The World Athletics Ultimate Championship features three nights of finals showcasing the greatest athletes on the planet in their quest to be crowned the champion of champions.&nbsp;
In a new four-part series, we look at some of the key battles brewing ahead of the global gathering in Budapest on 11-13 September. First up, it&rsquo;s the men&rsquo;s track. 
<h3>100m</h3>
Competition will be fierce in the fight to become the sprint king in Budapest. As ever, there&rsquo;s no shortage of contenders for the US$150,000 top prize in an event that often brings the biggest pre-championship buzz.
Oblique Seville won world gold in Tokyo in 9.77 and, last year, was only bettered in pace terms by his Jamaican compatriot Kishane Thompson (9.75), who had to make do with the silver medal.
Third was USA&rsquo;s Noah Lyles, the Olympic champion whose early part to the season was hampered by injury. So far in 2026 that hasn&rsquo;t been the case, and, like Thompson, he tested himself over 60m indoors, the pair clocking bests of 6.46 and 6.51, respectively.
Further afield, excitement is building over the future of Australian Gout Gout, who only turned 18 at the end of last year and has already run 10 seconds flat this year. Talking of newcomers, the new world indoor champion Jordan Anthony will also be looking to transfer that speed outdoors. 
<h3>400m</h3>
Botswana&rsquo;s Collen Kebinatshipi is not a man lacking in confidence. After winning the world title in a thrilling final in Japan, he immediately shifted his sights to Wayde van Niekerk&rsquo;s world record of 43.03.
The 22-year-old would dearly love to shatter that with the world watching the September showcase. The double world champion &ndash; he also sealed gold in the 4x400m &ndash; still has half a second to claw back and he would also have some of the best one-lap runners in the world trying to hunt him down.
Breathing down his neck between now and the Ultimate Championship will be Trinidad and Tobago&rsquo;s Jereem Richards, who was two tenths of a second behind him in the world final, as well as his Botswana compatriot Bayapo Ndori, who came away with the bronze.&nbsp;
The US contingent has promised to hit back with a vengeance come the Budapest clash, while Britain&rsquo;s Matt Hudson-Smith and South African Zakithi Nene, the world&rsquo;s fastest man prior to Tokyo, should again be among the forces to be reckoned with. 
<h3>400m hurdles</h3>
We&rsquo;re in the golden age for the men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles. Fans will be eager to find out if world record-holder Karsten Warholm can bounce back to clinch the title. The rebuild is on early in 2026 for the Lego obsessive after the fastest man in the world last year could only finish fifth in the World Championships final.
And what a final it ended up being, with USA&rsquo;s Rai Benjamin winning gold in a season&rsquo;s best. But it was not without drama. Declared the winner, he was then disqualified before being reinstated moments later.
He and Warholm should be duelling again for yet another season but there are no shortage of suitors lining up to catch them along the banks the Danube, notably Brazilian Alison dos Santos, Abderrahman Samba of Qatar and Nigeria&rsquo;s Ezekiel Nathaniel.

World Athletics Ultimate Championship

A look at the key head to heads for men's track in the build-up to the World Athletics Ultimate Championship Budapest 26

Ultimate clashes: men’s track

Ultimate Legend Usain Bolt urges fans to act quickly to secure their seats in Budapest 
An additional wave of tickets is now on sale for the first-ever World Athletics Ultimate Championship, taking place on 11-13 September in Hungary&rsquo;s capital of Budapest. Tickets can be purchased at <a href="https://ultimateathleticschampionship.com/tickets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ultimateathleticschampionship.com/tickets</a>.
Due to high demand, temporary seating will be added to the Gyula Zsivotzky National Athletics Centre, creating an additional 7000 seats per session and increasing total capacity to 21,000 fans per session. These new tickets will enable more fans to be a part of the spectacle in its inaugural edition, including through additional options designed to maximise affordability (from HUF 10,000/&euro;30*).&nbsp;
Usain Bolt, the Ultimate Legend for the global championship, encouraged fans to act quickly.
&ldquo;Tickets to the Ultimate Championship are likely to sell out in record time,&rdquo; Bolt said. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t miss out on this new chance to be in that stadium as the world&rsquo;s best battle for the title of Ultimate champion!&rdquo;
*approximate ticket price conversion in euros

Ultimate Legend Usain Bolt urges fans to act quickly to secure their seats in Budapest

