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WORLD ATHLETICS · BUDAPEST 2026 · 28 EVENTS

World Athletics Ultimate Championship prize money

World Athletics put up $10,000,000 for the first Ultimate Championship, 11 to 13 September 2026 at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest. A win in any of the 26 individual events paid $150,000, and Kenny Bednarek and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden took more of it than anyone, $300,000 each.

The card runs $150,000, $75,000 and $40,000 for the first three in an event, and $80,000 to a winning relay quartet. That is $7,090,000 of the pot across 81 payments to 76 athletes and two relay teams.

THE POT $10,000,000
A WIN PAYS $150,000
EVENTS 28
ATHLETES PAID 76
COUNTRIES 35

Who earned the most in Budapest

The 2026 Ultimate Championship money list

76 paid
Every athlete the 2026 Ultimate Championship paid in an individual event, and what they took.
# ATHLETE PAID WINS BEST RESULT EARNED
1 Kenny Bednarek USA 2 2 Men's 100 metres 1st · 9.85 $300,000
2 Melissa Jefferson-Wooden USA 2 2 Women's 100 metres 1st · 10.62 $300,000
3 Alison dos Santos BRA 1 1 Men's 400 metres hurdles 1st · 45.98 $150,000
4 Armand Duplantis SWE 1 1 Men's pole vault 1st · 6.20 m $150,000
5 Audrey Werro SUI 1 1 Women's 800 metres 1st · 1:55.88 $150,000
6 Collen Kebinatshipi BOT 1 1 Men's 400 metres 1st · 43.39 $150,000
7 Djamel Sedjati ALG 1 1 Men's 800 metres 1st · 1:41.91 $150,000
8 Gianmarco Tamberi ITA 1 1 Men's high jump 1st · 2.37 m $150,000
9 Haruka Kitaguchi JPN 1 1 Women's javelin throw 1st · 68.92 m $150,000
10 Ja'Kobe Tharp USA 1 1 Men's 110 metres hurdles 1st · 12.94 $150,000
11 Jakob Ingebrigtsen NOR 1 1 Men's 5000 metres 1st · 12:59.24 $150,000
12 Jasmine Jones USA 1 1 Women's 400 metres hurdles 1st · 52.45 $150,000
13 Josh Kerr GBR 1 1 Men's 1500 metres 1st · 3:29.35 $150,000
14 Klaudia Kazimierska POL 1 1 Women's 1500 metres 1st · 3:57.55 $150,000
15 Larissa Iapichino ITA 1 1 Women's long jump 1st · 6.90 m $150,000
16 Likina Amebaw ETH 1 1 Women's 5000 metres 1st · 14:30.36 $150,000
17 Marileidy Paulino DOM 1 1 Women's 400 metres 1st · 49.07 $150,000
18 Masai Russell USA 1 1 Women's 100 metres hurdles 1st · 12.22 $150,000
19 Merlin Hummel GER 1 1 Men's hammer throw 1st · 81.46 m $150,000
20 Miltiadis Tentoglou GRE 1 1 Men's long jump 1st · 8.35 m $150,000
21 Rumesh Pathirage SRI 1 1 Men's javelin throw 1st · 91.09 m $150,000
22 Saly Sarr SEN 1 1 Women's triple jump 1st · 15.06 m $150,000
23 Sandi Morris USA 1 1 Women's pole vault 1st · 4.90 m $150,000
24 Yaroslava Mahuchikh UKR 1 1 Women's high jump 1st · 1.99 m $150,000
25 Rai Benjamin USA 2 0 Men's 400 metres 2nd · 44.15 $150,000
26 Anderson Peters GRN 1 0 Men's javelin throw 2nd · 86.18 m $75,000
27 Bence Halász HUN 1 0 Men's hammer throw 2nd · 80.30 m $75,000
28 Bozhidar Sarâboyukov BUL 1 0 Men's long jump 2nd · 8.34 m $75,000
29 Cameron Myers AUS 1 0 Men's 1500 metres 2nd · 3:29.68 $75,000
30 Cole Hocker USA 1 0 Men's 5000 metres 2nd · 13:00.05 $75,000
31 Cordell Tinch USA 1 0 Men's 110 metres hurdles 2nd · 12.95 $75,000
32 Davisleydi Velazco CUB 1 0 Women's triple jump 2nd · 15.04 m $75,000
33 Emma Zapletalová SVK 1 0 Women's 400 metres hurdles 2nd · 52.68 $75,000
