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ULTIMATE CHAMPIONSHIP · BUDAPEST 2026 · TRACK

Men's 400 metres prize money

Collen Kebinatshipi won the men's 400 metres at the 2026 Ultimate Championship in 43.39 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 WINNER TOOK $150,000
THIS FINAL PAID $265,000
IN THE FINAL 8
COUNTRIES 5
PLACES PAID 3

The final

Budapest, 11 to 13 September 2026

$265,000 paid
The men's 400 metres final at the 2026 Ultimate Championship, with what each place paid.
POS ATHLETE COUNTRY MARK PRIZE
1 Collen Kebinatshipi Botswana BOT 43.39 $150,000
2 Rai Benjamin United States USA 44.15 $75,000
3 Jereem Richards Trinidad and Tobago TTO 44.23 $40,000
4 Chris Bailey United States USA 44.27 —
5 Matthew Hudson-Smith Great Britain GBR 44.28 —
6 Jacory Patterson United States USA 44.59 —
7 Lee Eppie Botswana BOT 44.66 —
8 Attila Molnár Hungary HUN 45.10 —
8 finalists 5 countries — $265,000
Collen Kebinatshipi $150k Rai Benjamin $75k Jereem Richards $40k

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 400 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

3 of 3
What the athletes paid in this final have earned across the Diamond League.
ATHLETE BUDAPEST DL STARTS DL WINS DIAMOND LEAGUE
Collen Kebinatshipi Botswana $150,000 16 6 $145,500
Rai Benjamin United States $150,000 18 8 $187,250
Jereem Richards Trinidad and Tobago $40,000 25 0 $88,000

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 400 metres pay at the 2026 Ultimate Championship?

$265,000: $150,000 to Collen Kebinatshipi, $75,000 for second and $40,000 for third.

Who won the men's 400 metres in Budapest?

Collen Kebinatshipi, in 43.39, 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?

Rai Benjamin left with $150,000 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