World Athletics Ultimate Championships Event by Event Preview

Posted by: Watch Athletics

Thursday, 10 September 2026

The World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest will bring together the Paris 2024 Olympic champions, Tokyo 2025 world champions, winners from the 2026 Diamond League Final in Brussels and the year’s leading performers, based on the World Rankings from 11 September 2025 to 13 September 2026.

A record US$10 million prize purse will be on offer. Eligible athletes receive personal invitations to compete, with no fixed limit on the number of entrants in each individual event.

Men’s 400 metres hurdles

Alison dos Santos broke the world record with 45.80 at the Diamond League meeting in Zurich, slicing 0.14 off the mark Karsten Warholm set in the Tokyo Olympic final. Dos Santos won all four of his clashes with Warholm—in Keqiao (33.01 in the 300m hurdles), Xiamen (46.72), Oslo (46.89) and Chorzow (46.43)—before capping his campaign with victory at the Diamond League Final in Brussels in 46.70.

Warholm secured a record fourth consecutive European title in Birmingham in 46.63 and won the London Diamond League meeting in 46.61. The Norwegian finished second in Chorzow in a season’s best of 46.52 and was runner-up again in Zurich in 46.69. He claimed his third world title in Budapest in 2023.

Rai Benjamin will attempt the 400m and 400m hurdles double in Budapest. After focusing primarily on the flat 400m this season, he won his only hurdles race convincingly, clocking 46.67 at the Lausanne Diamond League meeting. Benjamin won Olympic gold in Paris in 46.46 and the world title in Tokyo in 46.52.

Dos Santos, Warholm and Benjamin will clash for the first time since the World Championships in Tokyo last September.

The other major contenders are Matheus Lima, who finished third in Chorzow in a PB of 47.26 and at the Diamond League Final in Brussels in 48.18, Abderrahmane Samba from Qatar, who won the world bronze medal in Tokyo 2025 and set his seasonal best of 47.77 in Zurich, Ezekiel Nathaniel, fourth at the World Championships in Tokyo 2025 and gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 2026, Emil Agyekum from Germany, who broke Harald Schmid’s historic record with 47.45 at the London Diamond League meeting and won the European silver medal in Birmingham with 47.87, US hurdlers Trevor Bassitt, who improved his PB to 47.37 in College Station and Caleb Dean, who finished third in College Station in a seasonal best of 47.62 at the Memorial Istvan Gyulai in Budapest, Bassem Hemeida, who improved his PB to 47.56 in Bellinzona, and Oskar Edlund from Sweden, who improved the national record to 47.81 in the semifinal of the European Championships in Birmingham before finishing fourth in the final.

Men’s pole vault

Armand “Mondo” Duplantis is a major doubt for the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships after withdrawing from the Diamond League Final in Brussels because of back tightness.

Duplantis won the second of his three world outdoor titles in Budapest, setting a championships record of 6.10m, and later broke the world record with 6.29m at the 2025 Memorial Istvan Gyulai, Hungary’s Continental Tour Gold meeting. He has also taken a prominent role in the Ultimate Championships as its leading “Ultimate Star”, composing the event’s official anthem and backing its innovative, television-friendly format.

Duplantis will clash with his friend and rival Emmanouil Karalis in what is expected to be an epic showdown after some of the greatest pole vault competitions in history during the 2026 season. Duplantis won in Lausanne with 6.21m at the Athletissima City Event. Karalis cleared 6.16m, the best ever non-winning height.

Six days later Duplantis cleared 6.25m to win for the sixth time in his career at Weltklasse Zurich, but Karalis placed second with 6.20m. Both pole vault stars made three attempts at the world record height of 6.32m. For the first time ever in athletics history two men cleared 6.20m or higher in the same competition.

Karalis won the Diamond League Final in Brussels improving Duplantis’s meeting record by one cm to 6.12m.

In the big competitions held during the 2026 season Duplantis won the world indoor gold medal in Torun with 6.25m and his fourth European gold medal in Birmingham with a championships record of 6.25m, beating Karalis both times.

Kurtis Marshall won the world indoor bronze medal by clearing 6.00m behind Duplantis and Karalis in Torun. The Australian pole vaulter pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the entire 2026 season by beating Duplantis at the Stockholm Diamond League with 5.90m breaking the Swede’s 40-meet winning streak. Marshall claimed a back-to-back win at the Diamond League meeting in Oslo with a clearance of 5.82m.

Sondre Guttormsen improved his own Norwegian record to 6.06m in Rouen last March moving to sixth on the world all-time list. Guttormsen won the national title in Trondheim clearing 6.00m in cold weather conditions. The Norwegian athlete secured a third place with 5.92m in Doha. He finished fourth with 5.91m in Lausanne, tied second place with 6.00m in Chorzow and cleared 6.00m again to take third place in Zurich. He placed third at the Diamond League Final in Brussels with 5.82m.

Sam Kendricks secured the win in London with 5.95m achieving his first victory in the Diamond League since 2021.

Women’s 100 metres

Olympic champion Julien Alfred and world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden share the world lead at 10.70, setting up another compelling 100m showdown for the Ultimate title.

Julien Alfred will line up in the 100m one week after securing the third overall Diamond League title of her career—and her first over 200m—with a 21.79 victory in Brussels. The Olympic 100m champion also collected five other Diamond League wins: three over 200m in Rome (21.93), Monaco (21.51) and London (21.64), plus two over 100m in Oslo (a wind-assisted 10.76) and Zurich (10.70). Her Zurich performance lowered her national record by 0.02 and edged Jefferson-Wooden by just five thousandths of a second in a dramatic photo finish.

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden skipped the Diamond League Final in Brussels to focus on the Ultimate Championships. She beat Alfred 10.78 to 10.83 in Chorzow and scored two more Diamond League victories, clocking 10.84 in Stockholm and 10.78 in Eugene. The US sprinter claimed three world titles in Tokyo: the 100m in 10.61, which made her the fourth-fastest woman in history; the 200m in a world-leading 21.68; and the 4x100m relay in 41.75.

Tina Clayton from Jamaica won the world silver medal in 10.86 in Tokyo 15 hundredths behind Jefferson-Wooden. The Jamaican sprinter claimed the win at the Diamond League Final in Brussels in 10.93. She set a seasonal best of 10.85 at both the Rabat Diamond League and at the Jamaican Championships in Kingston. Clayton returns to Budapest where she finished second at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in 10.97 last July.

Sha’Carri Richardson will return to the National Athletics Centre in Budapest where she won two gold medals in 2023 in the 100m setting her PB with 10.65 and in the 4x100m relay in 41.03 and bronze in the 200 metres in 21.92. Richardson claimed the US title in New York setting a seasonal best of 10.77 last July and finished third in Chorzow in 10.96, Zurich in 10.97 and Brussels in 11.07.

Amy Hunt won the European gold medal in Birmingham in the 100 metres in 11.02 on home soil and finished second at the Diamond League Final in Brussels in 11.06 and at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The British sprinter made history by becoming the first athlete to win four titles at the European Championships.