34 Emmanouil Karalis GRE 1 0 Men's pole vault 2nd · 6.15 m $75,000
35 Gabby Thomas USA 1 0 Women's 200 metres 2nd · 21.77 $75,000
36 Georgia Hunter Bell GBR 1 0 Women's 1500 metres 2nd · 3:57.72 $75,000
37 Hana Moll USA 1 0 Women's pole vault 2nd · 4.90 m $75,000
38 Henriette Jæger NOR 1 0 Women's 400 metres 2nd · 49.28 $75,000
39 Jazmin Sawyers GBR 1 0 Women's long jump 2nd · 6.78 m $75,000
40 Jessica Hull AUS 1 0 Women's 5000 metres 2nd · 14:32.39 $75,000
41 Julien Alfred LCA 1 0 Women's 100 metres 2nd · 10.74 $75,000
42 JuVaughn Harrison USA 1 0 Men's high jump 2nd · 2.30 m $75,000
43 Keely Hodgkinson GBR 1 0 Women's 800 metres 2nd · 1:56.26 $75,000
44 Letsile Tebogo BOT 1 0 Men's 200 metres 2nd · 19.76 $75,000
45 Marco Arop CAN 1 0 Men's 800 metres 2nd · 1:42.28 $75,000
46 Nicola Olyslagers AUS 1 0 Women's high jump 2nd · 1.95 m $75,000
47 Oblique Seville JAM 1 0 Men's 100 metres 2nd · 9.90 $75,000
48 Tobi Amusan NGR 1 0 Women's 100 metres hurdles 2nd · 12.34 $75,000
49 Yan Ziyi CHN 1 0 Women's javelin throw 2nd · 68.05 m $75,000
50 Alyssa Jones USA 1 0 Women's long jump 3rd · 6.77 m $40,000
51 Angelica Moser SUI 1 0 Women's pole vault 3rd · 4.85 m $40,000
52 Angelina Topić SRB 1 0 Women's high jump =3rd · 1.91 m $40,000
53 Anna Cockrell USA 1 0 Women's 400 metres hurdles 3rd · 53.09 $40,000
54 Bradley Franklin USA 1 0 Men's 110 metres hurdles 3rd · 13.01 $40,000
55 Courtney Lindsey USA 1 0 Men's 200 metres 3rd · 19.79 $40,000
56 Eleanor Patterson AUS 1 0 Women's high jump =3rd · 1.91 m $40,000
57 Emmanuel Wanyonyi KEN 1 0 Men's 800 metres 3rd · 1:42.44 $40,000
58 Erick Portillo MEX 1 0 Men's high jump 3rd · 2.26 m $40,000
59 Fantaye Belayneh ETH 1 0 Women's 5000 metres 3rd · 14:32.62 $40,000
60 Femke Broeders-Bol NED 1 0 Women's 800 metres 3rd · 1:56.74 $40,000
61 Flor Ruiz COL 1 0 Women's javelin throw 3rd · 64.84 m $40,000
62 Hobbs Kessler USA 1 0 Men's 1500 metres 3rd · 3:30.73 $40,000
63 Jereem Richards TTO 1 0 Men's 400 metres 3rd · 44.23 $40,000
64 Julian Weber GER 1 0 Men's javelin throw 3rd · 85.89 m $40,000
65 Karsten Warholm NOR 1 0 Men's 400 metres hurdles 3rd · 46.78 $40,000
66 Kayla White USA 1 0 Women's 200 metres 3rd · 21.93 $40,000
67 Leyanis Pérez CUB 1 0 Women's triple jump 3rd · 14.90 m $40,000
68 Mykhaylo Kokhan UKR 1 0 Men's hammer throw 3rd · 78.90 m $40,000
69 Nadine Visser NED 1 0 Women's 100 metres hurdles 3rd · 12.39 $40,000
70 Nickisha Pryce JAM 1 0 Women's 400 metres 3rd · 49.56 $40,000
71 Nikki Hiltz USA 1 0 Women's 1500 metres 3rd · 3:58.16 $40,000
72 Parker Wolfe USA 1 0 Men's 5000 metres 3rd · 13:00.13 $40,000
73 Ronnie Baker USA 1 0 Men's 100 metres 3rd · 9.93 $40,000
74 Sha'Carri Richardson USA 1 0 Women's 100 metres 3rd · 10.76 $40,000
75 Simon Ehammer SUI 1 0 Men's long jump 3rd · 8.07 m $40,000
76 Sondre Guttormsen NOR 1 0 Men's pole vault 3rd · 5.95 m $40,000
76 athletes paid 79 26 individual events $6,930,000$6.9m
Kenny Bednarek $300k Melissa Jefferson-Wooden $300k Alison dos Santos $150k Armand Duplantis $150k Audrey Werro $150k Collen Kebinatshipi $150k Djamel Sedjati $150k Gianmarco Tamberi $150k Haruka Kitaguchi $150k Ja'Kobe Tharp $150k Jakob Ingebrigtsen $150k Jasmine Jones $150k Josh Kerr $150k Klaudia Kazimierska $150k Larissa Iapichino $150k

