Friday Preview: Athletics Ultimate Championship - Duplantis & hurdles headline Day 1

The international athletics summer of 2026 gets it's climax this weekend in Hungary's Budapest, where the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship takes place.



All of the best athletes in each discipline have been invited, as participation has been limited to the Olympic Champions from Paris 2024, World Champions from Tokyo 2025, the Diamond League winners of 2026 and the best athletes in the 2026 rankings. In addition to the ones already mentioned, some athletes have been given wild card exemptions. Hungary being the organizing country has been allowed to send a lot of wild card athletes.

For all races ranging from 100-800 meters there will be 16 athletes, the 1500m & 5000m feature 12 participants, while for the field events there are just 8 slots. All events could include an extra wild card slot.

The amount of athletes in each event hasn't been restricted by country, as all the best athletes are allowed to participate regardless of their allegiance. There are semi-finals and a final for all the shorter running distances, while in the field events it's just a straight-up final.

You can find all of the athletes present at the games here: World Athletics Ultimate Championship - Full entry lists.

There is a massive 10 million dollar prize pool for the athletes to win their share of in Budapest, and each individual discipline sports a main prize of 150 000 dollars.

Etusuora previews all the events for each day, starting with our Ultimate Championship preview of Friday here now.



Women's High Jump, at 18.13

The Favourite: Eleanor Patterson, Australia
Toughest challenger: Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Ukraine

Ukrainian Mahuchikh still holds the world leading result of 203 for the season, but the world record's holders jumps haven't quite been up to par in recent weeks. Patterson recently celebrated winning the Diamond League in Brussels, and she's definitely been the more consistent athlete out of the two in recent times.

Nicola Olyslagers has been getting near her personal best this summer, but in Belgium she was forced to concede at 195. If the winner in Budapest comes from outside this trio, it would be a massive surprise.

Men's hammer throw, at 18.23

The Favourite: Ethan Katzberg, Canada
Toughest challenger: Bence Halasz, Hungary

Canada's Katzberg is the reigning Olympic- and world champion in the men's hammer throw, but this season he's only in second place by SB. Home crowd Here Halasz shocked everyone at the European Championships in Birmingham, as he hauled the 7kg ball to 84,25 meters.

There have been plenty of top-quality competitions in the hammer throw this season, and this could be an amazing climax. Katzberg is used to winning when the stakes are at their highest, but this time out he'll also be up against an euphoric home crowd in addition to Halasz. All 8 finalists have gone over 80 meters this season, so we could be in for a special night.

Men's Pole Vault, at 19.08

The Favourite: Armand Duplantis, Sweden
Toughest challenger: Emmanouil Karalis, Greece

The men's pole vault is definitely one of the most interesting competitions at the Ultimate Championships. Sweden's world record holder Armand Duplantis is rightfully a massive favourite, even if his form is a bit under question. The Swede has struggled with a slight injury recently, which even forced him to pull out of the Diamond League final in Brussels.

Karalis from Greece on the other hand has been looking extremely strong in the past month, and he has all the attributes necessary to mount a real challenge at Duplantis for the right to call himself an Ultimate Champion. The Budapest crowd will no doubt be waiting for a new world record on Friday night.



Men's 5000 meters, at 19.36

The Favourite: Addisu Yihune, Ethiopia
Toughest challenger: Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Norway

The longest track distance at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship got some extra intrigue, as Norway's superstar Jakob Ingebritsen and Team USA's Cole Hocker had a war of worlds following the 1500 meters at the Diamond League finals in Brussels. The duo will hopefully let only their legs do the talking this weekend in their two head-to-heads in both the 5000m & the 1500m.

Addisu Yihune is the number one athlete in the field when it comes to this season's results, but without pacesetters like in Diamond League races things might go differently in just a man-to-man race. If the race goes down to the wire, Hocker, Ingebritsen and Parker Wolfe who's had an excellent finish to the season could be strong candidates for the win.

Women's Long Jump, at 19.53

The Favourite: Larissa Iapichino, Italy
Toughest challenger: Agate De Sousa, Portugal

The women's long jump on Friday at the Ultimate Championships has a sad absence, as Tara Davis-Woodhall was forced to end her season due to an unlucky car accident. However, there's still eight top-quality jumpers to look forward to, three of which have gone beyond the 7-meter mark this season.

Iapichino who celebrated the gold at the European Championships in Birmingham has been the most consistent performer across the season, but her win is by no means guaranteed. The differences between the best jumpers are very small, and the form on the day will be all that counts. Portugal's De Sousa and Alyssa Jones of Team USA seem like the most potential candidates to challenge the Italian.



Women's 100 meter hurdles, at 20.20

The Favourite: Masai Russell, United States
Toughest challenger: Tobi Amusan, Nigeria

Friday's climax at the Ultimate Championship will be the finals of the 100m- & 110m hurdles, where some amazing times are to be expected. Russell became the first woman ever to go under 12,10 at the Zurich Diamond League, and her form in general has been very strong. Former world record holder Amusan came second at the Letzigrund, but was forced to settle for fifth in the Brussels finals.

The dark horse in Budapest is Bahama's Devynne Charlton, who's lightning-fast starts make her especially adept on the 60 meter distance. She got a new PB in Belgium of 12,33, but after winning all 12 competitions she's been in this season, Russel's status as the favourite is rock-solid.

Men's 110 meter hurdles, at 20.49

The Favourite: Ja'kobe Tharp, United States
Toughest challenger: Jamal Britt, United States

Tharp's world record run in Eugene is still the most surprising performance in athletics season. The starlet hasn't been near his amazing WR time of 12.75 since June, but he's consistently ran around 13 seconds across the season. Tharp has also cemented himself as quite a pressure-resistant athlete, which was showcased especially in his victory at the Diamond League finals.

Meanwhile, Britt has bettered his PB five times this season all the way down to 12.86. Things are looking good for Team USA in this race, and a quadruple-victory is definitely a realistic prospect.