The other top sprinters in the field are Zaynab Dosso from Italy, gold medallist at the European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn 2025 with 7.01 and at the World Indoor Championships in Torun 2026 with 7.00., Zoe Hobbs from New Zealand, gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in the 100m in a national record of 10.93, Sade McCreath from Canada, national record holder with 10.86, Cambrea Sturgis, winner at the Diamond League in the 200 metres in 22.21, Jamaican sprinters Jonielle Smith, third at the Jamaican Championships in 10.94, Brianna Lyston, second at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Zagreb in 10.94, and Lavanya Williams, second at the Rabat Diamond League meeting in 10.95.

Women’s 100 metres hurdles

Olympic champion Masai Russell broke Tobi Amusan’s world record clocking 12.09 at Weltklasse Zurich and won her first Diamond League title in Brussels with 12.20 one week later. Russell has remained unbeaten this year setting the meeting record in each of her seven appearances in the Diamond League in Keqiao with 12.25, Xiamen (12.14), Eugene (12.24), Monaco (12.20), Lausanne (12.27), Zurich (12.09) and Brussels (12.20). Russell returns to Budapest where she won at the Memorial Istvan Gyulai with 12.36 last July.

Former world record holder Tobi Amusan finished second behind Russell with a seasonal best of 12.23, the second fastest wind-legal performance of her career. The Nigerian hurdler is the second fastest hurdler in the world this year.

Devynne Charlton won her third consecutive world indoor title in the 60 metres hurdles equalling her world record with 7.65 and claimed the Commonwealth Games title in Glasgow. The Bahamian hurdler finished second behind Russell at the Diamond League Final in Brussels setting a national record with 12.33.

Nadine Visser won the European gold medal in Birmingham in 12.67 edging Poland’s Pia Szkryszowska by one thousandth of a second and improved her PB to 12.34 to finish third behind Russell and Amusan in Zurich.

Alaysha Johnson won at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Zagreb in 12.4, finished second in Monaco with a seasonal best of 12.38 and third in Paris in 12.39.

Another US hurdler to watch is Rayniah Jones, who set a seasonal best of 12.43 in Zagreb sharing the same time as Johnson and won in Bellinzona in 12.44.

Megan Simmonds from Jamaica showed her recent good form by finishing third at the Diamond League Final in Brussels with 12.43.

Men’s 100 metres

Reigning world champion Oblique Seville starts as the fastest sprinter in the field with his seasonal best of 9.82 set at the Jamaican Championships in Kingston last June.

Seville will be looking to add the inaugural Ultimate Championships title to his collection that includes the world title in Tokyo, where he improved his PB to 9.77. Seville won his first Diamond League title in Brussels in 9.90 and two more races in the major athletics circuit in Monaco in 9.88 and Chorzow in 9.88.

Kanyinsola Ajayi won the NCAA 100m title in Eugene in a wind-assisted 9.72 and broke the Nigerian record with 9.84 in Lexington. He then won Diamond League races in Eugene and London, equalling that national record at both meetings. Ajayi took Commonwealth bronze in Glasgow in 9.90 behind Emmanuel Eseme and Lachlan Kennedy, won in Bellinzona in 9.91 and placed third at the Diamond League Final in Brussels in 9.97.

Emmanuel Eseme from Cameroon won the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in a national record of 9.83.

Marcell Jacobs, Olympic champion in Tokyo 2021 in the 100m and in the 4x100m relay, broke the 10 seconds barrier twice in Rome with 9.99 and Paris in 9.96 and clocked a wind-assisted 9.67 in Eisenstadt.

Men’s 200 metres

Two-time Olympic silver medallist Kenny Bednarek won the 200 metres in Zurich in a world-leading time of 19.62 into a headwind of -0.4 m/s beating Sinesipho Dambile and André De Grasse. One week later Bednarek replicated the same time of 19.62 in Brussels claiming his third career Diamond League title. The US sprinter claimed two more Diamond League wins this year in Rabat in a meeting record 19.69 and Stockholm in 19.87.

Letsilie Tebogo, Olympic champion in the 200m in Paris 2024 and world champion in the 4x400m relay in Tokyo 2025, won two Diamond League races in Oslo in 19.84 and Lausanne in 19.87 and finished second behind two-time world champion Tate Taylor in Eugene in 19.93 and behind Bednarek in Rabat in 19.96. Tebogo returns to Budapest where he won silver in the 100m in 9.88 and bronze in the 200m in 19.81.

Sinesipho Dambile from South Africa won his first Diamond League race in the 200m in Doha setting a PB of 19.74 and finished second in Lausanne behind Tebogo in 19.98, in Zurich in 19.82 and in Brussels in 19.89 behind Bednarek but ahead of Tebogo. Dambile also won the 200m at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi in 19.77 and the gold medal over this distance in Glasgow in 19.96 after clocking a wind-assisted 19.83 in the semifinal.

Brian Levell from Jamaica returns to Budapest where he won the 200 metres at the Continental Tour Gold meetings in a meeting record of 19.69. Two months later Levell won the world bronze in Tokyo setting a PB of 19.64.

André De Grasse, Olympic champion finished third in Zurich in 20.03 in the 200m and broke the 20 seconds barrier clocking 19.84 in Gaborone and 19.95 in Zagreb.

Makanakaishe Charamba from Zimbabwe finished second behind Dambile at the Diamond League meeting in Doha in a PB of 19.88 and finished third at the Diamond League Final in 19.99.

José Figueroa improved his PB to 19.76 in the semifinal before winning the CAC Games final in Santo Domingo in 19.98. He later finished fourth in Lausanne in 20.14.

Courtney Lindsey won the 100m in 9.89 in Winter Garden, finished third over 200m in Stockholm in 20.24 and placed fourth in Eugene in 20.19. He was also fifth in the 100m at the US Championships in 9.97.

Timothé Mumenthaler from Switzerland won the gold medal at the European Championships in Rome 2024 in 20.28 and the European bronze medal in 20.26 after improving his PB to 20.09 in the semifinal.

Women’s 200 metres

World champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden enters as the fastest woman in the 200m field, having clocked a season’s best of 21.69 at the US Championships in New York in July. That performance was just 0.01 shy of the PB she set when winning the world title in Tokyo last year. Jefferson-Wooden will contest both the 100m and 200m in Budapest.

Gabby Thomas, three-time Olympic champion in the 200m, 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay, set a seasonal best of 21.70 in College Station and won at the Memorial Istvan Gyulai in Budapest in 21.83 last July. Thomas also finished second in London in 21.81 and third in Monaco in 21.84. Thomas won two separate 100 metres races in Rovereto in 11.01 and 11.02 in her build-to the Ultimate Championships.

Jefferson-Wooden and Thomas will be joined by their compatriots Kayla White, who won at the Lausanne Diamond League meeting in 22.18, finished second at the Memorial Istvan Gyulai in Budapest in a PB of 21.92 and at the Diamond League Final in Brussels in 22.00, Cambrea Sturgis, winner at the Rabat Diamond League meeting in 22.21, and Anavia Battle, fourth in Brussels in 22.44.

