The women’s 1500 metres at the inaugural Budapest World Athletics Ultimate Championships arrives with an unusual vacancy. Any other year, Faith Kipyegon would be the prohibitive favourite. Her injury removes the sport’s most reliable closer and opens the door for a rare free‑for‑all.

Three athletes stand out: Great Britain’s Georgia Hunter‑Bell, Ethiopia’s Birke Haylom and Poland’s Klaudia Kazimierska. Australia’s Jessica Hull should be in the medals, but she is not immune to being outkicked.

Hunter‑Bell: strong season, long season

If there is a 1500m version of the 800m “race‑too‑often” cautionary tale, Hunter‑Bell may be the case study. She looked flat in Zürich, finishing fourth in the Diamond League final. It capped a long campaign that included 19 races indoors and out. The 32‑year‑old set a national indoor record at 3:58.53, and two weeks before Zürich, she ran a sharp 1:55.03 over 800m. The question is whether she has one more fast race in her legs.

Kazimierska: the late‑season hammer

Kazimierska arrives with the most momentum. On Aug. 3, she ran 3:55.59; on Sept. 5, she dropped a 3:54.05 in Brussels with a decisive final 200m. The 25‑year‑old raced 21 times this year, collecting four national records and six personal bests, including 1:58.11 (800m), 3:54.05 (1500m) and 4:21.36 (mile). She is the athlete trending upward at precisely the right moment.

Hull: always present, occasionally vulnerable

Hull has been too consistent for too long to dismiss. She raced 24 times this season, including a strong 3:54.73 in Brussels. But that sits nearly four seconds off her personal best from her silver‑medal run at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The lingering question: is she sharpening for this meet, or has she already spent her best work?

Haylom: early peak, late fade

Haylom, 20, is the 2022 world junior champion and won three Diamond League 1500m races in 2026 — Shanghai (3:55.56), Stockholm (4:00.68) and Doha (3:59.89). But her form collapsed after June. She finished eighth in Silesia, ninth in Brussels, and a disastrous 14th in the Monaco 3000m. A turnaround here would be difficult to justify based on recent evidence.

At this stage, Haylom should not factor in the medals.

Kenya’s Dorcus Ewoi has been in the top three at Pre, Silesia and Brussels. She should factor right to the line, but medalling is anyone’s guess.

Ewoi has only raced nine times this season, six of those races, she ran new personal bests including a 1500m in 3:54.72 on Sept. 5 in Brussels, finishing second behind Kazimierska.

Prediction:

1. Georgia Hunter Bell
2. Klaudia Kazimierska
3. Jessica Hull
4. Dorcus Ewoi (Hull and her could switch spots).

The field

The post Women’s 1500m at World Athletics Ultimate Championships: Could be any of four athletes for the win appeared first on Athletics Illustrated Magazine.

Can Keely Hodgkinson, Femke Broeders-Bol, or anyone else, for that matter, defeat Audrey Werro in the women’s 800 metres at the World Athletics Ultimate Championships, September 11 to 13?

Under normal circumstances, the Diamond League Final would be the next best thing to a World Championship or the athletics competition at the Olympic Games. This year, however, the inaugural Ultimate Championships arrive at the end of an extraordinarily long season, one that has already included the European Championships, Commonwealth Games, Diamond League circuit, and World Indoor Championships.

That matters.

Audrey Werro is only 22, but she has raced 24 times this season. Racing approximately 20 times in a season is not unusual for a middle-distance runner, but there is a point where the accumulation of racing begins to matter. Athletes reach a peak, and once they do, maintaining that level of sharpness becomes increasingly difficult.

So the question is simple:

Has Werro already reached her peak?

If she has, Broeders-Bol has a chance.

If she has not, the rest of the field may simply be racing for second.

Werro’s remarkable season

Werro has run under 1:54 three times this season.

She won in Stockholm on June 7 in 1:53.98, then improved to 1:53.80 in Paris on June 28. On August 27 in Zürich, she ran 1:53.70, a personal best and the fastest 800-metre performance in 43 years.

The last woman to run faster was Jarmila Kratochvílová, who ran 1:53.28 in Munich in 1983.

Running under 1:54 once is extraordinary. Doing it repeatedly is something else entirely.

Werro is now the only athlete in history to have done it more than once. Nadezhda Olizarenko ran 1:53.43 in Moscow in 1980. Kratochvílová ran 1:53.28 in 1983. Neither did it twice.

