share of the USD $10 million prize pot ($150,000 per event). Some of the events include traditional fan favourites like the 100m, 1,500m and the pole vault, but it also includes new additions, like the 4x100m mixed relay, determining the fastest nation in the world.
World Athletics says they have analyzed interest and data over the past five world championships to identify the 26 individual events and two relay events that keep broadcast audiences engaged. Also left out are the shot put, discus throw, men’s triple jump, women’s hammer throw and multi-events. This means Canada won’t have four of its global medallists from Budapest 2023—Pierce LePage, Damian Warner, Camryn Rogers and Sarah Mitton—competing at this event unless they switch to another discipline.
The Ultimate Championship will highlight 26 individual events (16 track and 10 field) and two relays. The confirmed events include:
| • 100m | • Pole vault |
| • 200m | • High jump |
| • 400m | • Long jump |
| • 800m | • Triple jump (W) |
| • 1500m | • Hammer throw (M) |
| • 5000m | • Javelin |
| • 100m/110m hurdles | • Mixed 4x100m |
| • 400m hurdles | • Mixed 4x400m |
You can read more about the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, here.
