Athletics has launched a radically shortened, invitation-only competition in Budapest, with the World Athletics Ultimate Championship designed to bring the sport’s biggest names and most marketable moments to television and digital audiences.
The event, which began on Friday, is intended to fill the years between the World Championships. Rather than following the traditional nine-day format, it will run across three evening sessions of three hours each.
The programme has been reduced to 28 finals, with no heats and fewer rounds. Field events, along with the 800 metres, 1500 metres and 5000 metres, will be staged as straight finals, while the shorter races will have no heats and only two semi-finals.
World Athletics said the competition had been created around a television audience, with the schedule designed as a tightly controlled show rather than a conventional championship timetable.
“The Ultimate will not follow a conventional timetable but rather a show script in which every second is accounted for,” the governing body said. It added that planning between broadcasters and event presenters would ensure that “moments of surprise and delight are captured” and that no storyline was missed.
The infield has been made black to limit distractions when events are not taking place, allowing the focus to remain on each contest. The organisers have also introduced a bespoke sound identity, with pole-vault world-record holder Mondo Duplantis responsible for the event’s anthem.
Competitors will not be chasing medals. Instead, they will compete for a share of 10 million US dollars in prize money, with each winner receiving 150,000 US dollars and a trophy whose design has yet to be revealed.
Usain Bolt helps shape the new athletics event
Usain Bolt, the retired sprint great, has been involved in curating the competition, while Noah Lyles has advised on building excitement inside the stadium and for television. Lyles was due to compete but withdrew after suffering an injury last month.
The organisers are also using tennis-style interviews with athletes in the stadium and plan to give competitors immediate access to photographs and footage from their races for use on social media and other digital platforms.
The format has been designed to showcase personalities as well as performances, reflecting an effort to attract audiences beyond athletics’ biggest established occasions, including the Olympic Games and World Championships.
Several of the sport’s leading names are competing despite the event’s invitation-only structure. Olympic and world champions, Diamond League winners and other selected athletes are eligible, while organisers retain discretion to include competitors considered essential to the appeal of particular contests.
That has allowed Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Britain’s Josh Kerr to race in the mile, despite not qualifying automatically. Their rivalry is regarded as one of the headline attractions of the inaugural Ultimate Championship.
Other prominent athletes involved include sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson and Duplantis, whose role extends beyond his competition in the pole vault. The organisers hope the compressed schedule and concentration of star performers will provide a more accessible and television-friendly version of elite athletics.
