World Athletics President Seb Coe Reveals Verdict on Groundbreaking Ultimate Championship

The first-ever World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest has been hailed as a major success, with World Athletics President Sebastian Coe praising the "uniquely positive" feedback from athletes who competed in the groundbreaking event.

Seb Coe had previously described the three-day competition as an "incubator for change." The event brought together 381 athletes from 65 nations to compete for an unprecedented $10 million prize pool.

It featured a host of innovations aimed at a younger, television-focused audience, including an all-black infield, a pink sand long jump pit, and enhanced on-screen graphics.

"At first inspection, and it's early, it seems in large part to have worked pretty well," Coe told reporters in Budapest, as quoted by AFP. "The athletes have been uniquely positive. At first perusal, I think we're in decent shape."

He acknowledged the sport's traditional caution but framed the new format as a necessary step forward. "We are an innately conservative sport, and I just think we've moved slightly away from the risk-averse end of that spectrum…not probably by much, but it's a start."

Seb Coe also highlighted the "really good vibe" at the sold-out venue over three evenings of intense competition.

Jamaican sprint icon Usain Bolt, who won 19 global titles during his illustrious career, expressed his support for the lucrative new championship, noting he wished such prize money had been available during his time on the track.

"It's big," Bolt said. "It's good for the sport, and it incentivises athletes to come out here and do the best, to show up and to be ready."

The Ultimate Championship pitted 26 Olympic champions from Paris 2024 against 26 world champions from Tokyo and 25 Diamond League winners from the 2026 season in a high-stakes showdown.

"It's a good step, a first step to changing track and field for the better," Bolt added. "I think the athletes are loving it. It's a different energy, a different vibe."

The sentiment was echoed by current competitors. "They have built a great show, and it has a different kind of vibe. I love it," said Norwegian 400m hurdles star Karsten Warholm.

American sprinter Kenny Bednarek, who won both the 100m and 200m titles, remarked that "everything is a little bit more exciting than at the World Championships."

Nikki Hiltz of the USA, who finished third in the women's 1,500m, was equally enthusiastic. "This event is awesome and it is cool that World Athletics has $10m dollars to invest into its athletes. I want it to be the prize for every championships!"

Seb Coe confirmed that the next edition of the Ultimate Championship is scheduled for 2028, following the Los Angeles Olympics.

"Where at all possible, we wanted our world championships and now the Ultimate to be the denouement of the season," he explained. "That's important and again the athletes have welcomed that."

However, the event was not without its critics. The exclusion of several field events, including the shot put, discus, and women's hammer throw, drew concern.

"The championship is worse off for not having the other field events," stated Great Britain's Jazmin Sawyers, who placed second in the women's long jump.

Despite this, Sawyers called the event a "wow moment" and said her $75,000 prize money would fund another year in the sport and a new sewing machine.

Coe acknowledged the difficult decisions made regarding the event schedule. "There was some nervousness going in about what it was going to mean for us, inevitable discussions that some disciplines are not there," he said. "But that's not set in tablets of stone, it could look different next time."