World Athletics announced on Monday a wild new idea that could shake up track and field as we know it. 

Starting in 2026, the governing body of track and field will hold a new championship centered around the world's best athletes, with a total prize pool of $10 million dollars set to be won, including a total of  $150,000 going to gold medal winners. 

They're titling it: The World Athletics Ultimate Championship. 

The inaugural event will be held from Sept. 11-13, 2026, in Budapest, Hungary and should feature approximately 400 of the world's top athletes in the sport, from Olympic champions and Wanda Diamond League winners, to the world's top-ranked athletes at their respective disciplines. Selection of the competition will be based around world rankings. 

To streamline action to ensure high-stakes racing and competition, only 16 athletes will be selected across disciplines.

World Athletics announced the competition will be held every two years, between Olympic and World Championship years, and it will be the conclusion of the season. 

What To Know: 

• The World Ultimate Championship will be a three-day competition in the host city, and each day of competition will be settled in under three hours of action
• A total prize pool of $10 million will be won, including $150,000 for winners
• Selection for the competition will be based on world rankings.

"Taking place over three evening sessions, each under three hours in duration," World Athletics announced in a press release, "the Ultimate Championship will showcase the best of athletics, including sprints, middle- and long-distances, relays, jumps, and throws, ensuring a spectacle that both existing and new fans will not want to miss." 

While athletes across the sport are sponsored by brands and often compete with logos adorned on their jerseys during events and invitationals outside the Olympics and World Championships, that will not be the case here. Athletes will represent their nations at the Ultimate Championship. 

"With only the best of the best on show and cutting straight to semi-finals and finals, we will create an immediate pressure to perform for athletes aiming to claim the title of the ultimate champion," World Athletics President Seb Coe said. "The World Athletics Ultimate Championship will be high on action and excitement for fans, setting a new standard for track and field events. Featuring athletics' biggest stars, it will be a must-watch global sports event and means track and field will host a major global championship in every single year, ensuring for the first time that athletics will enjoy a moment of maximum audience reach on an annual basis." 

The National Athletics Center in Budapest was recently the site of the 2023 World Championships. 

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