Cash Windfall for Athletes as Winners Cart Away Sh19.5m
The World Athletics Ultimate Championship is an early Christmas gift for the elite athletes with the biggest ever cash prizes on offer for a track and field competition alongside trophies. Each individual event winner at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship will pocket $150,000 (Sh19.5 million) with the runner-up earning $75,000 (Sh9.75 million) and the third-place finisher getting a $40,000 (Sh5.2 million) payday. In the relay events, the victorious team will share out a pot of $80,000 (Sh10.4 million), meaning that the four individual athletes will take home at least Sh2.6 million. Ja'Kobe Tharp, the rising star in the 110 metres hurdles who won the Ultimate Championship title on Friday, is still a university student at Auburn and banked Sh19.5m for Friday’s victory in the middle of classwork. “Right now, I am much more excited for my future in athletics even if I am still going to classes. Can you believe that I did my homework this morning? It was geography, English, the boring stuff. I had much more fun here!,” the new world record holder who turns 21 on September 30, said after Friday’s race which he won in 12.94 seconds. Tharp is studying Interdisciplinary Studies, with specialized concentrations in Business and Sports Management. He certainly got all his fees covered, though he’s certainly on a track scholarship!
Ja'Kobe Tharp of Team United States lifts the World Athletics Ultimate Championship trophy after victory in the Men's 110 Metres Hurdles Final during Day 1 of the World Athletics Ultimate Championship at National Athletics Centre on Friday (September 11, 2026) in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo / Maja Hitij / World Athletics via Getty Images)
Paint It Black But Keep It Green: The Carbon Neutral Science Behind Budapest’s Midnight Infield
The grass at the Gyla Zsivotzky National Athletics Centre – known by locals as Nemzeti Atlétikai Központ – has been painted black using a water-based formulation, eliminating harsh chemical solvents or toxic compounds. The reasoning behind this is to make the sport visually appealing and place the spotlight on the athletes and competition, also improving television viewing pleasure. Science, research and data analysis have helped shape some of the key decisions behind the new-look competition and these were spearheaded by the World Athletics' Innovation and Research and Development Unit, headed by Jakob Larsen. “Look at the sports industry as a whole. Things are clearly changing, and the way people interact with sport has changed. Not changing would therefore be counter-intuitive,” Larsen explains the innovations. “In my opinion, the ideal team would have half of its people looking at the competition and the other half looking at the fans. Sometimes you need to turn your back on the competition and watch the audience instead. This event has also been tailor-made for broadcast, so during the competition some of the team won't be watching it live in the stadium. They'll be watching on television to understand how the product works from a broadcast perspective.” World Athletics assure that the painted grass can breathe and will grow out in due course.
The black infield at the Gyla Zsivotzky National Athletics Centre in Budapest, part of the innovation by World Athletics' Innovation and Research and Development Unit to make the sport more visually appealing. (Photo / World Athletics)
Worth Every Single Shilling: Capacity Crowd from 93 Countries Watches the USA Make History in Budapest
Officially, a full house! A capacity crowd of 20,557 turned up at the Gyla Zsivotzky National Athletics Centre for the opening day’s competition on Friday night. Ticket buyers were recorded from 93 countries with 60 percent of the sales local and 40 percent international. It was due to the massive interest that organisers added 7,000 temporary seats to increase the stadium’s capacity to almost 21,000. Due to high demand and limited availability, primary tickets for prime sections or secondary market resale options typically range from $180 (Sh23,400) to over $280 (Sh36,400) depending on the specific row and viewpoint. And the crowd wasn’t disappointed as on the opening night, USA made history in the mixed 4x100m, taking the inaugural title in a national record of 39.64; Jakob Ingebrigtsen stormed to victory in the 5000m, beating world champion Cole Hocker; Masai Russell continued her unbeaten season by adding the 100m hurdles Ultimate title; Late drama in the 110m hurdles saw Ja'Kobe Tharp edge Cordell Tinch in a photo finish while in the field, Mondo Duplantis added another title to his collection with victory in the pole vault, Merlin Hummel produced the magic to claim the hammer Ultimate title with 81.46m. Yaroslava Mahuchikh cleared 1.99m to secure the high jump crown, while Larissa Iapichino bounced back to take gold in the long jump.
And the capacity crowd wasn’t disappointed as on the opening night as USA (Courtney Lindsey, Kayla White, Anavia Battle and Ronnie Bake) made history in the mixed 4x100m, taking the inaugural title in a national record of 39.64. (Photo / Sona Maleterova / World Athletics via Getty Images)