The times from that era, of course, come with a considerable historical asterisk. Both Olizarenko and Kratochvílová competed during a period in which systematic doping was widespread in Eastern Bloc sport.

Several other athletes have come close without breaking 1:54.

Caster Semenya ran 1:54.25. Pamela Jelimo ran 1:54.01. Keely Hodgkinson, the Paris Olympic champion, is eighth on the all-time list at 1:54.33.

Hodgkinson will be in the Ultimate Championships field.

Werro has also run under 1:55 twice this season, clocking 1:54.45 in Ostrava and 1:54.81 at the European Championships in Birmingham.

Only 13 athletes have broken 1:54, doing so a combined 29 times. Five of those performances belong to Werro, three to Hodgkinson, and one to Broeders-Bol.

This is not merely a good season for Werro.

It is her breakout season.

Before 2026, her personal bests were in the 1:58 range, and most of her races were above 2:00. Now she is running times that have been almost impossible to produce for more than four decades.

And she has done it repeatedly.

That is why the biggest question surrounding Werro is not whether she is good enough to win.

It is whether she has anything left.

Broeders-Bol is coming

Even if Werro has passed her peak, she may still be unbeatable.

Broeders-Bol, however, is getting closer.

And unlike Werro, Broeders-Bol appears to be improving with every race.

She has raced 12 times this season, 11 of them over 800 metres and once as part of the Dutch 4 x 400-metre relay at the Birmingham European Championships.

This is her first season as an 800-metre runner after moving up from the 400-metre hurdles, 400 metres and 4 x 400-metre relay.

Her first 800 metres came indoors in February, when she ran 1:59.07.

She did not race the distance again until June, when she ran 1:57.13 in Ostrava and 1:57.41 in Hengelo.

Then came Paris.

Broeders-Bol ran 1:55.60, and suddenly the experiment looked considerably more serious.

She lost to Werro, but the gap was only 1.80 seconds. In Ostrava, Werro had beaten her by 2.58 seconds.

The gap narrowed again in Birmingham to 0.73.

Then came Brussels on September 5.

Werro won.

Broeders-Bol was second.

The difference?

Six hundredths of a second (0.06).

At one point, it appeared that if the race had been another 10 metres longer, Broeders-Bol might have gone past her.

That is a remarkable progression for an athlete in her first season over the distance.

And it creates an interesting dynamic heading into the Ultimate Championships.

Werro has raced twice as often.

Broeders-Bol is steadily improving.

Werro may have already reached her seasonal peak.

Broeders-Bol may not have found hers yet.

That makes her the most obvious threat to Werro.

She may finish the Ultimate Championships with officials reaching for the photo-finish image.

Or, if Werro is finally showing the effects of 24 races, Broeders-Bol could do more than make the finish close.

She could win.

Then there is Hodgkinson

Keely Hodgkinson was the best 800-metre runner in the world for much of 2024 and 2025.

Before becoming the champion, however, she was where Broeders-Bol is now: repeatedly finishing second.

Hodgkinson was second at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, the World Championships in Eugene in 2022, the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022, and the World Championships in Budapest in 2023.

Eventually, she stopped finishing second.

In 2024, she won Olympic gold in Paris.

Now she is back in a somewhat unfamiliar position.

Hodgkinson raced only six times in 2025, winning five. Her only loss came in a close race won by Kenya’s Lilian Odira in 1:54.62. Georgia Hunter Bell ran 1:54.90 and Hodgkinson 1:54.91.

It was hardly a collapse.

It was a race decided by 0.29 seconds.

Now, Werro has gone faster than Hodgkinson’s personal best, and Broeders-Bol has also run faster this season.

Broeders-Bol has not beaten Hodgkinson head-to-head.

That distinction matters.

At 24, Hodgkinson is in the middle of what should be her peak years. She has raced 16 times in 2026, somewhat more than usual for her, but then made a deliberate decision to stop racing after August 14, saying her body was not ready to compete again.

That could be a problem.

Or it could be exactly what she needed.

After a season in which she has raced considerably less than Werro, Hodgkinson arrives at the Ultimate Championships with several weeks away from competition.

Is she rested?

Is she sharp?

And is she ready to race through the final 100 metres against two athletes who have been running circles around the competition all season?

The answer is probably yes.

But if Werro has begun to fade and Broeders-Bol continues her trajectory, Hodgkinson could find herself in an unusual position.

