World's fastest man backs new event which takes place in Budapest in a year's time.

The 2025 World Athletics Championships is poised to unfold in Tokyo in coming days, but excitement is also already building ahead of the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest in 2026.

A media launch party for the Budapest event took place at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building on Thursday (Sept 11) with red carpet-style appearances from Olympic champions Mondo Duplantis and Thea Lafond, World Athletics president Seb Coe and sprints icon Usain Bolt.

In Tokyo this week Bolt is making his most significant return to athletics since he retired from competition and he has primarily been enrolled to act as an ambassador for the Ultimate Championships, a new event which will close the 2026 season.

“I worked hard to be an ultimate legend for years, so I'm really excited to be a part of the World Athletics Ultimate Championship," said Bolt.

"The first thing I thought when I heard about this event was how wonderful it would have been to compete at this championship had it been around when I was an athlete. It moves the sport in the right direction, so I'm hoping to help shine a light on it in my role as Ultimate Legend."

The media party marked the 'one year to go' stage for the Ultimate Championships, as it takes place on September 11-13 in the Hungarian capital next year.

Also on the red carpet were the internet entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian, founder of the Athlos athletics event, plus Hungary's IOC member and co-chair of the Ultimate Championship local organising committee Balazs Furjes. The event also took place alongside some historical items from the Museum of World Athletics (MOWA) display, which is being held in the same building right now.

Duplantis said: “If I win at the Ultimate Championship, I’ll have a title that Usain won’t have, which is very rare and not many athletes can do, so I’m super excited."

Olympic triple jump champion LaFond added: “I love a good one-and-done deal, I really do. I think it’s fun, I think it puts a little bit more pressure on that one event and I think it’s exciting for the crowd, for sure. I think one of the best things that has come from the Ultimate is the pay structure."

Following the collapse of Grand Slam Track, many are naturally comparing it to the Ultimate Championships. Unlike GST, the Ultimate event features field events. It will also see the top-ranked athletes in the world competing for a $10 million prize pot over three days.

Coe said: "Make no mistake: The Ultimate is the next major global flagship outdoor track and field championship in the calendar after Tokyo. The Ultimate Championship will be where the world’s top-ranked track and field athletes compete head-to-head to decide who is truly the best on the planet. I, for one, am very excited."

For more, see the ultimateathleticschampionship.com