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≡ ULTIMATE CHAMPIONSHIP ≡
For track & field, the pillar events of the four-year Olympic cycle has been the same for decades:
● Year 0: Olympic Games
● Year 1: World Athletics Championships
● Year 2: nothing
● Year 3: World Athletics Championships
● Year 4: Olympic Games
These championship events are supported by a season-long Diamond League, now 15 meets, with a two-day final, usually in Brussels (BEL) and Zurich (ZUI).
Under British President Sebastian Coe, World Athletics is trying to create new interest in the “middle year” between World Championships and drummed up a new “Ultimate Championship” for 2026:
● Three-day event in Budapest (HUN)
● Three-hour show aimed at television
● Scheduled for 11-13 September
● All finals, in 28 events
● $10 million prize money purse
The fields will automatically include invitations to the 2024 Olympic and 2025 World Championships gold medalists, the 2026 Diamond League winner (finals held the week before) and other top stars from the World Athletics Rankings.
Now, tickets are being readied for sale, with Wednesday’s announcement that sales will open on 10 November, but with a pre-sale window from 6-9 November for those who sign up on the meet Web site.
The per-day pricing, for the meet to be held at the National Athletics Centre – site of the 2023 World Athletics Championships – appears to be quite reasonable, as big-event pricing goes these days (layout shown above):
● Finish line: 69,000 HUF ($206.00 U.S.) ~ 2 sections at the finish line (pink)
● Category 1: 44,000 HUF ($131.37 U.S.) ~ 4 sections on the home straight (yellow)
● Category 2: 29,000 HUF ($86.58 U.S.) ~ 13 sections on the backstraight and two close to the start lines for the sprints and lane races (blue)
● Category 3: 15,000 HUF ($44.78 U.S.) ~ 14 sections on the turns (purpose)
There are also Category 4 sections (gray), which are not being sold, and will be used for news media, officials, sponsors, guests and athletes. These comprise seven sections on the home straight and four sections on each turn (11 total).
The National Athletics Centre sat 36,000 for the 2023 Worlds, with special second-decks which have been removed for permanent use. The listed capacity of the stadium now is 14,000, but with strong sales, might be augmented.
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