Men and women will race in the same 100 metres relay at a major event for the first time at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship.
A mixed 4x100m relay – which could see British record holders Dina Asher-Smith and Zharnel Hughes team up – has been included in the streamlined schedule for the new biennial global competition in 2026.
However, a number of traditional disciplines have been omitted from the programme for the big-money meet in Budapest, including heptathlon, meaning Britain’s world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson will not have the chance to compete for a record $150,000 (£119,000).
The Ultimate Championship – which was first announced in June – has been created to ensure each athletics season concludes with a global event. It will be held every even year, with the existing World Championships continuing in the odd years.
The introduction of a mixed 4x100m relay – which will be trialled during next year’s Diamond League – follows the success of the mixed 4x400m relay, which has featured in the last two Olympics.
‘The mixed 4x100m relay is just one example of how we want to do this event differently,’ World Athletics chief executive Jon Ridgeon told Mail Sport in Budapest. ‘We think it will be a great success because the mixed 4x400m has been great fun.
A mixed 100m relay will be included at the 2026 World Athletics Ultimate Championship
The event could see British record holders Zharnel Hughes and Dina Asher-Smith team up
The decision follows the success of the mixed 4x400m relay that has featured at the last two Olympics
‘We are still working out the exact format. Over the next few months, we will test the connotations of who hands over to who. But I almost hope that it is going to be a free for all because that will be most exciting.’
The inaugural Ultimate Championship will be held over three nights at the National Athletics Stadium in Budapest in September 2026, with each session lasting no more than three hours to suit TV.
The limited timeframe means a number of disciplines have been cut, including multi-events heptathlon and decathlon, track races the 10,000m and 3,000m steeplechase, plus field events the discus and shot put.
‘Of course there will be athletes who are disappointed,’ said Ridgeon. ‘But if you are going to create a new product, you have to decide on the philosophy of that product, and all the advice we got is it needs to be fast-moving and time limited, so there sadly isn’t time to do a heptathlon or decathlon.
‘The whole look, brand and feeling of the event will be unique in terms of what we have done before. We are very aware that this event can’t just be an Olympics or World Championships-lite.
‘It is a matter of trying to piece together the timetable and see how the different bits work together for optimal excitement and drama in the evening.
‘But no athlete should get the impression that any event is being phased out or not loved by World Athletics. This is only for 2026 and we will assess again in 2028 and it may well be a different roster of disciplines.’
Just 16 athletes will be invited to compete at the Ultimate Championship in each track event, which will start at the semi-final stage, along with the eight competitors in each field discipline, which will only have a final.
But Olympic hero Katarina Johnson-Thompson will miss out with heptathlon not on the bill
Discus will also not feature as organisers look to trim down events for the biennial competition
Athletes will qualify via world rankings – although there will be wildcards for defending Olympic, world or Diamond League champions – and there will be no cap on the number of competitors per nation. ‘The core philosophy of the event is it’s the best of the best,’ said Ridgeon.
The overall prize pot is a record $10million (£7.94m), with the $150,000 on offer for each winner more than double the $70,000 earned by gold medallists at the last World Championships.
‘We are always looking to increase the money that goes to the athletes,’ said Ridgeon. ‘We want to make sure that being a professional athlete is a sustainable, lucrative life.’
It is hoped the BBC will broadcast the Ultimate Championship, just like they do the World Championships and Olympics.
‘This is not about maximising the income and putting it behind a paywall, this is about making sure the maximum number of eyeballs around the world can see it,’ said Ridgeon. ‘A lot of the broadcasters who currently show the Olympics and World Championships will be our natural partners for this event.’
The 2026 competition could also be the first time that the long jump uses a take-off zone rather than a take-off board, despite athletes heavily criticising the proposed change to the historic discipline when it was first muted at the start of the year.
‘The take-off zone is one of the things that we continue to test,’ said Ridgeon. ‘If it tests well, that is the sort of thing that could be introduced at 2026 or at a later date. But it has to test well and be accepted by the sport.’
Ridgeon revealed that World Athletics are also trialling the 200m hurdles as an event, something which last featured at an Olympics in 1904.
‘From our research, we know the hurdles are popular,’ he said. ‘It’s an event that could bring together sprint hurdlers and 400m hurdles which is quite interesting. These are the sort of things we are testing.’
200m hurdles is also set to be included, despite the distance not featuring in the Olympics since 1904
Meanwhile, Ridgeon insists World Athletics are not threatened by Michael Johnson’s new big-money series, Grand Slam Track.
Johnson’s league launches next year, with four three-day meets between April and June and prize money of $100,000 for the winners of each category. Brits Josh Kerr, Matthew Hudson-Smith and Daryll Neita are among the stars to have signed up.
The second Grand Slam Track event in Miami in May clashes with the second Diamond League – World Athletics’ top-tier series – meet in China.
But Ridgeon added: ‘It is not a rival to anything we do. Our view is that we encourage new money and new opportunity into the sport.
‘We take it as a sign that the sport is in pretty good shape if new investors are looking to come in and add value. All we ask for is new organisers to work with us to make sure dates work as far as they can.’
