Live Coverage Presented Sept. 11-13 from National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary
Three-Day Event Features the World’s Top-Ranked Athletes Competing Head-to-Head
Mondo Duplantis, Julien Alfred, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, and Keely Hodgkinson Headline Elite International Field
NBC Sports’ Paul Swangard, Ato Boldon, Sanya Richards-Ross, Kara Goucher, Trey Hardee, and Lewis Johnson to Call Meet
STAMFORD, Conn. – Sept. 9, 2026 – Team USA Olympic gold medalists Rai Benjamin, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, and Masai Russell headline NBC Sports’ live coverage of the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship from National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary, this week. NBC and Peacock will present live coverage this Sunday at 12 p.m. ET, with Peacock and NBCSN kicking off live coverage this Friday at 1 p.m. ET.
This is the first edition of the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, a biennial invitational designed to act as the premier event of the track & field season in years without an Olympic Games and as a momentous finale in years that include one. Each track event will feature the top 12-16 athletes in the world and field events the top 8, including the reigning Olympic and world champions who receive an automatic bid. The 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 100m/110m hurdles, and 400m hurdles will feature semifinal rounds, with every other event (including field) contested as a straight final.
Benjamin, the reigning Olympic and world champion in the 400m hurdles, is expected to compete in both his signature event and the 400m. Benjamin has focused on the latter event this season, running a career-best time of 43.83 at the Silesia Diamond League meet on Aug. 23, two days after winning the 400m hurdles in a meet-record 46.67 at the Lausanne Diamond League event. Jefferson-Wooden, the reigning 100m, 200m, and 4x100m world champion, is the 2026 U.S. 200m champion and has won three Diamond League races this season. Russell set the world record in the 100m hurdles (12.09 seconds) at the Zurich Diamond League meet in August.
Team USA, who led the 2025 World Championships medal count with 26 medals (16 of them gold), is also expected to feature three-time Paris Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas, Paris Olympic 1500m gold medalist Cole Hocker, Paris Olympic 100m hurdles gold medalist Masai Russell, two-time Olympic 200m silver medalist Kenny Bednarek, and two-time Olympic medalist Sha’Carri Richardson, competing on the same track where she won the 100m world title in 2023.
A strong contingent of international athletes are expected to compete in Budapest, including two-time Olympic pole vault gold medalist and world record holder Mondo Duplantis (Sweden), Paris Olympic 100m gold medalist Julien Alfred (Saint Lucia), Paris Olympic 800m gold medalist and world record holder Keely Hodgkinson (Great Britain), Paris Olympic 800m gold medalist Emmanuel Wanyoni (Kenya), Paris Olympic 400m gold medalist Marileidy Paulino (Dominican Republic), and a much-anticipated showdown in the 1500m between newly-minted mile world record holder Josh Kerr (Great Britain) and two-time Olympic gold medalist Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway), signaling the rivals’ first head-to-head race since 2024.
NBC Sports’ Paul Swangard will serve as play-by-play announcer alongside four-time Olympic medalist Ato Boldon, four-time Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross, two-time Olympic distance runner Kara Goucher, and 2012 London Olympic decathlon silver medalist Trey Hardee. Lewis Johnson serves as reporter.
NBC SPORTS’ WORLD ATHLETICS ULTIMATE CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Date | Events | Time (ET) | Platform(s) |
Fri., Sept. 11 | Day 1 | 1 p.m. | Peacock, NBCSN |
Sat., Sept. 12 | Day 2 | 12 p.m. | Peacock, NBCSN^ |
Day 2 | 6:30 p.m. | NBCSN* | |
Sun., Sept. 13 | Day 3 | 12 p.m. | NBC, Peacock |
Mon., Sept. 14 | Day 3 | 11 p.m. | NBCSN* |
*Encore presentation
^ Available to select NBCSN subscribers
--NBC SPORTS--