Third.

The rest of the field

Prudence Sekgodiso of South Africa has had an up-and-down season.

The 24-year-old has raced 17 times over 800 and 1500 metres and ran a personal best 1:56.83 in Paris.

Since then, however, her results have been inconsistent.

Running slowly in a championship heat is hardly unusual, particularly during a long season. Sekgodiso twice ran well over 2:00 during the Commonwealth Games, but her most recent race in Brussels was 2:02.30.

She has run over 2:00 eight times this season and has also run well under it six times.

Which Sekgodiso shows up in the Ultimate Championships is anyone’s guess.

She will need to be close to the leaders with 200 metres remaining and then be prepared to suffer.

There is no other way into this race.

Rénelle Lamote of France, 32, set a lifetime personal best this season, running 1:56.93 in Paris.

That was an exceptionally fast race that appeared to drag several athletes to performances quicker than expected.

Lamote has raced only nine times this season; however, she should arrive relatively fresh.

She and Sekgodiso look like the most likely candidates for fourth and fifth.

Then there is Roisin Willis of the United States.

At 22, Willis has raced nine times this season, eight of those over 800 metres. She has broken 2:00 in every one of them and established a personal best of 1:57.56 in Stockholm.

She has not yet shown the kind of speed produced by Werro, Hodgkinson, or Broeders-Bol.

But that does not mean she cannot take another step forward.

Willis could find herself racing Lamote and Sekgodiso for fourth.

And if the leaders tire, she could find herself much closer to the medals than expected.

The prediction

On paper, Werro should win.

She has run 1:53 three times.

Nobody else in the field has done that once this season.

But this is not a normal championship at the end of a normal season.

Werro has raced 24 times.

Broeders-Bol has raced 12.

Hodgkinson has raced 16 times, but has had several weeks away from competition.

Those numbers make the race considerably more interesting than the season’s times suggest.

Werro has the best engine.

Broeders-Bol has the most obvious upward trajectory.

Hodgkinson has the championship pedigree.

If Werro is still at her best, she wins.

If she is even slightly diminished, Broeders-Bol may be the athlete ready to take advantage.

And if Hodgkinson has used her August break to recover rather than lose her racing edge, the Olympic champion could remind everyone why she spent several years being the woman nobody could quite beat.

My prediction?

Werro, Broeders-Bol, Hodgkinson.

But for the first time this season, I would not be particularly surprised if the order were different.

And that is what makes the women’s 800 metres one of the most interesting races of the inaugural Ultimate Championships.

The post Will Femke Broeders-Bol beat Audrey Werro during the World Athletics Ultimate Championship? appeared first on Athletics Illustrated Magazine.

Procam International, promoters of the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon, today announced a star-studded international elite field for the 21st edition of the World Athletics Gold Label Road Race, scheduled to be held in New Delhi on Sunday, October 18, 2026.

Men’s field

In the men’s field, Ethiopia’s Birhanu Legese will headline. He brings a personal best of 58:59, making him the fastest athlete among those announced for this year’s Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon. In the women’s field, Kenya’s Irine Cheptai will lead the charge with a personal best of 64:53.

Legese will be joined by a formidable group of seven men with sub‑60‑minute personal bests, setting the stage for one of the most competitive men’s races in the event’s history. Among those looking to challenge Legese is Kenya’s Charles Matata, the 2023 Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon runner‑up, who also finished second at the Istanbul Half Marathon earlier this year.

Two other leading Ethiopians, Deriba Tesfaye and Melaku Belachew, add further strength to the field. Both arrive in Delhi in impressive form, with Deriba finishing second at the Rotterdam Marathon and Melaku claiming victory at the 2026 Hong Kong Marathon.

While travelling to Delhi, Legese said, “I narrowly missed the podium in last year’s race and am eager to make amends this time.” Reflecting on his return to the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon, he added, “It has always been a pleasure to run in the Indian capital. I am doing well and looking to get in great shape before race day this year.”

Women’s field

In the women’s field, VDHM 2022 winner Irine Cheptai, a Platinum Level athlete with a personal best of 64:53, faces a tough challenge in Delhi this year. The field also includes last year’s silver medallist, Ethiopia’s Melal Siyoum Biratu, and Kenya’s Cynthia Limo, the 2024 runner‑up.

