Inaugural Ultimate a hit with the athletes, says Coe

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AFP) — The inaugural Ultimate Championship in Budapest worked “pretty well”, according to World Athletics President Sebastian Coe, who hailed the “uniquely positive” feedback from athletes. Coe had dubbed the three-day Ultimate, bringing together 381 athletes from 65 federations in competition for unmatched prize money totalling $10 million, as an “incubator for change”. An all-black in-field, a long jump pit filled with pink sand, enhanced graphics and quick-fire coverage unashamedly aimed for television, and particularly a younger audience, were all features of the flashy new competition.

“At first inspection, and it’s early, it seems in large part to have worked pretty well,” Coe told journalists in Budapest. “The athletes have been uniquely positive. At first perusal I think we’re in decent shape.

“We are an innately conservative sport and I just think we’ve moved slightly away from the risk-adverse end of that spectrum — not probably by much, but it’s a start.” Coe added that there had been a “really good vibe” at three sell-out evenings of action and the competition looked “less last week”. Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt claimed 19 global titles in a storied career, but said he wished the kind of prize money on offer at the Ultimate Championship had been available when he was competing. “It’s good for the sport and it incentivises athletes to come out here and do the best, to show up and to be ready.” Jamaica’s Ackelia Smith competes in the women’s triple jump final during the World Athletics Ultimate Championship on September 13, 2026.

(Photo: AFP) The Ultimate pitched 26 Olympic champions from the 2024 Paris Games against 26 World champions from Tokyo last year and 25 Diamond League winners from the 2026 season. “It’s a good step, a first step to changing track and field for the better,” said Bolt. “I think the athletes are loving it.

It’s a different energy, a different vibe.” With 28 disciplines delivered in a fast-paced, made-for-television format, Coe described the current crop of athletes as one “for the ages”. “For the last two or three years, I’ve sensed that we’ve now got a far broader bandwidth of talent across all our disciplines.” The 2028 edition of the Ultimate will follow the July 14-30 Los Angeles Olympics, Coe confirmed. “Where at all possible, we wanted our world championships and now the…