Gabrielle Thomas of the United States attends a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo by David Balogh/Xinhua)
BUDAPEST, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- The world's leading athletes are set for a three-day showdown in Budapest as the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship opens Friday, bringing together Olympic champions, world champions and Diamond League winners in a new season-ending global event.
A total of 381 athletes from 65 countries and regions will compete across three evening sessions from September 11 to 13 at the National Athletics Center, with 28 titles on offer across 16 track events, 10 field events and two relays.
The championship carries a 10 million U.S. dollars prize purse, with 150,000 dollars awarded to each individual event winner.
At Thursday's pre-event activities, athletes swapped competition kits for suits, evening gowns, sunglasses and high heels as they walked onto the track, showcasing a different side of themselves before the competition begins.
The Ultimate Championship also introduces a compressed competition format. Most individual track events from 100m to 800m begin with semifinals, while the 1,500m, 5,000m, relays and all field events go directly to finals.
Another innovation comes in the 200m semifinals, where athletes will select their preferred heat and lane in seeding order, giving higher-ranked competitors first choice.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said at Thursday's pre-event press conference that the championship was designed to bring the world's best athletes together to answer the fundamental question of "who is the best."
"Nobody goes into the sport to sort of figure out who's second best," Coe said.
Coe described the championship as an "incubator for change," saying innovations tested in Budapest could eventually find their way into future World Championships and even the Olympic Games.
Jamaican sprint great Usain Bolt said bringing the world's best athletes together for direct competition was exactly the kind of challenge he enjoyed during his career.
"I've always lived to compete against the best. I live for competition," Bolt said.
Joking that the event had arrived too late for him, Bolt said he would have regarded the Ultimate Championship as being as important as the Olympic Games or World Championships had it existed during his prime.
Friday's opening night will feature several high-profile contests, led by men's pole vault world record holder Armand Duplantis. Titles will also be decided in the women's high jump, men's hammer throw and men's 5,000m, while semifinals in the hurdles, 400m and 800m are also scheduled.
Two Chinese athletes have qualified for the championship, with both competing Saturday.
18-year-old Yan Ziyi will contest the women's javelin after an outstanding season in which she threw 71.74 meters at the Diamond League meeting in Xiamen, setting Asian and world U20 records. She remained unbeaten in five Diamond League appearances before winning the Final in Brussels last weekend.
Zhang Mingkun will compete in the men's long jump final. ■
Imani Lansiquot of Britain reacts after a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)
Armand Duplantis of Sweden reacts after a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)
Julian Weber of Germany attends a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo by David Balogh/Xinhua)
Kitaguchi Haruka of Japan attends a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo by David Balogh/Xinhua)
Armand Duplantis of Sweden attends a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo by David Balogh/Xinhua)
Femke Broeders-Bol of the Netherlands reacts after a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)
Noah Lyles of the United States attends a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo by David Balogh/Xinhua)
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt attends a press conference of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo by David Balogh/Xinhua)
Letsile Tebogo of Botswana attends a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo by David Balogh/Xinhua)
Nicola Olyslagers of Australia reacts after a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)
Gabriel Tual of France reacts after a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt attends a press conference of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo by David Balogh/Xinhua)
Former athlete Dawn Harper Nelson of the United States attends a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo by David Balogh/Xinhua)
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt (R) attends a press conference of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo by David Balogh/Xinhua)
Femke Broeders-Bol of the Netherlands attends a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo by David Balogh/Xinhua)
Claire Bryant of the United States attends a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo by David Balogh/Xinhua)
Katie Moon of the United States reacts after a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)
Navasky Anderson of Jamaica reacts after a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)
Emma Zapletalova of Slovakia reacts after a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)
Armand Duplantis of Sweden reacts after a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)
Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics, speaks at a press conference of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo by David Balogh/Xinhua)
Armand Duplantis of Sweden attends a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo by David Balogh/Xinhua)
Kitaguchi Haruka of Japan attends a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo by David Balogh/Xinhua)
Josh Kerr of Britain reacts after a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)
Armand Duplantis of Sweden attends a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo by David Balogh/Xinhua)
Renelle Lamote of France reacts after a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)
Masai Russell of the United States receives an interview after a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)
Keely Hodgkinson of Britain attends a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo by David Balogh/Xinhua)
Femke Broeders-Bol of the Netherlands attends a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo by David Balogh/Xinhua)
Lina Nielsen of Britain reacts after a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)
Sandi Morris of the United States attends a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo by David Balogh/Xinhua)
Yemi Mary John of Britain reacts after a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)
Charlotte Henrich of Britain reacts after a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)
Julius Yego of Kenya reacts after a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)
Sandi Morris of the United States attends a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo by David Balogh/Xinhua)
Alison Dos Santos of Brazil attends a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo by David Balogh/Xinhua)
Alia Armstrong of the United States poses after a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)
Jazmin Sawyers of Britain reacts after a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)
Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine receives an interview after a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)
Jeremiah Azu of Britain reacts after a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt attends a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo by David Balogh/Xinhua)
Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine attends a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo by David Balogh/Xinhua)
Larissa Iapichino of Italy reacts after a red carpet of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan)
Noah Lyles of the United States attends a red carpet event of World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 10, 2026. (Photo by David Balogh/Xinhua)
