Armand Duplantis sang the Ultimate Championship’s official song, fireworks lit the sky above Budapest, and the sport’s biggest stars walked away with a record $10m (£7.4m) prize pot. Across three nights in the Hungarian capital, athletics had its first real taste of a new season-ending event.
Three sell-out crowds and positive athlete feedback suggest the first Ultimate Championship has found its footing, even though it looked and felt different from anything that came before it.
“It’s a good first step towards changing track and field for the better,” said Usain Bolt, event ambassador and the greatest sprinter in history. “The athletes are loving it. It’s a different energy, a different vibe.”
Three Years Of Planning
Lord Coe and World Athletics put in three years of effort building up to a season-ending climax. Instead of following a tried-and-true format, the Ultimate Championship broke new ground as a daring, original venture. It is hoped it will function as a proving ground for shaping the sport’s path ahead.
“We walked out, we came through the little starlights and we all looked at each other and said, ‘this is unbelievable’,” Britain’s four-time global relay medallist Imani-Lara Lansiquot told BBC Sport. “It’s so rare that things really live up to the expectation, the hype. I’m so, so glad, having been in this sport for many years now, to actually see us be put on a platform and celebrated in this way.”
A Different Feel
The Olympics generate excitement for athletics, but the sport has had trouble sustaining that energy across the full four-year span between Games. The shape of the season does not always make sense to casual fans, and encounters between the world’s leading athletes can come without much warning. From a narrative standpoint, that inconsistency is far from ideal.
The Ultimate Championship happens every two years and attempts to fix those problems while paying athletes more than ever before. The idea behind it is straightforward: short, quick sessions, where the top performers face off for a world championship and a large share of the prize money.
Compared with the sport’s established global championships, the event had a distinctly different atmosphere. The infield was painted black, which drew attention to the illuminated live events. The horizontal jumps took place in a bright pink sandpit. A new trophy sat on a plinth, marked by sparklers and celebratory music, waiting for the winners.
New Features For TV Audiences
The attempt to improve the viewing experience through new features was mixed. Athlete headshots, win probabilities and projected finishing positions were added to the screen, and some worked better than others.
Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen was unimpressed by his predicted finishing position of 12th before winning the 5,000m title. Britain’s 1500m champion Josh Kerr was expected to finish last — a result of both athletes racing lightly over recent seasons.
Athlete-Centric Focus
The event carried a strong athlete-centric feel beyond its raised financial rewards. The world’s top athletes gathered on the eve of the championship for a red carpet event that included photoshoots. Before the start of each event, athlete videos were shown inside the stadium. Winners then took centre-court style interviews before being escorted to a champions’ enclosure, where they joined Bolt and master of ceremonies Noah Lyles.
Britain’s Georgia Hunter Bell said on the videos: “I do like the fact that it builds personality and character for, hopefully, people to connect with the athletes. That storytelling is something that’s really interesting. If you think of superstars like Carlos Alcaraz, Serena Williams or Tadej Pogacar, obviously they’re great athletes, but it’s their personality coming through that makes it fun.”
Steve Cram, a BBC commentator and former 1500m world champion, made the following remark: “The key is the exposure of it. It’s good for the sport. It’s really good for the profile of the athletes.”
The Excluded Events
The championship drew its share of criticism, and the biggest source of dispute came from the exclusion of specific events.
The choice to feature certain events was guided by audience reactions, such as heart rate and perspiration levels. This led to distance track races being left out, including the 3,000m steeplechase and the 10,000m race. Just a few field events made the cut, while shot-putters and discus throwers were left off the list entirely.
How the competition was run changed too. In several field events, the rounds were arranged so that danger grew greater as the contest went on, since only the top four athletes remained after the fourth and final round.
Jazmin Sawyers, a British long jumper, spoke with BBC Sport and said “Some field events didn’t get any attention because they’re not here. The championship is worse off for not having them. It looks amazing in stadium and broadcast. It’s dynamic. It’s exciting. There’s a place for it alongside regular championships. I don’t think I would like to see it replace regular championships, but I like the idea that this is something that exists alone.”.
She also commented on the long jump competition format, saying “I would love to see all eight [athletes] get all four jumps. It makes it more interesting. I was able to come from fourth to second. What if the person who was eighth could go from eighth to first? That’s more exciting.”.
Coe said the disciplines held at the Ultimate Championship were “not in tablets of stone”.
Looking Ahead To 2028
The upcoming edition of the Ultimate Championship is set for the close of a season that features an Olympics at its center. How it will sit alongside the Diamond League — the sport’s full-season competition — on the athletes’ calendars has yet to be determined.
Denise Lewis, who was once an Olympic heptathlon champion, spoke with BBC Sport and said: “People have wanted to see something that looked different and felt like a different product.”
Key Facts Box
- Record $10m (£7.4m) prize pot distributed across three nights in Budapest
- Event ambassador: Usain Bolt, the greatest sprinter in history
- Event format: condensed, fast-paced sessions with round progression in several field events
- Excluded events: 3,000m steeplechase, 10,000m, shot-put and discus
- Athletes compensated with record prize money
Comparison Table
| Feature | Ultimate Championship | Established Global Championships |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Condensed, fast-paced sessions | Traditional meet format |
| Prize money | Record $10m (£7.4m) | Varies by event |
| Excluded events | 3,000m steeplechase, 10,000m, shot-put, discus | All standard events included |
| Athlete focus | Red carpet, video profiles, interviews | Standard meet protocol |
Our View
The Ultimate Championship pushed boundaries with a black infield, pink sandpits, and win probabilities displayed on screen, and wound up delivering a spectacle that surpassed expectations. The athletes embraced it, and the sold-out crowds confirmed it.
There was real criticism, especially concerning the events that were left out. Still, the gathering marked a promising start.
The feeling is distinct, a fresh sensation altogether. Athletics has moved forward into a new path for the very first time.