Track and field's $10m gamble launches in Budapest despite loss of top stars

Track and field is launching its most radical experiment in decades this Friday in Budapest. The inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship arrives with a record-breaking $10 million (#7.4 million) prize fund and a promise to redesign how the sport is broadcast. But as the three-day event begins, organisers are grappling with the high-profile absence of some of the sport's biggest names.

Sprinting icon Noah Lyles has pulled out after a minor muscle strain flared up during post-US Championship training. He will still attend as an "MC" and behind-the-scenes content creator, but he will not run. Olympic long jump champion Tara Davis-Woodhall is also out following a concussion sustained in a car accident. Kenya’s distance running squad has taken major hits too, with Faith Kipyegon sidelined by a hamstring injury and Beatrice Chebet on maternity leave.

A television-first spectacle

The event is the brainchild of World Athletics President Sebastian Coe and Chief Executive Jon Ridgeon. They have spent three years designing a competition built explicitly for television and younger audiences. "We can't be a professional sport if we have one year in four where we are not showcasing the best of our athletes under one roof," Coe told reporters, referring to the lack of a traditional World Championship or Olympic Games in 2026.

To make the broadcast pop, the stadium in Budapest has been radically re-engineered. The traditional green infield grass has been painted black to spotlight the athletes. Javelins and hammers will glow in mid-air to make them easier to track on screen.

The format is also designed to cut out the fluff. There are no heats for the longer track events; the 1,500m and 5,000m are straight finals. In field events, only eight athletes will compete. Instead of the usual six attempts, they face a sudden-death cut: after two rounds, the field is whittled down to six, and then down to four for the final round. No ties will be allowed. In another reality-TV twist, athletes were allowed to choose their preferred lanes in advance, draft-style, based on their world rankings.

Huge payouts and missing medals

The primary lure for the 381 athletes competing is financial. World Athletics is offering the richest prize pot in the sport’s history. Every event winner will take home $150,000 (#110,000) — more than double the payout of a standard World Championship. Even the athlete finishing eighth will walk away with $10,000. Underlining the shift from tradition, there will be no medals awarded; winners will receive a trophy instead.

While some stars are missing, others are leaning heavily into the entertainment aspect. Pole vault world record holder Mondo Duplantis, who helped write and perform the event's official anthem, "Gold", will compete on Friday. Keely Hodgkinson is set to run in the women's 800m, while the men's 1,500m will feature another instalment of the fierce rivalry between Great Britain’s Josh Kerr and Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen. Both men received "exceptional invitations" to compete despite not meeting standard qualification paths.

Not everyone is convinced

While Kerr and Duplantis have praised the innovation, other athletes have raised concerns. Norwegian hurdles champion Karsten Warholm warned that the late-season timing creates "chaos" in the calendar. Others are frustrated by the selection of events. To keep the television window tight, several traditional disciplines — including the triple jump, shot put, discus, 10,000m, and steeplechase — were completely axed.

World shot put champion Chase Jackson questioned the logic of skipping events entirely. "My body is saying 'yes' but my pockets are saying 'why the hell am I not at the Ultimate?'" she told Citius Mag.

Coe insists the event is an "incubator for change" that will help shape the future of the traditional World Championships and Olympics. For World Athletics, this weekend is a high-stakes test of whether glowing equipment, black grass, and heavy payouts can turn track and field into a primetime TV hit.