Additional Ultimate Championship tickets now on sale

The first relay teams have qualified for the World Athletics Ultimate Championship Budapest 26 after the mixed 4x100m and mixed 4x400m finals at the Debswana World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26 on Sunday (3).&nbsp;
The top six teams in each mixed relay event secured automatic qualification for the Ultimate Championship, which will be held in Budapest on 11-13 September.&nbsp;
Jamaica did so in sensational style, improving on their own mixed 4x100m world record from the heats by clocking 39.62 in the final. Canada, who had set a world record in the first heat on Saturday, finished second in the final after a thrilling head-to-head battle.&nbsp;
The USA were convincing winners of the mixed 4x400m final, smashing the championship record with 3:07.47. Jamaica finished second in a national record of 3:08.24.&nbsp;
The remaining relay places for the Ultimate Championship &ndash; two in each of the mixed relay disciplines &ndash; will be determined by the top lists at the end of the respective qualifying periods.&nbsp;
Just like the race for relay places in Gaborone, demand for tickets to the first-ever Ultimate Championship has been extraordinary. As recently announced, in response to overwhelming interest, temporary seating will be added to the Gyula Zsivotzky National Athletics Centre in Budapest, creating an additional 7000 seats per session and increasing total capacity to 21,000 fans per session.&nbsp;
The additional tickets will go on sale on 4 May at 6:00pm CEST (local time).&nbsp;
Tickets are expected to sell quickly and fans are encouraged to get to the front of the queue by signing up at <a href="http://ultimateathleticschampionship.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ultimateathleticschampionship.com</a> to receive an email as soon as the additional wave of tickets goes on sale.&nbsp;
<h3>Teams qualified for the World Athletics Ultimate Championship Budapest 26&nbsp;</h3>
Mixed 4x100m: Canada, Germany, Jamaica, Nigeria, Spain, United States&nbsp;&nbsp;
Mixed 4x400m: Great Britain &amp; NI, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Spain, United States&nbsp;

The first relay teams have qualified for the World Athletics Ultimate Championship Budapest 26 after the mixed 4x100m and mixed 4x400m finals at the Debswana World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26

First Ultimate Championship relay qualifiers confirmed in Gaborone

Olympic champions, world champions, Diamond League winners battle to be crowned the Ultimate Champion

11-13 SEPTEMBER 2026

SPARKS WILL FLY

<h2 style="text-align: center; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">FOLLOW THE STAR JOURNEY TO BUDAPEST</h2>
<div style="padding: 56.25% 0 0 0; position: relative;"><iframe style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;" title="World Athletics Ultimate Championship" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/1177317469?autoplay=1&amp;muted=1&amp;badge=0&amp;autopause=0&amp;player_id=0&amp;app_id=58479&amp;loop=1" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/sweden/armand-duplantis-14679502" target="_blank" rel="noopener">POLE VAULT &bull; SWE</a>

MONDO DUPLANTIS

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/united-states/tara-davis-woodhall-14596561" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LONG JUMP &bull; USA</a>

TARA DAVIS-WOODHALL

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/united-states/grant-holloway-14516985" target="_blank" rel="noopener">110M HURDLES &bull; USA</a>

GRANT HOLLOWAY

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/ukraine/yaroslava-mahuchikh-14739628" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HIGH JUMP &bull; UKR</a>

YAROSLAVA MAHUCHIKH

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/norway/jakob-ingebrigtsen-14653717" target="_blank" rel="noopener">5000M &bull; NOR</a>

JAKOB INGEBRIGTSEN

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/united-states/masai-russell-14659011" target="_blank" rel="noopener">100M HURDLES &bull; USA</a>

MASAI RUSSELL

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/canada/ethan-katzberg-14809348" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HAMMER THROW &bull; CAN</a>

ETHAN KATZBERG

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/saint-lucia/julien-alfred-14646562" target="_blank" rel="noopener">100M &bull; LCA</a>

JULIEN ALFRED

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/greece/miltiadis-tentoglou-14669734" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LONG JUMP &bull; GRE</a>

MILTIADIS TENTOGLOU

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/great-britain-ni/keely-hodgkinson-14642894" target="_blank" rel="noopener">800M &bull; GBR</a>

KEELY HODGKINSON

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/united-states/rai-benjamin-14574865" target="_blank" rel="noopener">400M HURDLES &bull; USA</a>

RAI BENJAMIN

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/australia/nina-kennedy-14407592" target="_blank" rel="noopener">POLE VAULT &bull; AUS</a>

