Ultimate Championships to spur athletics growth in Kenya
World Athletics president Seb Coe during an interview at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games.
What you need to know:
- The best-of-the-best athletes will compete in different categories across three days.
- The Hungarian capital of Budapest will be the first host of this new competition.
As a bedrock of athletics talent, the recently-announced World Ultimate Championships is music to Kenyans ears.
It is a competition that bodes well for the future of millions of athletics talents in the country and heralds a new beginning as far as talent growth and development is concerned.
The Ultimate Championships is a new category of competition announced this week by World Athletics, where the best-of-the-best athletes will compete in different categories across three days.
The competitors will be selected solely on world rankings and comprise 8-16 of the best athletes in each discipline.
The Hungarian capital of Budapest will be the first host of this new competition at the end of 2026 and will be subsequently held biennially, with cities bidding to stage the event.
Thrilling competitions
From an athlete’s perspective, including Kenyan, this championship ensures that the motivation to perform will go up a notch.
No longer will athletes take any competition for granted since they will need to improve their world rankings to earn a berth in the Ultimate Championships.
From a fan viewpoint, expect thrilling track and field competitions in various assignments, such as the Diamond League, World Continental Tours, World Championships, World Road Running Championships, World Race Walking Championships and the Olympics.
Many athletes will focus on the “ultimate prize” as they compete in the events.
Add to the fact that the Ultimate Championships offers the highest prize money ever in athletics circles (Sh1.3 billion) in which winners in different disciplines will go home Sh20 million richer.
From a Kenyan perspective, there is now no more reason for athletes to believe the age-old notion that talent doesn’t pay.
Financial windfall
Indeed, this is the time to train hard and win clean as you steer clear of any vices that might stifle your promising career.
To be part of the Ultimate Championships will be the perfect dream for many athletes, most of whom come from humble backgrounds.
Beyond the financial windfall, there is the prestige of emerging top ahead of other kings or queens of your respective disciplines.
As one of the athletics powerhouses, Kenya can only look forward with glee to the opening ceremony of the inaugural edition in Budapest.
As usual, our athletes will be among the 400 in contention; nonetheless, the journey to being part of this group commences now.
Korir is Athletics Kenya’s Nairobi Branch Chairman. [email protected]