European 100 and 200m champion and world 200m silver medallist Amy Hunt is entered for the 100m and 200m double. After the European Championships the British sprinter finished second in Lausanne in 22.32 and third in Brussels in a seasonal best of 22.16.

Two-time Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller Uibo finished second in Keqiao in 22.26 and Xiamen in a seasonal best of 22.04 and third in London behind Julien Alfred and Gabby Thomas in 22.24.

Women’s 800 metres

Audrey Werro from Switzerland has remained unbeaten throughout the 2026 outdoor season and won her second Diamond League title in Brussels in 1:54.75 holding off Femke Bol Broeders by just six hundredths of a second in a very close finish last week.

The 22-year Swiss athlete beat Olympic champion and world indoor record holder Keely Hodgkinson in 1:53.98 in Stockholm to become just the third woman to break the 1:54 barrier. Werro improved her world lead, Diamond League and national record to 1:53.80 in Paris and 1:53.70 in Zurich and won her first European senior title in Birmingham beating Hodgkinson and Bol Broeders.

Bol Broeders switched to the 800 metres after winning her second world gold medal in the 400 metres hurdles in Tokyo 2025. The Dutch star won the European bronze medal in Birmingham in 1:55.54 equalling Ellen Van Langen’s national record. Bol Broeders broke her national record with 1:55.41 in Lausanne and improved this time again to 1:54.71 in Zurich moving to ninth on the world all-time list.

Hodgkinson broke Jolanda Ceplak’s world indoor record in Liévin with 1:54.87 and won the world indoor gold medal in Torun in 1:55.30. The British athlete improved her British outdoor record to 1:54.33 in Stockholm and won the European silver medal in Birmingham in 1:55.01 behind Bol, but a hamstring injury forced her to miss the Diamond League meetings in Zurich and Brussels.

Addison Wiley won the world indoor bronze medal in Torun behind Hodgkinson and Werro in 1:58.36 and claimed her first-ever Diamond League win in Doha in 1:57.98. She finished second in the 1500 metres in 3:58.96 in Bellinzona.

The line-up will also feature Prudence Sekgodiso from South Africa and Nigist Getachew, who finished first and second at the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing 2025, Eloisa Coiro from Italy, who broke Gabriella Dorio’s Italian record with 1:57.56 before finishing sixth in the final in 1:57.74 at the European Championships in Birmingham, Shafiqua Maloney from Saint Vincent and Grenadine, fourth at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, Sarah Billings, who set the Oceanian record with 1:57.01 at the Paris Diamond League meeting last June, Raevyn Rogers from the USA, Olympic bronze medallist in Tokyo 2021, Halimah Nakaayi from Uganda, world champion in Doha 2019, Renelle Lamote, three-time European silver medallist in 2016, 2018 and 2022, Roisin Willis, US indoor record holder with 1:57.97 and world under-20 champion, Swiss 800m specialists Valentina Rosamilia and Veronica Vancardo, who finished seventh and eighth at the European Championships in Birmingham.

Men’s 800 metres

Emmanuel Wanyonyi won back-to-back 800 metres Diamond League races in Zurich in a world seasonal lead of 1:41.76 and in Brussels Finals in 1:41.80. The Kenyan star coached by Claudio Berardelli also broke Noah Ngeny’s 27-year-old world record in the 1000 metres clocking 2:11.83 in Monaco and won in Lausanne in 1:42.19. Wanyonyi returns to Budapest, where he won the world silver medal in 2023 when he was 19 years old. Since then he has dominated the 800 metres winning gold medals at the Olympic Games in Paris in 1:41.19 and at the World Championships in Tokyo in 1:41.86. He set the second fastest time in history Lausanne with 1:41.11 in 2024.

Marco Arop returnss to Budapest where he won the world title in Budapest three years ago ahead of Wanyonyi. Arop won the Olympic silver medal in Paris 2024 behind Wanyonyi with a PB of 1:41.20. The Canadian athlete won the 800m at the Paris Diamond League meeting in 1:41.84 and clocked 1:42.13 in Edmonton. He finished second in Stockholm in 1:43.11, third in 1:43.33 in Oslo and fourth in Lausanne in 1:43.18.

Sedjati finished third in Lausanne in 1:42.31 and second behind Wanyonyi in Zurich in a very close finish in a seasonal best of 1.41.86 before claiming the gold medal at the Mediterranean Games in Taranto in 1:46.00. The Algerian athlete took third place in the 1000m in Monaco in 2:13.94 last July. He won two world silver medals in Eugene 2022 and Tokyo 2025 and the Olympic bronze medal in Paris 2024.

Brandon Miller beat Cooper Lutkenhaus at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene in 1:43.68 and claimed his second Diamond League win in London improving his PB to 1:42.19 last July. The US contingent will also feature Donovan Brazier, world champion in Doha 2019 and US champion in 2025 in a PB of 1:42.16.

Mark English won the European gold medal in Birmingham becoming the first Irish man to win an individual title in the history of these Championships. The 33-year-old irish athlete also won at the Diamond League meeting in Keqiao in 1:43.85 and finished second in Rome in 1:43.80 and in London setting a PB f 1:42.97.

The British challenge will be led by Max Burgin and Ben Pattison. Burgin won his first Diamond League race in Rabat in 1:42.98 beating Wanynyi.

Pattison won the world bronze medal in Budapest 2023 and finished fourth at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and sixth at the European Championships in Birmingham.

Gabriel Tual won the 800 metres at the Golden Gala in Rome with 1:43.66 in the venue where he won the European title in 2024 and finished fifth in Lausanne in 1:44.18.

The other top athletes to watch are Elliot Crestan from Belgium and Mohammed Attaoui from Spain, who won silver and bronze medals at the World Indoor Championships in Torun 2026, Francesco Pernici, who broke Marcello Fiasconaro’s 53-year-old Italian record with 1:43.60 in Nancy and finished fifth at the European Championships in Birmingham, Yanis Meziane, who finished third in Brussels setting a PB of 1:42.97, and Jamaica’s Navasky Anderson, seventh in the World Championships in Tokyo with a national record of 1:42.76.

Men’s 1500 metres

Twenty-year-old Cameron Myers crowned a very successful 2026 season with the Diamond League title in Brussels in 3:30.14. The Australian athlete also won the 1500 metres in 3:28.00 at the Diamond League meeting in Paris, the Bowerman Mile in Eugene setting a new Oceanian record of 3:46.06 and the 1500m at the ISTAF meeting in Berlin in 3:30.56. Myers finished second behind Kerr at the Commonwealth Games.

During the 2026 indoor season he claimed the win at the Wanamaker Mile in 3:47.57 at the Millrose Games in New York. Last March he won the 1500m at the Maurie Plant meeting in Melbourne in 3:30.42 and defended his Australian title in 3:29.85.

Josh Kerr and multiple Olympic, world and European champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen will receive wild cards to set up a star-studded competition.