Kenny Bednarek and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden won two events each, which is the only way to leave Budapest with $300,000: there is no appearance money here and no bonus for a record, so an athlete's total is the places they finished in and nothing else. 3 of the 76 athletes paid individually were paid more than once, and the two relay purses are held against the countries that won them rather than split four ways.

Every event in Budapest

What each final paid, and who won it

28 events
Every event at the 2026 Ultimate Championship, its winner and what it paid.
EVENT WINNER MARK IN THE FINAL PAID
Men's 100 metres track Kenny Bednarek USA 9.85 8 $265,000
Men's 200 metres track Kenny Bednarek USA 19.52 8 $265,000
Men's 400 metres track Collen Kebinatshipi BOT 43.39 8 $265,000
Men's 800 metres track Djamel Sedjati ALG 1:41.91 8 $265,000
Men's 1500 metres track Josh Kerr GBR 3:29.35 13 $265,000
Men's 5000 metres track Jakob Ingebrigtsen NOR 12:59.24 12 $265,000
Men's 110 metres hurdles track Ja'Kobe Tharp USA 12.94 8 $265,000
Men's 400 metres hurdles track Alison dos Santos BRA 45.98 8 $265,000
Men's high jump field Gianmarco Tamberi ITA 2.37 m 8 $265,000
Men's pole vault field Armand Duplantis SWE 6.20 m 8 $265,000
Men's long jump field Miltiadis Tentoglou GRE 8.35 m 8 $265,000
Men's javelin throw field Rumesh Pathirage SRI 91.09 m 8 $265,000
Men's hammer throw field Merlin Hummel GER 81.46 m 8 $265,000
Women's 100 metres track Melissa Jefferson-Wooden USA 10.62 8 $265,000
Women's 200 metres track Melissa Jefferson-Wooden USA 21.47 8 $265,000
Women's 400 metres track Marileidy Paulino DOM 49.07 8 $265,000
Women's 800 metres track Audrey Werro SUI 1:55.88 9 $265,000
Women's 1500 metres track Klaudia Kazimierska POL 3:57.55 12 $265,000
Women's 5000 metres track Likina Amebaw ETH 14:30.36 12 $265,000
Women's 100 metres hurdles track Masai Russell USA 12.22 8 $265,000
Women's 400 metres hurdles track Jasmine Jones USA 52.45 8 $265,000
Women's high jump field Yaroslava Mahuchikh UKR 1.99 m 8 $305,000
Women's pole vault field Sandi Morris USA 4.90 m 8 $265,000
Women's long jump field Larissa Iapichino ITA 6.90 m 8 $265,000
Women's triple jump field Saly Sarr SEN 15.06 m 8 $265,000
Women's javelin throw field Haruka Kitaguchi JPN 68.92 m 8 $265,000
Mixed 4 × 100 metres relay mixed relay United States 4 runners 39.64 8 $80,000
Mixed 4 × 400 metres relay mixed relay United States 4 runners 3:08.32 9 $80,000
28 events 35 countries paid — 243 $7,090,000$7.1m

Every individual event paid the same $265,000 across its three published places, so the column above separates the 26 of them only where a tie added a place. It did once: Eleanor Patterson and Angelina Topić tied for 3rd in the women's high jump and both were paid $40,000. The two relays pay $80,000 to the winning quartet and nothing below it.

