Men's 100 metres prize money
Kenny Bednarek won the men's 100 metres at the 2026 Ultimate Championship in 9.85 and took $150,000. Second was worth $75,000 and third $40,000, so the final paid $265,000 across its published places.
Eight athletes lined up in the final, out of the sixteen the event seeded, from five countries. The championship put up $10,000,000 in all and pays every athlete in it out of that, so the athletes below third were paid too, at rates World Athletics has not published.
The final
Budapest, 11 to 13 September 2026
| POS | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | MARK | PRIZE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenny Bednarek | USA | 9.85 | $150,000 |
| 2 | Oblique Seville | JAM | 9.90 | $75,000 |
| 3 | Ronnie Baker | USA | 9.93 | $40,000 |
| 4 | Kayinsola Ajayi | NGR | 9.93 | — |
| 5 | Christian Coleman | USA | 9.94 | — |
| 6 | Gift Leotlela | RSA | 9.98 | — |
| 7 | Letsile Tebogo | BOT | 10.07 | — |
| 8 | Akani Simbine | RSA | 10.09 | — |
| 8 | finalists | 5 countries | — | $265,000 |
Every individual event at the championship pays the same $265,000 across three places, so this chart is the card rather than anything particular to the men's 100 metres. What it shows is the shape of it: the winner takes 57% of what the event pays out. Below that the championship still pays. $10,000,000 went in and $7,090,000 of it is on the published card, so the athletes who finished outside the places above were paid out of the rest.
What the podium earns the rest of the year
The same athletes on the Diamond League money list
| ATHLETE | BUDAPEST | DL STARTS | DL WINS | DIAMOND LEAGUE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenny Bednarek | $300,000 | 27 | 13 | $286,500 |
| Oblique Seville | $75,000 | 6 | 5 | $146,000 |
| Ronnie Baker | $40,000 | 9 | 3 | $45,250 |
One afternoon in Budapest against careers of Diamond League meetings: the series pays eight places, fifteen times a summer, at a fraction of these rates, which is what makes the $150,000 here the biggest single cheque in the sport.
Frequently asked questions
How much did the men's 100 metres pay at the 2026 Ultimate Championship?
$265,000: $150,000 to Kenny Bednarek, $75,000 for second and $40,000 for third.
Who won the men's 100 metres in Budapest?
Kenny Bednarek, in 9.85, for $150,000. Eight athletes lined up in the final from five countries, and eight finished with a mark.
What did second and third pay?
$75,000 and $40,000. The same three figures cover every individual event at the championship, so this final paid exactly what every other one did.
How many places does the Ultimate Championship pay?
Three in an individual event, out of a $10,000,000 pot that every athlete in the championship takes a share of. Across all 28 events that published card accounts for $7,090,000, and the $2,910,000 below it is not broken down anywhere.
Did anyone in this final win money elsewhere in Budapest?
Kenny Bednarek left with $300,000 from two events.
Where to next
The rest of the championship
Ultimate Championship prize money holds all 28 events, the 76 athletes who were paid and the $10,000,000 that was put up. Diamond League prize money is the series most of this field races all summer.
Every other event in Budapest
- Men's 110 metres hurdles
- Men's 1500 metres
- Men's 200 metres
- Men's 400 metres
- Men's 400 metres hurdles
- Men's 5000 metres
- Men's 800 metres
- Men's hammer throw
- Men's high jump
- Men's javelin throw
- Men's long jump
- Men's pole vault
- Women's 100 metres
- Women's 100 metres hurdles
- Women's 1500 metres
- Women's 200 metres
- Women's 400 metres
- Women's 400 metres hurdles
- Women's 5000 metres
- Women's 800 metres
- Mixed 4 × 100 metres relay
- Mixed 4 × 400 metres relay
- Women's high jump
- Women's javelin throw
- Women's long jump
- Women's pole vault
- Women's triple jump