Kerr broke Hicham El Guerrouj’s world record over the mile distance clocking 3:42.66 at the London Diamond League meeting. The Scottish athlete also clocked an intermediate split of 3:27.62 at 1500 metres en route to the mile world record. He also won the Commonwealth gold medal over the mile distance in Glasgow. Kerr returns to the National Athletics Centre, where he won the 1500m world title ahead of Ingebrigtsen.

Two-time Olympic champion and four-time world record holder Jakob Ingebrigtsen made a successful comeback from an extended break due to a serious Achilles tendon injury by winning his fourth European gold medal in the 5000m and his seventh overall outdoor title in Birmingham. The Norwegian athlete secured two fourth place finishes in Chorzow in 3:31.19 and in Brussels in 3:30.52 and a fifth place in Zurich in 3:32.16.

Ingebrigtsen won two Olympic gold medals in the 1500m in Tokyo 2021 and in the 5000m in Paris 2024 and two consecutive world titles in the 5000 metres in Eugene 2022 and Budapest 2023.

Hocker finished third in the 1500m with 3:31.16 in Chorzow and won in Zurich over this distance in 3:31.71 edging Phanuel Koech and Yared Nuguse and finished seventh in Brussels. The US middle distance runner won the Olympic gold medal in the 1500 metres in Paris 2024 in a PB and an Olympic record of 3:27.65 beating Ingebrigtsen and the world title in the 5000m in Tokyo in 12:58.30. Hocker will double up 1500m and 5000m in Budapest.

The other top US athletes in the field are Olympic bronze medallist Yared Nuguse, who ran a 3:29.36 split during the London mile, Ethan Strand, who claimed a surprising win at the Diamond League meeting in Chorzow in 3:30.77 and finished third in Brussels ahead of Ingebrigtsen.

Phanuel Koech Kipkosgei, world under-20 record holder with 3:27.72 at the Diamond League meeting in Paris, won the 1500m at the Memorial Gyulai in Budapest in 3:31.09 and finished second in three Diamond League races in Chorzow in 3:31.14, Zurich in 3:31.84 and Brussels in 3:30.18.

Women’s 1500 metres

Klaudia Kazimierska from Poland won the Diamond League Final in Brussels improving her national record to 3:54.05, moving to the top of the world seasonal list. Kazimierska crowned a successful season in which she won the European silver medal in Birmingham.

Kazimierska will renew her rivalry against Kenya’s Dorcus Ewoi, who finished second in Brussels in 3:54.72, just 0.01 ahead of Olympic silver medallist Jessica Hull. Ewoi won the world silver medal behind Faith Kipyegon in Tokyo 2025.

Hull, Olympic silver medallist in the 1500m in Paris 2024 and world bronze medallist in Tokyo 2025, claimed the win in the 3000 metres in London in 8:24.69, finished second in the 1500 metres in 3:55.20 in Chorzow and fifth in the 800 metres in 1:58.24 showing her versatility over different distances.

Georgia Hunter Bell, world silver medallist in the 800m in Tokyo 2025, won three major gold medals this year at the World Indoor Championships in Torun in the 1500 metres in 3:58.53, at the Commonwealth Games in the 800 metres in 1:59.51 and at the European Championships in Birmingham in the 1500m in 4:07.78 beating Kazimierka. The British middle distance runner won two Diamond League races in the 1500m in Rome in 3:58.63 and Paris in 3:55.63.

Birke Haylom claimed two Diamond League races in Keqiao in a meeting record of 3:55.56 and in Doha in 3:59.89 and finished second in Xiamen. She was also crowned the 1500m winner in the 2026 World Indoor Tour.

Freweyni Hailu broke the 3:56 barrier with a seasonal best of 3:55.92 and won two world indoor gold medals in the 1500m in Glasgow 2024 and in the 3000m in Nanjing 2025.

Agathe Guillemot won the world indoor gold medal in the 1500 metres in Apeldoorn 2025 and finished fourth at the European Championships in Birmingham 2026. She improved her French 1500m record in 3:56.24 and clocked 1:58.65 in the 800m in Bellinzona on 30 August.

Abbey Caldwell won the gold medal over the mile distance at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow beating Jessica Hull.

The 1500m race is shaping up as wide open competition as it features six women, who have broken the 3:56 barrier this season.

Men’s 110 metres hurdles

Ja’Kobe Tharp made a major breakthrough last June, when he broke Aries Merritt’s 14-year-old world record by clocking 12.75 in the semifinal of the NCAA Championships in Eugene. The 20-year-old US hurdler dipped under the 13 seconds barrier four more times clocking 12.90 in the final of the NCAA Championships on 12 June, 12.91 at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene on 4 July, 12.85 at the Memorial Istvan Gyulai in Budapest on 14 July and 12.89 at the London Diamond League meeting on 18 July. Tharp won at the Galathletics in Bellinzona in 13.18 and at the Diamond League Final in Brussels in 13.03 in his final races before Budapest.

Tharp will face his compatriots Jamal Britt and Trey Cunningham, two of the three hurdlers, who have broken the 13 seconds barrier.

Britt won five Diamond League races this year and broke 13 seconds in two of these meetings in Paris with 12.89 and Eugene with his lifetime best of 12.86. Britt placed second behind Tharp at the Diamond League Final in Brussels in 13.09 and dipped under the 13 seconds in Los Angeles with 12.99, Zagreb with 12.98 and in Memphis with a wind-assisted 12.91. He won in Rovereto in 13.14 in his final race before Budapest.

Trey Cunningham, world silver medallist in Eugene 2022 and world indoor bronze medallist in Torun 2026 in the 60 metres hurdles, improved his PB and the meeting record with 12.98 at the Diamond League meeting in Rome and finished third behind Tharp and Britt at the Diamond League meeting in Brussels.

Cordell Tinch secured his spot at the World Athletics Ultimate Championships by winning the world gold medal in Tokyo. Tinch won the Diamond League Final in Zurich in 2025 in 12.93, the Diamond League race in Doha in 13.23 and the US title in 13.00 in 2026.

The Jamaican challenge will be led by Orlando Bennett and Tyler Mason, who won silver and bronze medal respectively at the World Championships in Tokyo 2025.

The line-up will also feature the three medallists of the European Championships Jason Joseph from Switzerland (gold), Just Kwao Mathey from France (silver) and world indoor champion Jakub Szymanski from Poland (bronze), Rachid Muratake from Japan, national record holder with 12.92, and Demario Prince from Jamaica, fourth at the World Indoor Championships in Torun and gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2026.

Women’s pole vault

US 21-year-old pole vaulter Hana Moll won three consecutive Diamond League meetings in Lausanne with 4.84m, in Zurich with 4.90m and in Brussels with a PB of 4.91m equalling the family record held by her twin sister Amanda Moll to claim her first Diamond League Trophy

Moll is the highest 2026 performer among the athletes competing at the Ultimate Championships in Budapest.

Moll will take on Angelica Moser from Switzerland, Katie Moon and Sandi Morris.

