On Monday, World Athletics announced its new global championship for 2026, featuring the largest prize purse in track and field history—a $10 million sum where gold medalists will earn $150,000.
Taking place over three days in Budapest, Hungary, from September 11-13, the meet will feature three evening sessions with semifinals and finals for track events and final-only field events. The plan moving forward is for the championship to be held every two years in different host cities.
The sports governing body expects nearly 400 of the world’s top athletes—selected primarily from world rankings—to compete at the first championship.
“With only the best of the best on show and cutting straight to semifinals and finals, we will create an immediate pressure to perform for athletes aiming to claim the title of the ultimate champion,” said World Athletics president Seb Coe in a statement. “The World Athletics Ultimate Championship will be high on action and excitement for fans, setting a new standard for track and field events. Featuring athletics’ biggest stars, it will be a must-watch global sports event and means track and field will host a major global championship in every single year, ensuring for the first time that athletics will enjoy a moment of maximum audience reach on an annual basis.”
Indeed, the next six years of track and field global championships are now set: the Paris Olympics in 2024, the World Championships in Tokyo in 2025, the World Ultimate Championships in Budapest in 2026, the World Championships in Beijing in 2027, and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Citius Mag’s Chris Chavez confirmed that there will be a World Athletics Ultimate Championships following the 2028 Olympics as well, though the host city has not yet been announced.
This is a big move for the sport, which needs to reach new fans to grow in popularity and suffers from a lack of prize money compared to more mainstream sports. The news comes on the heels of World Athletics also deciding to pay Olympic champions for the first time this year—$50,000 for each gold medal—another move by Coe that was equally criticized and celebrated.
Plus there’s the women-only 776 Invitational approaching in September, which is being put on by Olympic bronze medalist Gabby Thomas and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and will offer the largest ever prize purse for a women’s track meet. The 776 Invitational will award each winner $60,000, $25,000 for second place, and $10,000 for third. For context, the Diamond League pays regular-season meet winners $10,000, and awards $6,000 and $3,500 to second and third place athletes, respectively.
Michael Johnson’s new fan-focused track league is also aiming to bring a more entertaining, TV-friendly experience to engage fans of the sport and bring in new audiences by creating storytelling around the biggest track stars. The legendary sprinter’s new project debuts in 2025 and will aim to help athletes commercialize their rights as well.
Motives and complications aside, this many players showing financial interest in backing today’s top track and field athletes and revolutionizing and growing the sport’s fandom seems promising.
Abby Carney is a writer and journalist in New York. A former D1 college runner and current amateur track athlete, she's written about culture and characters in running and outdoor sports for Runner's World, Like the Wind Magazine, The New York Times, and other outlets. She also writes about things that have nothing to do with running, and was previously the editor of a food magazine.
