The first draw of the 2026 World Athletics Championships will take place in Budapest.
World Athletics has announced the qualifiers for the inaugural Ultimate Championship (September 11-13, 2026), featuring world champions, Olympic champions, Wanda Diamond League winners and Athletes of the Year.
Each of the three sessions will contain finals, and some events will have two semi-finals, with four of the eight athletes in each advancing to the final. 1500m, 5000m and relay races will be direct finals. Eight athletes will compete in some field events.
Crew size for the following track events: 100 m – 16, 200 m – 16, 400 m – 16, 800 m – 16, 1500 m – 12, 5000 m – 12, 100 mH / 110 mH / 400 mH – 16
Staff size for the following field events: High jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump (women only), javelin throw, hammer throw (men only) – 8
The size of the staff for relays. 4x100m & 4x400m medley relay – 8 teams
The events of September 11. Men’s 5000m, 100m Hurdles, 110m Hurdles, Women’s High Jump, Men’s Pole Vault, Women’s Long Jump, Men’s Hammer, 4x100m Medley and 4x400m Medley
The events of September 12. Women’s 100m, Men’s 100m, Women’s 800m, Women’s 1500m, Women’s 400m Hurdles, Men’s 400m Hurdles, Women’s Pole Vault, Men’s Long Jump, Women’s Javelin
Events happening on September 13. Women’s 200m, Men’s 200m, Women’s 400m, Men’s 400m, Men’s 800m, Men’s 1500m, Women’s 5000m, Men’s High Jump, Women’s Triple Jump, Men’s Javelin
A record $10 million prize purse is on offer in Budapest, the largest ever offered in a single race.
Distribution of prize money for individual events. 1st – $150,000, 2nd – $75,000, 3rd – $40,000, 4th – $25,000, 5th – $16,000, 6th – $14,000, 7th – $12,000, 8th – $10,000, 8th – $10,000. $8000, 11th – $7000, 12th – $6000, 13th – $5000, 14th – $4000, 15th – $3000, 16th – $2000
Distribution of prize money for relays. 1st – $80,000, 2nd – $40,000, 3rd – $24,000, 4th – $20,000, 5th – $16,000, 6th – $14,000, 7th – $10,000, 8th – $8,000
How individual athletes can receive invitations includes:
• Being an Olympic champion from Paris in 2024
• Being world champion from the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo
• Winning the Brussels Diamond League 2026 final
• Their position in the world rankings between September 2, 2025 and September 1, 2026
Because eligible athletes are personally invited to participate, there is no limit to how many national stars can participate in each individual event.
There will also be automatic invitations for the top six teams in the 4x100m and 4x400m medley to the 2026 World Athletics Relays in Gaborone. The remaining two teams will be selected based on their best results between August 22, 2025 and September 1, 2026.