Moser won her second European outdoor gold medal in Birmingham with 4.80m and improved her seasonal best to 4.85m when she finished second behind Moll in Zurich. The Swiss athlete also placed in Lausanne with 4.74m and Brussels with 4.80m and won in Bellinzona with 4.77m beating Moll and Sandi Morris.

Moon won her third consecutive world title in Tokyo 2025 with 4.90m two years after sharing the gold medal with Nina Kennedy at the World Championships in Budapest 2023. Moon set a seasonal best of 4.80m at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene and finished fourth with 4.70m at the Diamond League Final in Brussels.

Morris finished second at the World Championships in Tokyo with 4.85m and won the US title with a seasonal best of 4.90m in New York. She is second to Moll among the Ultimate Championships entrants.

Tina Sutej won the world bronze medal in Tokyo 2025 and the world indoor silver medal in Torun 2026 with the same height of 4.80m.

Eliza McCartney from New Zealand won the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with 4.65m beating Olympic champion Nina Kennedy on countback. Imogen Ayris improved her PB to 4.81m at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku last June and won the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games with 4.55m She cleared 4.75m in Zurich.

Women’s 400 metres

Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino set the world seasonal lead with her Diamond League record of 48.48 at the Paris Diamond League meeting last June. The athlete from the Dominican Republic has remained unbeaten throughout her 2026 season and claimed her fourth Diamond League title in Brussels last week setting a meeting record of 48.64. She also claimed four more wins in Doha with 48.91, in Monaco in 48.67, in London in 48.97 and Chorzow with 48.87.

Aaliyah Butler finished second behind Paulino in Monaco in a PB of 48.84 last July. The US athlete is the only other woman among the entrants at the Ultimate Championships to have broken the 49 seconds barrier this season. Butler won the US title in New York with 49.93 and finished fourth in Brussels with 49.98.

Henriette Jaeger won the European gold medal in Birmingham setting a PB of 49.04. The Norwegian athlete won two Diamond League races in Rome with 49.60 and Oslo with 49.52 and finished second in London in 49.15 and Brussels in 49.20.

Lurdes Gloria Manuel, world indoor gold medal in Torun 2026, finished second to Paulino in Paris setting her PB with 49.37.

Jamaica’s Nickisha Pryce and Bahrain’s Selwa Naser shared the same time of 49.27 at the Brescia Grand Prix on 30 August. Pryce finished second to Paulino at the Diamond League meeting in Chorzow in 49.49 and fourth in Monaco in 49.56. Naser, world champion in Doha 2019 with a PB of 48.14 and world bronze medallist in Tokyo 2025, placed third in 49.57 in Chorzow.

Natalia Bukowiecka won the European silver medal in Birmingham after setting her seasonal best of 49.57 in the semifinal. Lieke Klaver won the European bronze medal in Birmingham in 50.15 after clocking 49.71 in the semifinal and improved her PB to 49.58 at the Monaco Diamond League meeting last July. She won the 400m invitational race at the Brussels Diamond League Final in 49.67.

Men’s 400 metres

Reigning world champion Colleen Busang Kebinatshipi from Botswana is the man to beat after claiming six consecutive Diamond League wins in Xiamen in 43.92, Paris in 43.54, Eugene in 44.00 and Monaco in 43.44, Chorzow in 43.59 and in Brussels in a national record of 43.40, which moved him to joint fifth on the world all-time list. Kebinatshipi set three Diamond League records in Paris, Monaco and Brussels. He holds four of the five fastest times of the season and is the only 400m specialist in history to have broken the 44.00 barrier five times in one year.

The 22-year-old Botswanan athlete won two world gold medals in Tokyo in the 400m in 43.53 and in the 4x400m relay and the Olympic silver medal in the 4x400m relay in Paris 2024. Last April he won the national title in the 100 metres in a PB of 9.89 becoming the fourth athlete in history to run under 10 seconds in the 100 metres and under 44 seconds in the 400 metres after Wayde Van Niekerk, Michael Norman and Fred Kerley.

Kebinatshipi is aiming to improve the world seasonal lead of 43.38 set by Nigeria’s Samuel Ogazi at the NCAA Championships in Eugene last June.

Jereem Richards finished second behind Kebinatshipi at the Diamond League Final in Brussels in 43.68, improving his previous national record of 43.72 set when he won the world silver medal behind Kebinatshipi in Tokyo.

Raj Benjamin, Olympic and world champion in the 400 metres hurdles, has switched his focus to the 400 metres flat distance. Benjamin is planning to double up by competing the 400m and the 400m hurdles at the Ultimate Championships in Budapest. Benjamin improved his 400m PB to 43.83 when he finished second behind Kebinatshipi at the Diamond League meeting in Chorzow. Benjamin also finished second in the 400m behind Kebinatshipi at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene in 44.11 and won in London in 44.05 beating Matthew Hudson Smith from Great Britain.

Hudson-Smith won his third European 400m title in Birmingham in 44.17 in front of his home fans. The British athlete returns to Budapest, where he won world silver in 2023 in 44.31. He also finished second at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, setting a European record of 43.44. This season, Hudson-Smith finished second at Diamond League meetings in Rabat in 44.25, Paris in a season’s best of 44.09 and London in 44.18, and placed fourth in Monaco in 44.22.

Zakhiti Nene from South Africa claimed the win at the Diamond League in Stockholm in 44.40 and smashed his PB to 43.89 in Paris Charlety. He also finished third in Chorzow with 44.37, second in Bellinzona in 44.54 and sixth in Brussels in 44.44.

Jacory Patterson finished third in Brussels improving his PB to 43.78. The US athlete also won in Rabat in 44.11 ahead of Hudson Smith and finished second in Monaco in a seasonal best of 43.96.

The other top names in the field are Khaleb McRea, world indoor record holder with 44.52 and world indoor bronze medallist in Torun 2026 in 45.03, Chris Bailey, US champion in 44.29 in 2026 in New York and third in Paris in a PB of 44.06, Christopher Morales Williams from Canada, world indoor champion in Torun 2026 with 44.76 and winner at two Continental Tour Gold meetings in Bellinzona in 44.44 and Rovereto in 44.64, and Attila Molnar from Hungary, European indoor record holder with 45.01 and European indoor champion in Apeldoorn 2025.

Women’s 400 metres hurdles

Emma Zapletalova from Slovakia claimed five consecutive wins at Diamond League meetings in Rabat in 52.82, in Rome in 52.58, in Oslo in 53.13, in Paris in 52.30 and Lausanne in 52.41. Her winning streak came to an end in Zurich where she hit the ninth hurdle hard losing her rhythm completely and had to settle for sixth place in 54.07. Zapletalova won the gold medal at the European Championships in Birmingham in 52.91 becoming the first Slovakian woman ever to win a gold medal in the history of this event one year after claiming the world bronze medal in Tokyo 2025 in 53.00.

