On Monday, World Athletics unveiled plans for a brand new biennial occasion to happen throughout non-world championship/Olympic years, and serving as a profitable end-of-season finale. The World Final Championships will probably be a revolutionary world occasion designed to redefine the athletics calendar and crown the perfect of the perfect in athletics. This final championship will convey collectively world champions, Olympic champions, Diamond League winners and the yr’s top-performing athletes to compete for the highest prize of USD $150,000.
The World Athletics Final Championship is launching in 2026 🔥
With a prize pot of $10m, it is going to be the very best in monitor and subject historical past 💥
Standout particulars:
🇭🇺 The primary version will probably be in Budapest (11-13 September, 2026)
🗓️ The final word championship will probably be held each… pic.twitter.com/tdKiyvSLqt— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) June 3, 2024
In Sept. 2026, Budapest will play host to the inaugural World Final Championships, a three-day occasion boasting a $10 million prize purse. This “finest vs. finest” competitors will characteristic the highest 16 athletes from the 2026 season competing in a monitor semi-finals and finals format, whereas the highest eight athletes in subject occasions (throwing and leaping) will battle it out within the subject finals. Every occasion winner will pocket USD $150,000—the very best quantity of prize cash provided at a monitor and subject championship—with extra prize cash distributed to the eight finalists. This substantial monetary incentive goals to raise the game and entice the world’s prime athletes.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe mentioned in a press launch: “That is about the perfect of the perfect; solely 400 athletes from about 70 nations. We would like this to look totally different, we would like this to really feel totally different (than a World Championships).” Coe’s imaginative and prescient for the World Athletics Final Championship is to ship excessive motion and pleasure for followers. “We need to characteristic the largest stars and make it a must-watch world sporting occasion.”
Designed to captivate thousands and thousands of tv viewers worldwide, the championship will characteristic a compact three-day athletics schedule, with every night session lasting beneath three hours. The format consists of semi-finals and finals for monitor occasions, and straight finals for subject occasions, making certain an exciting and fast-paced competitors. In keeping with World Athletics, athletes is not going to compete for his or her sponsors, however as an alternative for his or her nationwide groups, including an additional layer of satisfaction and pleasure to the competitors.
World Athletics report card: how did Budapest carry out at World Championships?
The press launch reveals that the last word occasion will embody the standard dash disciplines, center and long-distance races, relays, jumps and throws. The long run hosts past the inaugural World Athletics Final Championship in Budapest haven’t been introduced.