Budapest's National Stadium (© World Athletics 
Laszlo Zsigmond)
The race is on for the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, with competition hotting up to book a place on the plane to Hungary.
Paris Olympic champions and Tokyo world champions have sealed their spots but, with the World Athletics Relays and Diamond League getting underway in May, the ultimate battle for qualification will now begin in earnest.
The Ultimate Championship is the end-of-season clash of the titans that features eight track and five field events each for men and women and two mixed relays across three nights of scintillating competition.
The list of those already qualified reads like a who’s who of athletics stars. US sprint duo Noah Lyles and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden have both qualified for the 100m and 200m – athletes are not limited to qualifying in just one discipline.
Other star names who have locked in their spots for Hungary include Keely Hodgkinson, Mondo Duplantis, Hamish Kerr and Tara Davis-Woodhall. To track the latest stars vying for the $10million prize purse with $150,000 on the line for each winner, check out the easy-to-navigate Road to the Ultimate online tracking tool.
The next qualifying event where invitations are immediately up for grabs is the World Relays in Gaborone, Botswana, this weekend (2-3 May). The top six in the mixed 4x100m and 4x400m are assured a place at the Ultimate.
It’s all to race for – while there’s no limit on the number of athletes per nation in the individual events, it’s just one nation per relay at the Ultimate Championship.
The other main qualifying event where spots are immediately sealed is the Diamond League Final in Brussels on 4–5 September. Win that and you’re in, although other competitors can claim an Ultimate invite based on their finishing place if the event winner has already qualified by virtue of their Olympic or world champion status or their world ranking.
After that, it comes down to where athletes stand in the world rankings on 1 September, taking into account the entire previous year.
There are 16 places in all for all track events up to and including the 800m, with 12 places in the 1500m and 5000m, and eight places for each of the field events. Entry lists will be finalised in the first week of September, just days out from the inaugural event in Hungary’s capital.