A Kenyan‑born athlete competing for Israel, Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, will be another dark horse to watch. Salpeter won bronze at the 2022 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships and has earned multiple medals for Israel at the European Championships.
Speaking about her chances this year, Cheptai said: “I know there are several young runners competing at the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon. But I have the experience of running in Delhi, and I am confident of challenging for the podium and fighting for my second title here.”

Cheptai arrives in Delhi in strong form, having won the Burj2Burj Half Marathon in Dubai in February before finishing sixth at the Boston Marathon. Her recent performances underline her credentials as a leading contender for the title.

Vivek Singh, Joint Managing Director of Procam International, said, “As we step into the third decade of the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon, we have witnessed remarkable milestones—from record participation and new event records to some of the world’s finest elite athletes making their mark on the Delhi course. Each edition has raised the bar, and this year promises to be no different.”

He added: “The elite field assembled for the 21st edition is a testament to the stature of the event on the global running calendar. With a highly competitive line‑up, we expect every athlete to push their limits, challenge existing benchmarks, and inspire the global running community with performances of the highest order.”

This year’s Half Marathon will feature 36 of the world’s top athletes—18 men and 18 women—vying for the titles.

Elite field:

Men

Women

The post Two-time champion Ethiopian Birhanu Legese sets sights on third Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon title appeared first on Athletics Illustrated Magazine.

By Paul Gains

Ethiopian women have made their mark on the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, winning seven of the past ten editions. Now, Ayinadis Teshome will line up on October 18, intent on extending her country’s record at this World Athletics Elite Label race.

“I have heard so much about the Toronto Waterfront Marathon because my training partners have won and been on the podium in the past,” says the 23-year-old from her home in the capital, Addis Ababa. “Now it is my turn to get on the podium too. I can’t wait to come to Canada.”

Ayinadis trains with a group of athletes managed by Moyo Sports, and the 2022 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon champion, Yihunelighn Adane, is among them in this Asics-sponsored group.

“Yihunelign Adane told me about the Toronto marathon, and I watched the race as well at home on YouTube,” she reveals.

A former training partner, Waganesh Mekasha, set the course record of 2:20:44 in 2024, and this is very much on Ayinadis’s mind.
“My training is going as planned; I am doing really well,” Ayinadis reveals. “Yes, of course I can run much faster on flat, fast courses.”

Earlier this year, she finished 6th in the Seoul Marathon in a new personal best of 2:20:51. Clearly, that performance has given her confidence of being on the podium and also challenging the Toronto Waterfront course record.

Ayinadis comes from Dega Damon, Gojjam in Ethiopia’s Amhara region. Much of the rugged terrain sits at 3,000m (9,800 feet) above sea level. However, there are many plateaus that are suitable for growing crops. Indeed, her family are farmers. The altitude is also a natural advantage, especially when she trains and races at lower altitudes. Addis, for example, is a slightly lower elevation (2,355m/7726ft).

As a young girl she listened on the radio to the exploits of another young woman who called Gojjam home, Emebet Anteneh, who earned the 3,000m silver medal at the 2010 World Junior Championships for Ethiopia. That was a source of inspiration. Emebet competed in many Canadian road races.

“Amhara region is where I came from, and I have lived in Addis Ababa for more than five years,” Ayinadis says, adding that she lives in Gulile, a sub-city of Addis.

Three times a week, she will take a taxi to the Entoto Mountains from her home in Addis to do her easy runs. These ‘blue taxis’ are inexpensive and not to be confused with those used by tourists.

When it is time for group training, the athletes needing a ride will board a bus owned by Moyo and set out for some of the preferred out-of-town locations. Speed work sessions, for instance, are held in Sululta at a track built by Kenenisa Bekele, the three-time Olympic champion.

Between training sessions, she enjoys watching Amharic programs on television. Like many Ethiopians, she is also a regular attendee at Mehdanalem church in her neighbourhood. It’s an Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

As always, the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon organizers will assign pacemakers to help the leading international and Canadian athletes chase designated times. If the conditions are good and her training has gone according to plan, we may well see Ayinadis threaten her compatriot’s course record – and extend Ethiopia’s command of the race.

The post Ethiopian Ayinadas Teshome takes aim at Toronto Waterfront Marathon record appeared first on Athletics Illustrated Magazine.

Saturday night in Prague offered the kind of conditions athletes quietly hope for: warm, still, and just dark enough to feel fast. The Birell 10K Night Race, the marquee event on the RunCzech schedule, delivered its usual theatre, and this time the spotlight belonged to Rodrigue Kwizera, racing under the Spanish flag.

