World Athletics announces new $150,000 individual prize events following launch of Alexis Ohanian's Athlos NYC and Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track

By Zahid Rashid Dar

Modified Nov 22, 2024 15:44 GMT

World Athletics has announced a staggering $10 million prize pot for the inaugural season of the Ultimate Championship to be held in 2026. The development follows the launch of Athlos NYC and Grand Slam Track, which significantly raised prize money for track athletes.

World Athletics announced the creation of the Ultimate Championship in June 2023. It's a biennial event and will only take place in years without the World Outdoor Championships, with the inaugural event taking place from September 11-13, 2026.

The World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026 will feature 28 track and field events for three evenings. The winner of each event will earn a massive $150,000, the largest prize money offered in any track and field league.

World Athletics announced Tata Communications and HBS as the host broadcaster on Friday, November 22. It also released the list of 28 events included in the league with the notable addition being mixed 4x100m relay.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe claimed the event would be a game-changer for the sport.

"This new global event will be a game-changer for our sport and for our athletes. We want to bring our fans athletics like they have never seen it before – with the best of the best athletes in our sport competing head-to-head in a passion-fuelled, high octane, festival of sport, with sound, light and innovation," he said.

While the Ultimate Championship was announced before the launch of Athlos by Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian and Grand Slam Track by Michael Johnson, World Athletics has taken note of the rival leagues' high prize pot. Athlos awarded $60,000 to an individual event winner while Grand Slam Track will offer $100,000.

World Outdoor Championship winners were earlier awarded $70,000 for the gold medal while Olympic gold medalists from the 2024 Paris Olympics only earned $50,000. With plenty of money coming into the sport in the last year, track and field is headed for exciting times in the future.

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List of events announced for World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026

World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026 will feature 16 individual track events, 10 field events, and 2 mixed relays.

• Track: 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m, 100m/110m hurdles, 400m hurdles
• Field: pole vault, high jump, long jump, triple jump (women), hammer throw (men), javelin
• Relays: mixed 4x100m, mixed 4x400m

While the mixed 4x400m relay debuted at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the mixed 4x100m has never featured in any edition of the Olympic Games or World Championships so far.

A few notable events missing from the released list include the shot put, discus, 10,000m, and 3000m steeplechase.