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≡ ULTIMATE CHAMPIONSHIP ≡
World Athletics provided more details on its new “Ultimate Championship,” designed as a season-ending, high-prize-money meet in each year that a World Athletics Championship is not held.
In this position, it will take over the spotlight from the annual Diamond League Final and from the Olympic Games, which will take place in mid-July in 2028.
The 26 individual events and two relays:
● Sprints: 100 m, 200 m, 400 m for men and women
● Distance: 800 m, 1,500 m, 5,000 m for men and women
● Hurdles: 100/110 m hurdles, 400 m hurdles for women and men
● Jumps: High Jump, Pole Vault, Long Jump for men and women
● Jumps: Triple Jump for women only
● Throws: Javelin for men and women
● Throws: Hammer for men only
● Relays: Mixed 4×100 m, Mixed 4×400 m
Not on the program are the men’s and women’s 4×100 and 4×400 m relays, the 3,000 m Steeplechase, the 10,000 m and the shot put and discus throw. No reason was given for the exclusion of these events – notably the shot and disc – but the meet is to be held within a three-hour window over three nights on 11-12-13 September 2025.
The outlines of the meet were announced in June:
● $10 million in prize money, with $150,000 for each winner, but no further details on other payments.
● Eight to 16 entries per event, with selections primarily based on the World Athletics world rankings.
● Finals only in the field events, but semifinals in the shorter running events.
World Athletics stated that “athletes [will be] representing both themselves and their national teams, wearing national kit.”
This is also an important experimental meet for World Athletics. As a new event and not part of the existing World Athletics Series or Diamond League, it is not covered by the existing agreement that gives the Japanese advertising giant Dentsu exclusive rights – “all marketing and licensing rights worldwide and all media rights worldwide outside of Europe and Africa” – to existing World Athletics events through 2029.
Friday’s announcement on the Ultimate Championship added:
“World Athletics has also appointed Infront to lead the charge on international media rights sales for the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, working in true partnership with World Athletics on a new and coordinated approach to market this made-for-TV event.”
The Budapest National Athletics Centre, which hosted the very successful 2023 World Athletics Championships in a stadium built with an expanded capacity of 36,000, has been reduced to a permanent capacity of 14,000.
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