Coe says new ultimate championship will be ‘game changer’ in athletics

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe says Ultimate Championship will be 'high-octane' entertainment (Attila KISBENEDEK)

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe says Ultimate Championship will be ‘high-octane’ entertainment (Attila KISBENEDEK)

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said on Friday the new Ultimate Championship team event, officially unveiled by the sport’s governing body, would be a “game changer” for athletics.

The inaugural event will take place in Budapest from September 11-13, 2026 and will take place every two years to meet World Athletics’ ambition to host a global championship every year.

The federation said the event would provide “a spectacular conclusion to the summer athletics season, in years when there are no World Athletics Championships”.

The event benefits from a “record” prize pool of 10 million dollars (9.6 million euros). World Athletics said it was “the largest offer ever in athletics”, with champions set to receive $150,000.

Each session will last three hours and athletes will represent themselves and their national teams, wearing national equipment.

Coe, who gave a press conference at the Hungarian capital’s stadium where the 2023 World Championships took place, said: “This new global event will be a game-changer for our sport and for our athletes.

“We want to bring our fans athletics like they’ve never seen it before – with the best of the best athletes in our sport competing in a passion-fueled, high-octane festival of sports, with sound, light and innovation.”

Coe said he aimed to create a “world-renowned” event that could “attract viewers who might never have watched athletics”.

“It’s the holy grail of all sports: how do we reach all audiences in a way that they’re familiar with?” he told AFP in an interview.

– ‘An insane rhythm’ –

The announcement comes after former Olympic sprint champion Michael Johnson revealed details of his four-meet track Grand Slam series, which will debut next year with three-day events in Kingston, Jamaica, in Miami, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

Johnson’s streak is widely seen as a challenge to the established circuit of Diamond League competitions as the sport of track and field fights for the spotlight outside the Olympics and world championships.

The Ultimate Championship, which unlike the Grand Slam Track will also feature on-field events, will take place after the Diamond League final.

Another difference between the Grand Slam Track and the Ultimate Championship is that World Athletics already has a broadcast partner for its event: Tata Communications and Host Broadcast Services (HBS).

Coe said the aim was to hold a “free” event that would be seen by as wide an audience as possible, adding: “It’s all there to discuss.” »

Meanwhile, Grand Slam Track is yet to announce a broadcast deal, with Johnson insisting he is still trying to find the right partner.

At the Ultimate Championships in Budapest, nearly 400 athletes will compete to become the “ultimate champions”, with clashes including the 100m, 800m, pole vault, high jump and a new relay mixed 4×100 m.

Jon Ridgeon, CEO of World Athletics, said the new event, coupled with the launch of the Grand Slam Track, showed that “athletics is currently in a positive growth phase”.

Pole vault world record holder and two-time Olympic champion Mondo Duplantis said the event would be “insane”.

“The new Ultimate Championship in 2026 will be the pinnacle in a year where we will not have World Championships or Olympic Games,” said the Swede.

“There’s nothing like competing in front of a live crowd. Anyone who knows me or has seen me compete knows that’s where I thrive.

“Even with fewer events, there will still be 26 individual events taking place over just three nights – the pace will be crazy.”

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