Elite men: Kwizera sharp, records fall

Kwizera sat in the lead group early, letting the pace settle before the inevitable thinning at seven kilometres. Kenyan Victor Kipruto Kiprono surged to the front and looked ready to close out the win. He had the race in hand until he didn’t — a wrong turn behind the lead vehicle in the final metres cost him the victory and dropped him to third.

Kwizera capitalized, breaking the Spanish national record in 27:15. Japan’s Shunya Kikuchi added another headline, lowering the national record to 28:07.

The fastest Czechs

• Damián Vích — 29:12
• Tereza Hrochová — 32:15

Both delivered solid domestic wins in deep international fields.

adidas Women’s 5K Run: Šturmová leads, 4,000 strong

The women’s race unfolded with less drama and more inevitability. Ethiopia’s Chaltu Dida Diriba took command halfway and never relinquished it, finishing in 30:04, eight seconds clear of her sister Robe Dida Diriba. Kenya’s Cynthia Chelangat Chepkwony interrupted the Ethiopian sweep with a strong 30:23 for third.

Austria celebrated a milestone: Carina Reicht ran 31:56, the first Austrian woman to break 32 minutes.

The day opened with the adidas Women’s 5K Run at 18:00. More than 4,000 runners filled Republic Square, and Josefína Šturmová, 18, won in 17:19.
The event continues to draw women of all ages and abilities, helped by its generous 50‑minute time limit. Venezuelan runner Angelika summed up the appeal: it was her first race, she ran it with her sister, and she valued the confidence and safety of a women‑only field.

Night Prague, 14,000 runners, and a full cast of characters

Nearly 14,000 runners took part across the evening program, with the 10K attracting familiar public figures: model Michaela Leitnerová, TV Nova presenter Barbora Šimková, former Prague mayor Zdeněk Hřib, and influencers Mathias Hložek and Tomáš Rys.
Rys — known online as Hateris — ran with his girlfriend in 58 minutes and praised the night atmosphere and crowd support. Other runners echoed the sentiment: Prague’s historic core without traffic, sunset over the castle, and pacers pulling long trains of runners toward their goals.

Medical and logistics: Smooth night, heavy bananas

RunCzech’s medical coverage again included paramedics, AED cyclists, and the Running Doctors team. Only 20 runners required treatment — a low number for an event of this scale.

On the logistics side, Prague delivered its usual mountain of fuel:

2,293 kg bananas
904 kg oranges
29,500 L Mattoni water
2,700 L Gatorade

Results

Top men

Top women

The post Rodrigue Kwizera and Chaltu Dida Diriba win the Birell 10K Night Race appeared first on Athletics Illustrated Magazine.

Athletics Canada is asking for help locating Canadian skyrunner Kalie McCrystal, who has been missing in the Alps for eight days.

McCrystal disappeared while attempting to break a mountain-running record in the Matterhorn region.

According to Athletics Canada, she was last seen Tuesday, September 2, after setting out in the mountains.

McCrystal climbed Italy’s Matterhorn, the nearly 4500-metre summit that towers above Zermatt, Switzerland. It was not her first time on the mountain.

The national governing body said McCrystal has years of experience navigating technical, high-altitude terrain and is familiar with the Matterhorn.

“This was therefore not her first ascent of the mountain,” Athletics Canada said in a statement.

“Kalie is a highly respected athlete and a valued member of the worldwide skyrunning community.”

“Our thoughts are with Kalie, her family, and everyone close to her at this extremely difficult time. We are hoping for her safe return and are grateful to those involved in the ongoing search.”

“She’s a world-class athlete, an experienced mountaineer and one of the best sky runners in the world,” Amelia Boultbee, a friend of McCrystal from law school and MLA for Penticton-Summerland, wrote on Facebook.

The search continues.

Update:

Marathon Handbook published an update on Monday, Sept. 7.

The post Canadian skyrunner Kalie McCrystal missing for one week in the Swiss Alps appeared first on Athletics Illustrated Magazine.

The inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship gets underway this week in Budapest, bringing Olympic champions, world champions and Diamond League winners together for three nights of racing and throwing.

The new biennial event is billed as the grand finale of the 2026 outdoor season. It features compact fields, a condensed, session-based format, and the largest prize purse ever offered for a single track and field meet.

