The World Athletics Ultimate Championship is a new, upcoming biennial track and field invitational to be held by World Athletics.
The idea was announced in June 2024; it will be a season-ending meet that will be held in even-numbered years between World Athletics Championships. The Ultimate Championship will feature limited fields in each discipline, with a quota of sixteen athletes for individual track events, eight athletes for field events, and eight teams for relays.
For individual events, invitations will be given to champions from the most recent Summer Olympics, World Championships, and Diamond League final, with the remainder of the participants determined by the World Athletics Rankings during the one-year ranking period ending prior to the Diamond League final.
The 2026 Championships will be held from September 11 to 13, 2026, at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary. The tournament has a record prize money of $10 million.
For this event, World Athletics has unveiled the trophies for the inaugural Ultimate Championship, where winners will receive a distinctive accolade completed by the personalised bracelet given to every participating athlete.
No medals will be awarded; instead, only the winners of each discipline will receive a trophy, reflecting the event’s aim of identifying the “best of the best”. Sebastian Coe, World Athletics President, stated the decision was deliberate, and the competition was built around the idea of producing one ultimate champion rather than recognising the top three as usual.
Each participant will receive a bracelet, which will be personalised with their name engraved on the outside and the official event name on the inside. The adjustable bracelet is meant to be both a participation token and a recognition of the athletes competing at the new global championship.
However, for the winners, the bracelet will be a part of the unique trophy itself. It’s designed around the idea of “carving your name in history”; the stone-like trophy takes inspiration from the Ultimate Championship’s star-shaped logo and features gold inlay. A recessed groove allows the champion’s own engraved bracelet to slot into the trophy, completing the award.
The trophies and bracelets have been created by Hungarian designers, jewellers and sculptors. The concept of the trophy, which will only be completed by the champion, was inspired by American sprint star Noah Lyles, who is serving as the event’s Ultimate MC and Creative Adviser.
At the event, there also won’t be the usual podium ceremony. Immediately after winning, the athlete will collect the trophy from a plinth positioned at the event site. The moment will be accompanied by video, sound and fireworks before the athlete begins a lap of honour and follows the Champion’s Pathway through the crowd to the television mixed zone.
This event will bring together world champions, Olympic champions, Diamond League winners and the year’s leading athletes.
