Five things to know about the World Athletics Ultimate Championship

The World Athletics Ultimate Championship is the first of its kind with the best of the best converging on Budapest for three nights of competition. Here are five things you need to know about the inaugural event.

The biennial event consists of 13 individual events each for men and women – eight on the track and five in the field – as well as two relay events. Olympic champions from Paris 2024 as well as those crowned world champions in Tokyo last year and this year's Diamond League winners automatically qualify for the event. Athletes can also qualify by world rankings position, while some athletes may receive exceptional invitations.

It is the richest prize pot ever in the history of the sport with $10 million up for grabs for the athletes competing. Each individual event winner will pocket $150,000 with the runner-up earning $75,000 and the third-place finisher getting a $40,000 payday. In the relay events, the victorious team will share out a pot of $80,000. It is a further step-up in putting athletes first after World Athletics became the first international federation to award prize money at an Olympic Games with $50,000 paid to each gold medallist in Paris two years ago from a total prize purse of $2.4m.

Athletes have grown accustomed to having medals draped over their necks after finishing on the podium at a major championships in athletics. That won’t be the case in Budapest so don’t expect the customary gold, silver and bronze at the end of each event. Instead, every athlete invited to compete will receive a unique participation token. Then the individual winners will receive a specially designed trophy into which the token can slot. Details of both the token and the trophy will follow closer to the event.

The mixed 4x100m will make its global senior track and field championship debut following its inclusion at the World Relays earlier this year, with each quartet competing in national kits. Six teams automatically qualified for Budapest after reaching the final of the event at the World Relays. Those teams are Canada, Germany, Jamaica, Nigeria, Spain and the United States. The relays are the only event where there is a country quota – just one quartet from each nation can compete. In the individual events, there are no such rules unlike at usual global championships.

The world’s fastest ever man, Usain Bolt, has been appointed the Ultimate Legend, while Mondo Duplantis is an Ultimate Star and created the event’s anthem as part of his role. Other Ultimate Stars include Tara Davis-Woodhall, who also doubles up as the lead content creator as well Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Letsile Tebogo, who will be team captains for the Kids’ Athletics Ultimate Challenge.