How to watch

The championship will be broadcast live on television and streamed online in nearly 200 countries. Coverage comes through World Athletics’ official broadcast partners, and fans can check the World Athletics Inside Track platform for the channels and streaming services available in their country or region.

Confirmed broadcasters include:

• United Kingdom: BBC
• United States: NBCUniversal
• France: L’Équipe
• Norway: NRK
• Sweden: SVT
• Poland: Polsat
• Japan: TBS
• Caribbean: CPSL
• Other territories: World Athletics+ live stream, subject to broadcasting restrictions

A full list of official broadcasters is expected to be added as it’s confirmed.

Schedule

All times are local (Budapest, CEST/GMT+2).

Friday, September 11

• 19:08 – Mixed 4x100m Relay Final
• 19:13 – Women’s High Jump Final
• 19:19 – Men’s 400m Semifinals
• 19:23 – Men’s Hammer Throw Final
• 19:38 – Women’s 400m Semifinals
• 20:04 – Women’s 100m Hurdles Semifinals
• 20:08 – Men’s Pole Vault Final
• 20:21 – Men’s 110m Hurdles Semifinals
• 20:36 – Men’s 5000m Final
• 20:53 – Women’s Long Jump Final
• 20:57 – Women’s 800m Semifinals
• 21:20 – Women’s 100m Hurdles Final
• 21:49 – Men’s 110m Hurdles Final

Saturday, September 12

• 18:08 – Women’s 400m Final
• 18:13 – Women’s Javelin Throw Final
• 18:18 – Men’s 400m Final
• 18:26 – Men’s 800m Semifinals
• 18:43 – Women’s Pole Vault Final
• 18:46 – Women’s 400m Hurdles Semifinals
• 19:04 – Women’s 100m Semifinals
• 19:21 – Men’s 100m Semifinals
• 19:36 – Women’s 1500m Final
• 19:44 – Men’s Long Jump Final
• 19:57 – Men’s 400m Hurdles Semifinals
• 20:18 – Women’s 800m Final
• 20:38 – Women’s 100m Final
• 20:49 – Men’s 100m Final

Sunday, September 13

• 18:08 – Women’s 400m Hurdles Final
• 18:13 – Men’s Javelin Throw Final
• 18:18 – Men’s 200m Semifinals
• 18:36 – Men’s 400m Hurdles Final
• 18:44 – Women’s 200m Semifinals
• 19:04 – Men’s High Jump Final
• 19:10 – Women’s 5000m Final
• 19:34 – Women’s Triple Jump Final
• 19:41 – Men’s 800m Final
• 19:53 – Mixed 4x400m Relay Final
• 20:10 – Men’s 1500m Final
• 20:38 – Men’s 200m Final
• 20:49 – Women’s 200m Final

Athletes to watch

From World Athletics – The Ultimate Championship will bring together Olympic champions, world champions, Wanda Diamond League winners and the year’s best-performing athletes across 28 disciplines during three action-packed evenings of competition. A record prize pot of US$10 million is on offer, with individual champions earning US$150,000.

World and Olympic pole vault champion Mondo Duplantis is among the headline names entered. The Swedish star, who improved his own world record to 6.31m earlier this year, will face a field that includes Emmanouil Karalis, who has cleared 6.20m this season and arrives in Budapest as the Diamond League champion.

Several of this season’s other record-breakers will also be in action. Ja’Kobe Tharp lowered the world 110m hurdles record to 12.75 in June, while Masai Russell ran 12.09 for the women’s 100m hurdles and Alison dos Santos clocked 45.80 for the men’s 400m hurdles in Zurich last month. All three hurdlers head to Budapest at the top of the 2026 world lists in their respective events.

Other Olympic champions entered include Gabby Thomas, Marileidy Paulino, Keely Hodgkinson, Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Letsile Tebogo and Ethan Katzberg, while world champions Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Oblique Seville and Collen Kebinatshipi are also among those set to compete.

The middle-distance programme includes a particularly strong women’s 800m featuring world leader Audrey Werro, Olympic champion Hodgkinson and Femke Broeders-Bol. The men’s 1500m, meanwhile, features Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr alongside Olympic champion Cole Hocker and world champion Isaac Nader.

The two mixed relay finals will also feature the world’s leading nations. World record-holder Jamaica heads the nine-team mixed 4x100m field, while the USA tops the entries for the mixed 4x400m.

