The inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship is set to kick off in Budapest, featuring numerous top track and field athletes, including several Canadians, competing for substantial cash prizes across a three-day event. Created by World Athletics, the Ultimate Championship aims to gather the sport’s elite athletes for a televised international meet during years without outdoor world championships. The upcoming world championships will occur in Beijing in September 2027, leading up to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
To draw top-tier athletes to Budapest, World Athletics has allocated an attractive $10 million in prize money, with individual event winners receiving $150,000 each. This prize sum surpasses the earnings from last week’s Diamond League Final, where winners took home either $30,000 or $60,000. In comparison, gold medalists at the 2024 Olympics received a $50,000 bonus, and at the previous world championships, they were awarded $70,000.
The Ultimate Championship features 26 individual events, split evenly between men’s and women’s categories, along with mixed 4x100m and 4x400m relays. Some events from the Olympics and world championships were excluded to accommodate the competition into a TV-friendly three-day schedule with one three-hour session daily. The selection process involved inviting reigning champions and implementing a season-long qualification system, with exemptions granted to certain standout athletes and Hungarian participants.
Notably, Canada secured eight entries, with prominent athletes such as Ethan Katzberg, Marco Arop, Andre De Grasse, Aaron Brown, Christopher Morales Williams, Audrey Leduc, and Sade McCreath participating in various events. However, events like the women’s hammer throw, shot put, and men’s 4x100m relay, where Canadian athletes have excelled previously, are absent from this year’s championship.
The lineup of international athletes competing in Budapest includes reigning champions and rising stars from various countries, promising an exciting competition. Viewers can watch the Ultimate Championship live on CBC Gem and the CBC TV network over the three-day event, starting from Friday at 1-4 p.m. ET and continuing on Saturday and Sunday from noon-3 p.m. ET. A detailed schedule with startlists and results is available for reference.
