Seb Coe has unveiled World Athletics’ pitch for new audiences: the Ultimate Championship, a major new biennial event boasting a record prize pot of $10m (£7.85m).
The competition will feature the current world, Olympic and Diamond League champions as well as the year’s top-performing athletes and debut in Budapest in September 2026.
The Ultimate Championship will pay its winners $150,000 (£118,000) each, take place over three evenings and ensure that athletics has a major global showcase every year.
“With only the best of the best on show and cutting straight to semi-finals and finals, we will create an immediate pressure to perform for athletes,” said World Athletics president Coe.
“The World Athletics Ultimate Championship will be high on action and excitement for fans, setting a new standard for track and field events.
“Featuring athletics’ biggest stars, it will be a must-watch global sports event and means track and field will host a major global championship in every single year, ensuring for the first time that athletics will enjoy a moment of maximum audience reach on an annual basis.”
The Ultimate Championship will represent a big-money curtain-closer to the athletics season and pay all competitors who take part.
It is expected to feature nearly 400 athletes from 70 countries, including 8-16 of the world’s best from each discipline, with selections based primarily on world rankings.
The format has been made with broadcasters in mind, squeezed into three-hour slots on three consecutive evenings, in a bid to appeal to younger audiences.
Unlike at the Olympics which has strict rules around marketing activities, participants at the Ultimate Championship will “benefit from greater promotional rights, allowing them to commercially activate and enhance their personal profiles”, World Athletics said.
It is Coe’s latest attempt to make the sport more attractive, following the governing body’s pioneering move to offer prize money to medallists at Olympic Games, starting in Paris this year.
the Ultimate Championship is Seb Coe’s latest bold move as president of World Athletics