Zapletalova will face 2024 Olympic silver medallist Anna Cockrell, who won at the Zurich Diamond League in 52.13 improving the meeting record held by Femke Bol. The US hurdler again beat Zapletalova to win at the Diamond League Final in Brussels in 53.01. Cockrell’s time in Zurich was her fastest since the Olympic Games in Paris, where she won the silver medal in 51.87 moving to fourth on the world all-time list.

Dalilah Muhammad, two-time Olympic medallist and 2019 world champion in Doha, finished second in Zurich behind Cockrell in 53.16 and won in Brescia in 53.36 at the age of 36.

The other US hurdler to watch is Jasmine Jones, world silver medallist in Tokyo 2025 in 52.08 and winner at the Memorial Istvan Gyulai in Budapest in 52.91.

Rushell Clayton from Jamaica, two-time world bronze medallist in Doha 2019 and Budapest 2023, finished second at the Diamond League meeting in Doha setting her fastest time of the year of 53.05 and won in Berlin in 53.72.

Gianna Woodruff from Panama finished fifth at the World Championships in Tokyo 2025 with 53.34 after setting her PB with 52.66 in the semifinal.

The top European hurdlers are Paulien Couckuyt, fourth at the European Championships in Birmingham in 53.87 and third at the Diamond League Final in Brussels in a national record of 53.20, Italian record holder Ayomide Folorunso, sixth at the World Championships in Budapest 2023 and fifth at the European Championships in Birmingham after setting a seasonal best of 53.93 in the semifinal, Fatoumata Diallo from Portugal, fourth in Zurich with a national record of 53.30, and Amalie Iuel from Norway, seventh in the 400m hurdles and gold medallist in the mixed 4x400m relay at the European Championships in Birmingham.

Men’s long jump

Reigning Olympic and European champion Miltiadis Tentoglou from Greece leads the world seasonal list with his national record of 8.66m set at the Greek Championships last July. The 28-year-old jumper achieved the best mark in the world in almost seven years.

Tentoglou returns to Budapest where he won the world gold medal in 2023 with 8.52m. He won his fourth consecutive European gold medal in Birmingham 2026 with 8.44m equalling Heike Drechsler for the most continental titles in the long jump and secured four Diamond League wins this year in Xiamen with 8.46m, in Monaco with 8.61m, Lausanne with 8.24m and Zurich with 8.45m. Tentoglou has jumped 8.40m or farther in eight competitions this year.

Tentoglou will renew his rivalry against three-time world medallist Tajay Gayle from Jamaica. Tentoglou won in Zurich with 8.45m beating Gayle by two centimetres. Gayle avenged this defeat by claiming his second Diamond League title in Brussels with a seasonal best of 8.46m on his sixth attempt. Gayle overtook Tentoglou, who jumped 8.40m.

Simon Ehammer leapt to 8.29m into a headwind of -2.7 m/s to win the European silver medal in Birmingham behind Tentoglou and finished third at the Diamond League Final in Brussels. During the 2026 season Ehammer also finished second at the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne with 8.13m, fifth in Monaco with 8.32m and sixth in Zurich with 8.14m.

Ehammer won the world indoor title in the heptathlon in Torun 2026 with a world indoor record of 6670 points. Ehammer leapt to a Swiss record of 8.51m during the Hypo Meeting in Goetzis improving the world all-time best in the long jump during a decathlon competition. Ehammer won the decathlon competition with a Swiss record of 8778 points becoming the first Swiss athlete to win the decathlon in the 51-year-old history of the Hypo meeting.

Bozhidr Saraboyukov won the bronze medal with 8.26m against a strong headwind securing Bulgaria’s first European outdoor medal in the men’s long jump in eight years. He won the European Indoor gold medal in Apeldoorn 2025 and the world indoor bronze medal with 8.31m in Torun. During the Diamond League season the Bulgarian athlete finished second in Keqiao with 8.07m and third in Xiamen with 8.29m, won in Rome with 8.26m ahead of Tentoglou, and placed fourth in Monaco with 8.36m and fifth in Zurich with 8.16m.

The line-up also features Gerson Baldé, world indoor champion in Torun 2026 with a PB of 8.46m and fourth at the European Championships in Birmingham with 8.18m, and Luka Boskovic from Serbia, world under-20 silver medallist in Lima 2024 and fifth at the European Championships in Birmingham with 8.08m.

Women’s long jump

Larissa Iapichino will aim to add the Ultimate Championships to her collection after the world indoor silver medal in Torun 2026 with 6.87m and the European outdoor gold medal in Birmingham with 7.00m, the third best performance of her career. Iapichino took second place at the Diamond League Final in Brussels with 6.86m following her two Trophies in Brussels in 2024 and Zurich in 2025.

During this season Iapichino placed second in Eugene with 7.12m improving her mother Fiona May’s Italian record by one cm, second in Stockholm with 6.84m and third in London with 6.82m.

Iapichino will renew her rivalry against US long jumper Monae Nichols, who claimed her first Diamond League title with 6.91m in Brussels, narrowly edging Iapichino. Nichols finished second at the US Indoor Championships with 6.72m and fifth at the World Indoor Championships in Torun in 2026. During the outdoor season she leapt to a wind-assisted 7.07m and won at the Diamond League meeting in Xiamen with 6.89m.

The other top US jumpers are Alyssa Jones, NCAA champion with a PB of 7.06m and winner at the Kamila Skolimowska City Event competition with 6.98m in Katowice, and Claire Bryant, world indoor champion in Nanjing 2025 and third at the Diamond League Finals in Brussels with 6.83m.

Hillary Kpatcha from France won the European bronze medal in Birmingham equalling her PB with 6.98m in a very close final and won her first-ever Diamond League competition in Stockholm with 6.85m beating Iapichino by just one cm.

Jazmin Sawyers won the Commonwealth Games title in Glasgow with 6.93m and the European silver medal in Birmingham with a wind-assisted 6.99m, just one cm behind Iapichino.

Agate De Sousa from Portugal won the world indoor gold medal in Torun with 6.92m and finished fourth at the European Championships in Birmingham with a wind-assisted 6.96m after leaping to 7.00m in the qualifying round. The Portuguese athlete placed second with 6.98m in the City Event competition of the Memorial Kamila Skolimowska held in Katowice,

Women’s high jump

Eleanor Patterson from Australia, world champion in Eugene 2022 with 2.02m, won her first Diamond League in Brussels with 2.01m and set a seasonal best of 2.02m in the German high jump meeting in Heilbronn. The Australian athlete won her second gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with 1.96m . She cleared 2.00m at the Memorial Istvan Gyulai in Budapest and 1.98m in Chorzow.

Nicola Olyslagers claimed two Diamond League wins in London with 2.01m and in Zurich with a seasonal best of 2.02m. She finished second at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with 1.93m. Olyslagers won the world title in Tokyo 2025 with 2.00m, the world indoor silver medal with 1.99m and the Diamond League title in 2025 with the Oceanian record with 2.04m in Zurich.

