Former world record holder Tobi Amusan and sprint star Kanyinsola Ajayi will spearhead a power-packed Nigerian contingent as the world’s top track and field athletes gather in Budapest for the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship this weekend.
Running from today at the Zsivotzky Gyula Nemzeti Atletikai Kozpont stadium-the same venue that hosted the 2023 World Championships-the fast-paced, three-night global showdown features 381 elite athletes from 65 federations.
With no national quotas in place, qualification was strictly performance-based, bringing together 26 Olympic champions, 26 world champions, and 25 Diamond League winners from the 2026 season to compete for an unprecedented $10 million total prize pot.
Team Nigeria enters the competition stacked with realistic contenders capable of gate-crashing the podium. Headline act Tobi Amusan leads the women’s 100m hurdles field alongside newly crowned world record holder Masai Russell in what promises to be an explosive rematch, while also anchoring Nigeria’s mixed 4x100m relay setup. On the men’s side, sensation Kanyinsola Ajayi carries Nigeria’s hopes in the straight-line 100m sprint following a breakout season on the circuit, where he has consistently clocked sub-10 second times against the world’s finest.
Udodi Onwuzurike doubles up in the men’s 200m and the mixed relay squad, while Ezekiel Nathaniel takes on world record holder Alison dos Santos in a loaded men’s 400m hurdles lineup. Quarter-miler Ella Onojuvwevwo flies the flag in the women’s 400m, complemented by a deep mixed 4x100m squad featuring Alaba Akintola, Favour Ashe, Miracle Ezechukwu, and Rosemary Nwankwo.
The financial stakes in the Hungarian capital offer serious incentive for every athlete involved. Under World Athletics’ new structure, every competitor goes home with prize money, ranging from $10,000 for an eighth-place finish up to an eye-watering $150,000 jackpot for individual winners.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe underscored that the high-octane format was unapologetically built for television audiences to keep the sport at peak visibility during a year without an outdoor World Championships or Olympic Games. Against field icons like Swedish pole-vaulter Armand Duplantis and middle-distance stars Keely Hodgkinson and Audrey Werro, Team Nigeria steps onto the Budapest track poised to claim both prestigious silverware and a massive slice of track and field’s richest payday.