NINA KENNEDY

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/united-states/noah-lyles-14536762" target="_blank" rel="noopener">100M &bull; USA</a>

NOAH LYLES

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/kenya/faith-kipyegon-14413305" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1500M &bull; KEN</a>

FAITH KIPYEGON

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/japan/haruka-kitaguchi-14649131" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JAVELIN THROW &bull; JPN</a>

HARUKA KITAGUCHI

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/commonwealth-of-dominica/thea-lafond-14416826" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TRIPLE JUMP &bull; DMA</a>

THEA LAFOND

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/new-zealand/hamish-kerr-14633982" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HIGH JUMP &bull; NZL</a>

HAMISH KERR

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/botswana/letsile-tebogo-14883897" target="_blank" rel="noopener">200M &bull; BOT</a>

LETSILE TEBOGO

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/dominican-republic/marileidy-paulino-14749613" target="_blank" rel="noopener">400M &bull; DOM</a>

MARILEIDY PAULINO

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/united-states/cole-hocker-14905834" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1500M &bull; USA</a>

COLE HOCKER

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/united-states/gabrielle-thomas-14733520" target="_blank" rel="noopener">200M &bull; USA</a>

GABRIELLE THOMAS

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/kenya/emmanuel-wanyonyi-14974928" target="_blank" rel="noopener">800M &bull; KEN</a>

EMMANUEL WANYONYI

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/kenya/beatrice-chebet-14749924" target="_blank" rel="noopener">5000M &bull; KEN</a>

BEATRICE CHEBET

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/pakistan/arshad-nadeem-14698105" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JAVELIN THROW &bull; PAK</a>

ARSHAD NADEEM

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/united-states/quincy-hall-14597236" target="_blank" rel="noopener">400M &bull; USA</a>

QUINCY HALL

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/united-states/sydney-mclaughlin-levrone-14624749" target="_blank" rel="noopener">400M HURDLES &bull; USA</a>

SYDNEY MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE

Qualified by winning in Paris

Olympic champions

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/kenya/lilian-odira-14758184" target="_blank" rel="noopener">800M &bull; KEN</a>

LILIAN ODIRA

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/italy/mattia-furlani-14905216" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LONG JUMP &bull; ITA</a>

MATTIA FURLANI

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/switzerland/ditaji-kambundji-14739461" target="_blank" rel="noopener">100M HURDLES &bull; SUI</a>

DITAJI KAMBUNDJI

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/united-states/noah-lyles-14536762" target="_blank" rel="noopener">200M &bull; USA</a>

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/botswana/busang-collen-kebinatshipi-14935809" target="_blank" rel="noopener">400M &bull; BOT</a>

COLLEN KEBINATSHIPI

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/australia/nicola-olyslagers-14455361" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HIGH JUMP &bull; AUS</a>

NICOLA OLYSLAGERS

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/jamaica/oblique-seville-14737998" target="_blank" rel="noopener">100M &bull; JAM</a>

OBLIQUE SEVILLE

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/united-states/melissa-jefferson-wooden-14756997" target="_blank" rel="noopener">100M &amp; 200M &bull; USA</a>

MELISSA JEFFERSON-WOODEN

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/united-states/cole-hocker-14905834" target="_blank" rel="noopener">5000M &bull; USA</a>

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/united-states/katie-moon-14373744" target="_blank" rel="noopener">POLE VAULT &bull; USA</a>

KATIE MOON

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/portugal/isaac-nader-14756630" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1500M &bull; POR</a>

ISAAC NADER

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/netherlands/femke-bol-14707010" target="_blank" rel="noopener">400M HURDLES &bull; NED</a>

FEMKE BOL

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/united-states/cordell-tinch-14719972" target="_blank" rel="noopener">110M HURDLES &bull; USA</a>

CORDELL TINCH

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/cuba/leyanis-perez-hernandez-14828679" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TRIPLE JUMP &bull; CUB</a>

LEYANIS PEREZ HERNANDEZ

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/trinidad-and-tobago/keshorn-walcott-14376122" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JAVELIN THROW &bull; TTO</a>

KESHORN WALCOTT

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/ecuador/juleisy-angulo-14718123" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JAVELIN THROW &bull; ECU</a>

JULEISY ANGULO

<a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/united-states/sydney-mclaughlin-levrone-14624749" target="_blank" rel="noopener">400M &bull; USA</a>

Qualified by winning in Tokyo

World champions

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

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World Athletics Ultimate Championship – debuting 11-13 September 2026 in Budapest – register now for info

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