Event-by-event previews will be published on the World Athletics website ahead of the first session on Friday (11). Entry lists are correct at the time of publication and are subject to change.

With three nights of finals packed into a compact schedule and a start list this deep, Budapest should deliver a fitting close to the 2026 season.

The complete athlete list

Revised 7 September 2026, 15:30 CEST. World rankings as of 1 September 2026. “i” denotes an indoor performance.

Men

100 Metres

200 Metres

400 Metres

800 Metres

1500 Metres

5000 Metres

110 Metres Hurdles

400 Metres Hurdles

High Jump

Pole Vault

Long Jump

Hammer Throw

Javelin Throw

Women

100 Metres

200 Metres

400 Metres

800 Metres

1500 Metres

5000 Metres

100 Metres Hurdles

400 Metres Hurdles

The post World Athletics Ultimate Championship set for Budapest: How to watch, schedule, and who is competing appeared first on Athletics Illustrated Magazine.

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Saturday evening in Prague was tailor-made for fast running. With temperatures hovering around 20C under clear skies and dead-calm conditions, the atmospheric setting was ideal. Nearly 9,500 runners representing 98 countries assembled at Náměstí Republiky for the Birell 10K Night Race, spearheaded by an elite field of 42 featuring athletes from Czechia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uruguay, […]

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Saturday evening in Prague was tailor-made for fast running. With temperatures hovering around 20C under clear skies and dead-calm conditions, the atmospheric setting was ideal. Nearly 9,500 runners representing 98 countries assembled at Náměstí Republiky for the Birell 10K Night Race, spearheaded by an elite field of 42 featuring athletes from Czechia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uruguay, the Netherlands, and Japan.

Men’s race

From the gun, the men’s race appeared to follow a familiar script. Rodrigue Kwizera, the Burundian-born athlete who now competes for Spain, settled into an early lead pack of 15. Having dominated Prague roads in recent years, Kwizera was the clear favorite.

By the 7K mark, the front pack fractured. Kenya’s Victor Kipruto Kiprono surged ahead, accompanied by countryman Elisha Kiprop Chemiron. By 8K, Kiprono appeared to have the win secured, running smoothly and opening a decisive gap.

Then course navigation intervened.

Approaching the final turn, Kiprono mistakenly followed the lead vehicle rather than the marked course. By the time he rerouted, Kwizera and Kenya’s Owen Korir Kapkama had swept past. Kwizera crossed the line in 27:15, breaking the Spanish national record by 10 seconds.

“I am very happy that I could race here, and even happier that I won,” Kwizera said. “The atmosphere helped me a lot, especially from the ninth kilometre. I’m really glad to record another victory in the Czech Republic.”

Further down the field, Japan’s Shunya Kikuchi lowered his country’s national record by eight seconds, stopping the clock at 28:07.

Women’s race

The women’s event unfolded with a fast opening pace set by Kenya’s Clare Chemtai Ndiwa and Purity Kajuju Gitonga, alongside Ethiopia’s Dida Diriba sisters. At the midpoint, Chaltu Dida Diriba moved to the front and asserted control.

The 19-year-old Ethiopian took the win in 30:04, finishing eight seconds ahead of her sister, Robe Dida Diriba. Kenya’s Cynthia Chelangat Chepkwony took third in 30:23 to disrupt the potential Ethiopian podium sweep.

“The race was good, first place is great, so… everything is great,” said Chaltu Dida Diriba, who credited the Prague crowd for the fast atmosphere.

Austria’s Carina Reicht also notched a benchmark performance, taking 23 seconds off the Austrian national record to finish in 31:56.

Top results

Men – Elite

1. Rodrigue Kwizera (ESP): 27:15
2. Owen Korir Kapkama (KEN): 27:16
3. Victor Kipruto Kiprono (KEN): 27:18
4. Filex Kibet Masai (KEN): 27:19
5. Santiago Catrofe (URU): 27:24

Women – Elite

1. Chaltu Dida Diriba (ETH): 30:04
2. Robe Dida Diriba (ETH): 30:12
3. Cynthia Chelangat Chepkwony (KEN): 30:23
4. Clare Chemtai Ndiwa (KEN): 30:39
5. Yenenesh Shimket Ademas (ETH): 30:59

The post Birell 10K Night Race: After a mistake at the finish, Kwizera celebrates, while Diriba ruled the women’s race appeared first on Athletics Illustrated Magazine.

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