World record holder Yaroslava Mahuchik claimed her fourth European Championships title in Birmingham with 1.97m and at the Diamond League meeting in Chorzow with 2.00m, but she had to settle with fourth place in Zurich with 1.96m. Mahuchik finished second in Heilbronn with 2.00m and at the Diamond League Final in Brussels with 1.99m. Mahuchik also won in Rabat with 1.97m and finished second behind Nicola Olyslagers on countback at 2.01m in London.

Mahuchik won the Olympic gold medal in Paris 2024 and broke Stefka Kostadinova’s world record clearing 2.10m at the Diamond League in Paris in 2024. She claimed the world outdoor title in Budapest 2023 with 2.01m and won the world indoor title in Torun with 2.01m.

Maria Zodzik from Poland won two silver medals at the World Championships in Tokyo with 2.00m and at the European Championships in Birmingham with 1.95m.

Iryna Gerashchenko finished second in Chorzow with 1.98m beating Patterson on countback. She finished fifth at the European Championships in Birmingham with 1.92m.

Angelina Topic set a Serbian record of 2.00m in Banska Bystrika and shared a world indoor silver medal with Nicola Olyslagers and Yuliya Levchenko in Torun with 1.99m. She finished fourth at the Diamond League Final in Brussels with 1.95m.

Lamara Distin from Jamaica, Commonwealth Games gold medallist in Birmingham 2022 with 1.95m and NCAA indoor and outdoor champion in the same year, showed her recent good form by clearing a seasonal best of 1.98m at the High Jump meeting in Heilbronn (Germany) on 30 August.

Men’s high jump

Gianmarco Tamberi returns to the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, where he claimed his first world gold medal with 2.36m in 2023 beating USA’s Ju’vaughn Harrison on countback. Tamberi and Harrison will battle for the Ultimate Championships title this time.

Tamberi won his fourth European gold medal in Birmingham with his seasonal best of 2.32m on the first birthday of his daughter and claimed the win at the City Event of the Memorial Skolimowska in Katowice with 2.31m. He won the Mediterranean Games gold medal with 2.25m in Taranto, the only title that was missing in his collection. He cleared 2.25m to share third place with Oleg Doroshchuk at the Diamond League Final in Brussels, where he came very close to clearing 2.31m on his third attempt. The Italian registered misses at 2.28m and decided to take a risk by passing directly at the next height of 2.31m to overtake his rivals, but the bar at 2.31 fell. Tamberi missed out on his chance to win his fourth Diamond League title.

Mateusz Kolodziejski from Poland claimed a surprising Diamond League title with 2.28m in the Belgian capital beating Ju’Vaughn Harrison on countback.

Harrison set the world seasonal lead with 2.34m at the Monaco High Jump What Gravity Tour competition last August and won in Bellinzona with 2.28m. The US jumper equalled his PB of 2.36m to win the world silver medal behind Tamberi in Budapest three years ago.

Oleg Doroshchuk from the Ukraine won the world indoor gold medal in Torun with 2.30m and the European silver medal in Birmingham adding these medals to the collection that includes the European indoor gold in Apeldoorn 2025 and the European bronze medal in Rome 2024. The Ukrainian jumper won at the Monaco Diamond League meeting with 2.32m and finished third in Doha with 2.24m and in Brussels with 2.25m

Erick Portillo won the world indoor silver medal in Torun 2026 with 2.30m breaking a 27-year medal drought for Mexico. Portillo placed second at the Golden Gala in Rome and won in Ostrava with 2.27m.

Women’s triple jump

Saly Sarr from Senegal secured the Diamond League title in Brussels in the triple jump with 14.96m in the fifth round becoming the first Senegalese athlete to win a Diamond League title.

Sarr claimed her first-ever Diamond League competition setting a national record of 15.08m in Chorzow and finished second in Oslo with 14.75m and Monaco with 14.99m.

Lafond set the world seasonal lead with 15.25m moving to ninth on the world all-time list. Lafond achieved the best performance in the world for almost four years. She added 23 cm to the national record of 15.02m set when she won the Olympic gold medal in Paris 2024.

Cuban jumpers Davisleidy Velazco and Leyanis Perez Hernandez are the two other athletes who have jumped beyond the 15 metres barrier.

Perez Hernandez won the Diamond League competition in Monaco setting a PB of 15.06m. The Cuban athlete claimed the world indoor gold medal in Torun last March with 14.95m and finished in the top three in all her Diamond League competitions this year. She returns to Budapest where she won the world bronze medal in 2023.

Davisleidy Velazczo won two back-back Diamond League competitions in Oslo with a wind-assisted 14.76m and in Doha with 15.13m when she joined the 15 metres club for the first time. The other Cuban athlete in the field is Liadagmis Povea, fourth in Doha with 14.58m and second at the CAC Games in Santo Domingo with 14.71m.

Dariya Derkach from Italy won the European gold medal in Birmingham setting a PB of 14.60m.

Ackelia Smith from Jamaica won national titles in the triple jump and long jump last June and the Commonwealth Games silver medal in Glasgow behind Lafond.

Men’s javelin throw

Rumesh Pathirage arrives in Budapest as the Diamond League winner and the Commonwealth Games gold medallist. Pathirage made a major breakthrough last June when he became the first athlete from Sri Lanka to win a Diamond League competition in Rome breaking a 20-year-old meeting record with a national record of 92.62m. Pathirage moved to eighth on the world all-time list.

He extended his winning streak with four more Diamond League wins in Doha with 88.68m, Lausanne with 88.14m Zurich with 92.07m, the second best performance of his career, and in the Brussels final with 89.04. He also claimed the Commonwealth Games gold medal in Glasgow with 89.75m ahead of India’s Nereaj Chopra winning the first title for Sri Lanka in 20 years.

Julian Weber won his first European gold medal in Birmingham with a seasonal best of 90.40m last August and followed this win with another victory at the ISTAF meeting in Berlin with 89.54m.

Anderson Peters won two world gold medals in Doha 2019 and Eugene 2022. Peters won in Rabat with 86.08m beating Pathirage, placed second in Rome with 83.91m and Doha with 86.38m and in Zurich with a seasonal best of 86.93m and third in Lausanne with 86.69m.

Keshorn Walcott from Trinidad and Tobago won the Olympic title in London 2012 at the age of 19 and the world gold medal in Tokyo 2025 13 years later beating Peters and Curtis Thompson.

US javelin thrower Curtis Thompson won the world bronze medal in Tokyo 2025 with 86.67m and the US title in New York with 87.59m.

Dawid Wegner from Poland finished second at the Diamond League in Brussels with a PB of 87.47m and fourth at the European Championships in Birmingham.

The line-up also features Julius Yego from Kenya, world champion in Beijing 2025, and Arshad Nadeem from Pakistan, Olympic champion in Paris 2024.

The field features five throwers with a PB beyond the 90 metres barrier.

Women’s javelin throw

Chinese 18-year-old Yan Ziyi won the Diamond League title in Brussels with 68.42m in the women’s javelin throw completing her unbeaten campaign.

Yan Ziyi broke her own world under-20 record with a Diamond League and Asian record of 71.74m in Xiamen climbing to second on the world all-time list, just 54 centimetres shy of Barbora Spotakova’s world record of 72.28m set in 2008. Yan has become just the sixth thrower in history to surpass the 70 metres barrier.