What each country took home

Individual money plus the relay purses their quartets won

35 countries
What each country's athletes were paid at the 2026 Ultimate Championship.
# COUNTRY ATHLETES WINS PAYMENTS TOTAL
1 United States USA 22 10 27 $2,285,000$2.3m
2 Great Britain GBR 4 1 4 $375,000
3 Norway NOR 4 1 4 $305,000
4 Italy ITA 2 2 2 $300,000
5 Australia AUS 4 0 4 $265,000
6 Switzerland SUI 3 1 3 $230,000
7 Botswana BOT 2 1 2 $225,000
8 Greece GRE 2 1 2 $225,000
9 Ethiopia ETH 2 1 2 $190,000
10 Germany GER 2 1 2 $190,000
11 Ukraine UKR 2 1 2 $190,000
12 Algeria ALG 1 1 1 $150,000
13 Brazil BRA 1 1 1 $150,000
14 Dominican Republic DOM 1 1 1 $150,000
15 Japan JPN 1 1 1 $150,000
16 Poland POL 1 1 1 $150,000
17 Senegal SEN 1 1 1 $150,000
18 Sri Lanka SRI 1 1 1 $150,000
19 Sweden SWE 1 1 1 $150,000
20 Cuba CUB 2 0 2 $115,000
21 Jamaica JAM 2 0 2 $115,000
22 Netherlands NED 2 0 2 $80,000
23 Bulgaria BUL 1 0 1 $75,000
24 Canada CAN 1 0 1 $75,000
25 China CHN 1 0 1 $75,000
26 Grenada GRN 1 0 1 $75,000
27 Hungary HUN 1 0 1 $75,000
28 Nigeria NGR 1 0 1 $75,000
29 Saint Lucia LCA 1 0 1 $75,000
30 Slovakia SVK 1 0 1 $75,000
31 Colombia COL 1 0 1 $40,000
32 Kenya KEN 1 0 1 $40,000
33 Mexico MEX 1 0 1 $40,000
34 Serbia SRB 1 0 1 $40,000
35 Trinidad and Tobago TTO 1 0 1 $40,000
35 countries paid 76 28 81 $7,090,000$7.1m
United States $2.3m
Great Britain $375k
Norway $305k
Italy $300k
Australia $265k
Switzerland $230k
Botswana $225k
Greece $225k
Ethiopia $190k
Germany $190k
Ukraine $190k
Algeria $150k

United States took $2,285,000 of the $7,090,000 on the card, 32.2% of it, from 27 payments. A country's total here is a statement about who turned up and finished in the top three, because the championship pays by finishing place and by nothing else.

What each place pays

The card World Athletics published for Budapest

$265,000 an event
What the Ultimate Championship paid for each finishing place.
PLACE INDIVIDUAL RELAY
1st $150,000 $80,000
2nd $75,000 —
3rd $40,000 —
An event $265,000 $80,000

The same three figures cover all 26 individual events, from the 100 m to the hammer, and a relay pays its $80,000 to the winning quartet as one purse. Below third the championship still pays: $2,910,000 of the $10,000,000 was shared among the rest of the field, and World Athletics has not published how.

Frequently asked questions

How much prize money did the 2026 Ultimate Championship pay?

World Athletics put up $10,000,000 for 28 events over three days in Budapest, and every athlete in the field took a share of it. The card it publishes covers the first three in an event and the winning relay quartet, which is $7,090,000 of the pot across 81 payments.

What does a win at the Ultimate Championship pay?

$150,000, in every event on the programme. A 100 m title and a hammer title are worth the same, $75,000 goes to second and $40,000 to third, so one event pays $265,000 across its three published places. A winning relay quartet shares $80,000.

Who earned the most at the 2026 Ultimate Championship?

Two athletes on $300,000 each: Kenny Bednarek and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, both of whom won twice. 3 of the 76 athletes paid in Budapest were paid more than once.

How far down the field does the Ultimate Championship pay?

Every athlete in it. The three published places in an event account for $6,930,000 and the two relays for $160,000, so $2,910,000 of the $10,000,000 went to the rest of the 243 finalists, at rates World Athletics keeps to itself.

What is the Ultimate Championship?

A 28 event championship for the best of the season, run over three days at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest from 11 to 13 September 2026. The track events seeded a field of sixteen and ran a semi-final and a final; the field events took eight straight to a final. There are no heats to survive and no team scores, and the money is the largest ever put up at a single track and field meeting.

What happens when two athletes tie?

They are each paid the whole of the place. Eleanor Patterson and Angelina Topić cleared the same height for 3rd in the women's high jump, and both took $40,000. That is why Budapest paid $7,090,000 against a card worth $7,050,000.

Which country won the most money in Budapest?

United States, on $2,285,000 from 27 payments and ten wins, out of 35 countries that were paid at all. 22 of the 76 athletes paid individually were American.

Where to next

The rest of the athletics money

Diamond League prize money holds the series the same athletes race all summer, $53,753,250 of it, meeting by meeting. Every event below opens on its own final, the three places it paid and the marks that won them.

Every event in Budapest

The athletes who were paid the most