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The inaugural World Athletics Championships opens tomorrow in Budapest, with many of track and field’s brightest stars, including several Canadians, vying for big cash prizes over three days of competition.
Here’s a short description.
What is it
The Ultimate Championships were created by World Athletics (athletics’ global governing body) with the aim of bringing the sport’s best athletes together to compete in a made-for-TV international competition in a year that does not include the World Outdoor Championships. The world championships are held every two years, with the next one taking place in September 2027 in Tokyo and setting the stage for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The plan is to hold the next Ultimate Championship shortly after Los Angeles, giving track and field a chance to build on the momentum it always generates (and then usually loses) at every Olympics.
To attract top athletes to Budapest, World Athletics has committed to an attractive prize money of US$10 million, including US$150,000 for the winner of each individual competition. This is a significant jump from last week’s Diamond League finals, where winners received either $30,000 or $60,000, depending on the profile of the tournament. At the 2024 Olympics, World Athletics awarded gold medalists a $50,000 bonus. At last year’s World Championships they received 70 thousand dollars.
Canadian sprinters Andre De Grasse and Aaron Brown discuss competing in the inaugural World Athletics Championships, which begin Friday.
How does this work
The program includes 26 individual events – 13 men’s, 13 women’s – plus a pair of relay races: mixed 4×100 meters and mixed 4×400 meters. Several events that are part of the Olympics and World Championships were eliminated to fit the Ultimate Championship into a more TV-friendly three-day window, with one three-hour session each day.
All current Olympic, world and Diamond League champions were invited to participate in the individual competitions. A season-long qualification system determined most of the other competitors, while World Athletics granted exemptions to a few stars and some athletes from host country Hungary.
Each event features significantly fewer athletes (and fewer rounds) than we typically see at the Olympics or World Championships. On the track, the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 100/110m hurdles and 400m hurdles begin with a pair of eight-man semi-final heats, with the top four qualifying for the final in each. The 1500m, 5000m and both relay races do not have a qualifying stage at all – only a direct final. The same goes for all outdoor events.
Canadians to watch
Unfortunately for Canada, the list of Olympic and World Championship events that have been removed from the Overall Championships includes the women’s hammer throw, where Camryn Rogers is the reigning Olympic and World Champion; shot put, where Sarah Mitton won two women’s indoor world titles and silver at the 2023 outdoor worlds; and the men’s 4x100m relay, where Andre De Grasse’s team won gold at the 2024 Olympics.
But Canada still earned eight entries, including reigning Olympic and world champion Ethan Katzberg in the men’s hammer throw, former world champion and 2024 Olympic silver medalist Marco Arop in the 800m and Olympic 4x100m team champions De Grasse and Aaron Brown in the men’s 200m.
Young 400m sprinter Christopher Morales Williams, who won the world indoor title earlier this year, also received an invitation. Audrey Leduc and Canadian record holder Sade McCreath will compete in the women’s 100m and are both part of a mixed 4x100m relay that also includes Marie-Heloise Leclerc, Eliezer Ajibi, Duane Asemota and Olympic men’s 4x100m champion Brendon Rodney.
Jamaica’s Usain Bolt discusses the inaugural Ultimate Championship, where many of athletics’ biggest stars will compete for big cash prizes over three days of competition.
International athletes to watch
Big names who will compete in Budapest include women’s 100m Olympic champion Julien Alfred of St Lucia, women’s 200m Olympic champion Gabby Thomas of the USA and American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who won the 100m and 200m at last year’s world championships and will compete in both events here. American star Sha’Carri Richardson is also competing in the women’s 100m, while the 800m is a three-way duel between Swiss world leader Audrey Verreault, Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson of Great Britain and Dutch star Femke Broeders-Bol.
The men’s field includes world 100m oblique champion Seville of Jamaica, 200m Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, Olympic 200m silver medalist Kenny Bednarek of the USA and Swedish pole vault sensation Mondo Duplantis. Arop will have his hands full in the men’s 800m against Olympic, World and Diamond League champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya. And the men’s 1500m looks like fireworks, with Norwegian star Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Olympic gold medalist Cole Hawker of the USA and world mile record holder Josh Kerr of Great Britain set to renew their extremely bitter rivalry.
However, there are several notable absences due to injury, including Kenyan 1500m wonder Faith Kipyegon and American sprinter Noah Lyles, the sport’s biggest star. The presence of the reigning Olympic 100m champion and world 200m champion will still be felt in Budapest as he on hand as a “creative consultant” To generate interest, walk the red carpet and do other influencer-related activities.
How to watch
You can watch all three days of the Ultimate Championship live on CBC Gem and CBC Television. The broadcast begins on Friday from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm ET and continues on Saturday and Sunday from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm ET. Here is the official schedule with starting lists and results.
Here’s more at the Ultimate Championship and here’s the preview in the latest episode of CBC Sports’ Roadsidefeaturing guests Andre De Grasse and Donovan Bailey.