She won three more Diamond League competitions in Oslo (67.11m), Paris (67.44m) and Monaco (68.75m).

Haruka Kitaguchi from Japan set her seasonal best of 65.44m when she finished second at the Diamond League Final in Brussels. The Japanese athlete also secured the win at the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne with 64.90m.

Flor Deniz Hurtado from Colombia retained her title at the Central American and Caribbean Games with a South American record of 67.34m in Santo Domingo last month and finished third behind Yan and Kitaguchi in Brussels. Hurtado won the world silver medal in Budapest 2023 with 65.47m.

Adriana Vilagos finished third at the European Championships in Birmingham with 60.93m after winning two silver medals in Munich 2022 and Rome 2024. She won the gold medal at the Mediterranean Games in Taranto improving her seasonal best to 65.93m. She placed second in Paris with 63.83m and third in Lausanne with 62.28m

Sara Kolak from Croatia won the European gold medal in Birmingham with 62.43m ten years after winning the Olympic gold medal in Rio de Janeiro 2016.

Sigrid Borge from Norway finished second behind Yan at the Diamond League meeting in Xiamen with 65.00m and fourth at the European Championships in Birmingham.

The line-up also features Anete Sietina from Latvia and Mackenzie Little from Australia, who finished second and third respectively at the World Championships in Tokyo, and Tory Morby from New Zealand, seventh at the World Championships in Tokyo.

Men’s hammer throw

Ethan Katzberg won at the Memorial Istvan Gyulai in Budapest last July setting a seasonal best and a meeting record of 83.64m and at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene with 83.33m. The Canadian thrower claimed the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with a Games record of 80.97 completing his collection of major titles that includes the Olympic gold medal in Paris 2024 with 84.12m and two consecutive world titles in Budapest 2023 (81.25m) and Tokyo with 84.70m.

Katzberg will take on Bence Halasz from Hungary, who won the European gold medal in Birmingham last August with his PB of 84.25m.

The other major contenders are Olympic bronze medallist Mykhaylo Kokhan from Ukraine, who set a PB of 82.38m and won the European bronze medal in Birmingham, and Germany’s Merlin Hummel, silver medallist at the European Championships in Birmingham with 81.30m and at the World Championships in Tokyo with a PB of 82.77m.

Men’s 5000 metres

Addisu Yihune from Ethiopia leads the line-up with his PB of 12:47.67 set in Oslo. He won the 5000m at another Diamond League meeting in Xiamen with a meeting record of 12:57.52.

The US contingent features Cole Hocker, world champion in the 5000m in Tokyo 2025, Parker Wolfe, winner in the 3000m in Zurich in a meeting record of 7:27.43, Graham Blanks, second in Zurich in a PB of 7:27.91, two-time Olympic bronze medallist Grant Fisher, winner in the 5000m at the Paris Diamond League meeting in 12:54.80.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen made a successful comeback from Achilles tendon surgery by winning his fourth consecutive European gold medal in the 5000m. Ingebrigtsen won the world title in Budapest 2023 and at the Olympic gold medal in Paris 2024.

Jacob Krop, world silver medallist in 2022, finished second in Paris in 12:55.22 and fourth in Monaco in 12:53.71.

Biniam Mehary finished fifth in the 3000m in 7:28.18 in Zurich and set a seasonal best of 12:54.35 in Oslo in 2026.

Egide Ntakatturimana from Burundi finished second in the 3000m in Zurich in 7:28.13 and second in the 5000m in a national record of 12:46.73 in Brussles.

Women’s 5000 metres

Former world indoor 1500m champion Freweyni Hailu arrives in Budapest as the fresh Diamond League champion after winning the 5000 metres in Brussels in 14:35.20. Hailu led an Ethiopian top-three beating her compatriots Likina Amebaw (14:36.31) and Senayet Getachew (14:37.09).

Hailu also won the 1500 metres in Rabat in 3:5825 and the 3000m in Oslo in 8:24.22 and finished third in the 5000m in Rome in 14:18.94.

Six Ethiopian athletes will line-up in Budapest. The line-up is led by Likina Amebaw, who set a world-leading time of 14:18.41 at the Diamond League meeting in Rome. Amebaw also finished second in Oslo in the 3000m 8:25.15 and in the 5000m in 14:44.37.

Medina Eisa won the 5000m in 14:53.91 and set a seasonal best of 14:22.51 in Rome

Rose Davies from Australia won the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in the 5000m in 14:44.53 beating Olympic 1500m silver medallist Jessica Hull, who also lines up in the 5000m in Brussels.

The line-up also features USA’s Shelby Houlihan, fourth in the 5000m at last year’s World Championships, Marta Garcia from Spain, European silver medallist in the 5000m, and Mauren Koster from the Netherlands, second in the 10000m at the European Championships in Birmingham.

Mixed 4x400m relay

World champion USA won the World Relays title in Gaborone in the mixed 4x400m relay in 3:07.47 missing the world record by just six hundredths of a second. The US quartet was formed by Bryce Deadmon, Paris Peoples, Jenoah McKiver and Bailey Lear.

Jamaica moved to fourth on the world all-time list with their national record of 3:08.24.

The Netherlands won the Olympic gold medal in Paris 2024 with the European record of 3:07.43, just 0.02 shy of the world record. Femke Bol Broeders anchored their team to gold medal ahead of the USA. The Dutch team also finished second behind the USA at the World Championships in Tokyo.

Karsten Warholm and Henriette Jaeger helped Norway win the European gold medal in Birmingham with a national record of 3:09.62 ahead of Great Britain and the Netherlands.

Great Britain won the Olympic bronze medal in 3:08.01.

Belgium won the world bronze medal in Tokyo 2025 and the world indoor bronze medal in Torun last March.

Italy will feature Italian 800 metres record holder and European finalist Eloisa Coiro and Lorenzo Benati and Edoardo Scotti, who won the European gold medal in the men’s 4x400m in Birmingham.

Mixed 4x100m relay

The Jamaican team formed by Ackeem Blake, Tina Clayton, Kadrian Goldson and Tia Clayton set the world record of 39.62 in the mixed 4x100m relay at the World Relays in Gaborone ahead of Canada (40.23) and the USA (40.33). Germany, Spain and Nigeria completed the top six earning the automatic qualifying spot for the Ultimante Championships.

The British team formed by Jeremiah Azu, Dina Asher Smith, Zharnel Hughes and Amy Hunt won the European gold medal in Birmingham breaking the European record with 39.97.

The German team formed Kevin Kranz, Rebekka Haase, Heiko Gussmann and Gina Luckenkemper won the European silver medal in Birmingham in 40.11 moving to fourth on the world all-time list, beating Spain (40.42).

Canada set the fourth fastest performance in history with 40.07 in the heats of the World Relays in Gaborone.

The Netherlands and Nigeria clocked 40.20 and 40.24 in the World Relays heats in Gaborone.