The first World Athletics Ultimate Championship in 2026 will feature 28 track and field events over three nights, including the major senior championship debut of the mixed 4x100m relay.
On Friday, World Athletics announced the specific events that will be held at the Ultimate Championship:
Track: 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m, 100m/110m hurdles, 400m hurdles
Field: pole vault, high jump, long jump, triple jump (women), hammer throw (men), javelin
Relays: mixed 4x100m, mixed 4x400m
The mixed 4x100m has never been held at an Olympics or world championships. The mixed 4x400m made its Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Last June, World Athletics announced the creation of the biennial, season-ending Ultimate Championship for years without a World Outdoor Championships. The first edition will be in Budapest from Sept. 11-13, 2026.
Fields of eight to 16 athletes per individual event will be based primarily on world rankings with no limits on athletes per country. There will be semifinals and finals for individual track events and finals for field events.
Winners will receive $150,000 from a total prize pool of $10 million.
“This new global event will be a game-changer for our sport and for our athletes,” World Athletics President Seb 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, with sound, light and innovation.”
