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United States sprinters Kenneth Bednarek and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden produced a pair of commanding sprint doubles to conclude the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, each securing two titles and taking home $150,000 in champion prize money.
The lucrative three-day competition in Hungary brought together track and field's top performers under a record $10 million total prize pot, highlighted on the final day by stellar performances across the track and field disciplines.
Bednarek capped off his weekend by capturing the men's 200 meters in a world-leading time of 19.52 seconds, marking the fastest performance recorded globally this season. With track icon and event ambassador Usain Bolt watching from the stands on Sunday, Bednarek crossed the line ahead of Olympic gold medalist Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, who finished in 19.76 seconds, and fellow American Courtney Lindsey, who clocked 19.79 seconds for third.
The 200m triumph followed Bednarek’s milestone performance in Saturday's 100 meters, where he posted a winning time of 9.85 seconds. That victory saw him step out from the shadow of teammate Noah Lyles to defeat Jamaican world champion Oblique Seville, who took silver in 9.90 seconds, and fellow American Ronnie Baker, who secured bronze in 9.93 seconds.
Jefferson-Wooden mirrored that supremacy in the women's short sprints, matching the double she previously achieved at the Tokyo World Championships. In Sunday's 200 meters, she clocked a blistering world-leading 21.47 seconds to become the third-fastest woman in history over the distance, pulling clear of Olympic champion Gabrielle Thomas (21.77s) and Kayla White (21.93s) in an American podium sweep.
Her 200-meter success came on the heels of an equally decisive victory in the women's 100 meters, which Jefferson-Wooden captured in 10.62 seconds. In that race, she held off Olympic gold medalist Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia (10.74s) and compatriot Sha’Carri Richardson (10.76s), who had won her world title at the same venue three years prior.
Action on Sunday opened with an unexpected result in the women's 400-meter hurdles, where Jasmine Jones claimed the title in 52.45 seconds. Jones edged out Slovakia's Emma Zapletalova (52.68s) and the pre-race favourite Anna Cockrell (53.09s), who settled for third following a dominant campaign. The final also marked the farewell race for veteran American hurdler Dalilah Muhammad, who retired from the sport after taking fourth place with a season's best mark of 53.11 seconds.
In the men's javelin, Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage extended his undefeated streak with a massive 91.09-meter effort on his final throw. The mark secured victory over Grenada's Anderson Peters, who threw 86.18 meters, and Germany's Julian Weber with 85.89 meters, while world champion Keshorn Walcott finished off the podium in fourth at 82.41 meters.
High jumper Gianmarco Tamberi gave the Budapest crowd another highlight, clearing a world-leading 2.37 meters to take the men's title for Italy. JuVaughn Harrison of the United States finished runner-up with a 2.30-meter clearance, while Mexico's Erick Portillo took third after clearing 2.26 meters.
Middle-distance events delivered both expected dominance and dramatic upsets. Great Britain's Josh Kerr delivered a controlled performance to win the men's 1,500 meters in 3:29.35. In contrast, Algeria's Djamel Sedjati engineered a late surge in the men's 800 meters, winning in 1:41.91 ahead of Canada's Marco Arop (1:42.28) and reigning world and Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya, who faded to third in 1:42.44.
On the distance track and in horizontal jumps, Ethiopia’s Likina Amebaw controlled the women’s 5,000 meters to win comfortably in 14:30.36. Senegal’s Saly Sarr took gold in the women’s triple jump with a leap of 15.06 meters, capitalizing on a below-par outing from world leader Thea Lafond of Dominica, who managed only 14.47 meters.
The competition's opening day on Friday featured standout performances in the pole vault. Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis secured top honors with a 6.20-meter clearance, fending off Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis, who cleared 6.15 meters. In the women’s event, American Sandi Morris cleared 4.90 meters to earn her first global outdoor championship title.
Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen executed a tactical comeback to win the men's 5,000 meters in 12:59.24 on Friday night, holding off late pushes from American duo Cole Hocker (13:00.05) and Parker Wolfe (13:00.13).
American sprint hurdlers also completed a sweep in the high hurdles. Masai Russell won the women’s 100-meter hurdles in 12.22 seconds to cap an undefeated campaign, while Diamond League winner Ja’Kobe Tharp took the men’s 110-meter hurdles in 12.94 seconds.
Other standout performances across the meet included Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece taking the men's long jump with 8.35 meters, Switzerland's Audrey Werro winning the women's 800 meters in 1:55.88, and Brazil's Alison dos Santos dominating the men's 400-meter hurdles in 45.98 seconds. Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic won the women's 400 meters in 49.07 seconds, while Botswana's Collen Kebinatshipi won the men's 400 meters in a national record of 43.39 seconds. In the women's high jump, Ukraine's Yaroslava Mahuchikh rested in a sleeping bag between rounds before clearing 1.99 meters to take the title over Australia's Nicola Olyslagers.
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