World Athletics has announced a set of changes for the upcoming Ultimate Championship, set to take place in Budapest, Hungary, from September 11-13. With the event less than two months away, organizers say the new championship will offer a clear answer to who ranks as the best in the sport.
A New Format
The competition schedule breaks from tradition. Rather than a standard timetable, organizers built a show script that accounts for every minute of the broadcast. Each of the three sessions will run three hours and include a horizontal jump, a vertical jump, a throwing event, and track finals. Where possible, only one field event will take place at a time, giving each athlete full focus from fans and cameras.
The event will crown champions across 28 finals over three days. All field events, along with the 1500m and 5000m, will be decided in straight finals. Track events at 800m and shorter will include semifinal rounds before medals are awarded.
There are no country quotas for this championship. Athletes earn automatic invitations by winning a 2024 Olympic title, a 2025 world title, or this year’s Wanda Diamond League. A “Road to Ultimate” tool explaining invitation rules is available through World Athletics.
Broadcast Overhaul
Television coverage has been redesigned from the ground up. The new graphics package adds augmented reality elements, athlete headshots, and updated data points. Viewers will also see live win probabilities and projected finish positions, calculated through an algorithm that weighs recent results more heavily and updates in real time.
Smaller changes include moving the race clock to the bottom center of the screen, a shift meant to improve viewing on vertical and mobile formats. Fans were invited to weigh in on the new graphics package before its rollout, marking the first time viewer feedback shaped a World Athletics broadcast design.
More than 20 broadcasters will carry the event, including the BBC, NBCUniversal, NRK, SVT, L’Équipe, CPSL, Polsat, and TBS. Additional broadcast deals remain in negotiation. Infront, the event’s exclusive international media rights partner, worked with World Athletics to secure the global coverage.
Event Presentation
The competition field itself will look different. A black infield will highlight only the areas in active use, drawing viewer attention to the current event. A custom sound identity will also debut, with pole vault world record-holder Mondo Duplantis composing the Ultimate Anthem.
For the first time, in-stadium interviews will air live on the world feed, similar to a “center court” format used in other sports. World and Olympic champion Noah Lyles worked with organizers on new ways to introduce athletes before events and celebrate them afterward, including a full lighting rig designed to spotlight competitors during the show.
Athlete Experience
The championship will open with a new pre-event concept called The Day Before, scheduled for September 10. It replaces the standard press conference format with four separate segments: a formal press conference featuring World Athletics President Sebastian Coe and Ultimate Legend Usain Bolt; a red carpet arrival segment; a media day with dedicated content stations; and a kids’ athletics challenge led by Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Letsile Tebogo.
Athletes will also gain more control over their own content. World Athletics will provide competitors with footage from their events for use on personal digital channels, along with access to official photography from competition and behind-the-scenes moments. Tara Davis-Woodhall will serve as lead content creator for the event, adding an athlete’s perspective to the coverage.
An athletes-only after-party, called Club Ultimate by Noah Lyles, will follow the competition, with Lyles involved in planning details from music to venue selection. Awards will also look different: instead of medals, all invited athletes will receive a participation token, while champions will earn a trophy designed to pair with that token. Both pieces will be revealed closer to the event.
Athletes’ families and close supporters will also be welcomed inside the event rather than seated in general admission, allowing them to share the moment from within the championship.
Prize Money
The Ultimate Championship carries the largest prize pool in track and field history at 10million.Individualchampionswillreceive150,000, and every athlete who competes will take home some prize money, regardless of finish.
Digital Platform
World Athletics will also launch a new mobile app timed to the championship. The app will combine live results, athlete profiles, video content, predictions, and personalized notifications in a single mobile-first platform. Organizers say the app is meant to serve both longtime fans and newcomers, offering value beyond the three days of competition and building a more direct connection between the sport and its audience.
“We have said from the very beginning that we are doing things differently with the Ultimate Championship,” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe. “These innovations offer a taste of how we intend to move the sport forward with this brand-new global championship, elevating athletics and its many stars while reimagining how fans will experience the inaugural edition.”
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