To mark 10 days to go until the brand-new global championship kicks off, World Athletics has revealed the trophies that will be awarded to each champion at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship.
As previously announced, a focus on the singularity of what it means to be an Ultimate Champion has resulted in a reimagining of awards. There will be no medals, as the primary goal is to be crowned the best of the best. Instead, a trophy will be awarded to the athletes who emerge victorious.
“We have made an intentional decision to move away from medals as the awards at the Ultimate Championship,” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe. “This global championship is all about striving to be the one athlete who comes out on top. Distributing awards for the top three didn’t feel true to that foundational concept, so we are instead focused on the trophies given to the winners of each discipline.”
Furthermore, all athletes will receive a unique token that celebrates their participation in the Ultimate and honours their status as the most elite track and field athletes in the world.
The participation tokens are personalised bracelets, each inscribed with the athlete’s name on the exterior and the official event name on the interior. The bracelets are adjustable to ensure a custom fit for every competitor who takes part in the inaugural edition of the Ultimate Championship on 11-13 September in Budapest, Hungary.
The trophy each Ultimate Champion will earn is designed to connect with their participation token to form one inclusive piece. The trophies are reminiscent of stone statues, inspired by the concept of “carving your name in history”. The shape of the trophies echoes the shape of the star logo of the Ultimate Championship itself, with gold inlay acting as a reminder of their triumph.
The trophies are designed to be held aloft. A recessed groove in the trophy highlights its incomplete nature – only made complete with the addition of the Ultimate Champion’s own bracelet, already engraved with their name. The idea and inspiration to create something customised that only an Ultimate Champion could receive came from Noah Lyles – the Ultimate MC and Creative Adviser. Each trophy and token is a bespoke work of art, handcrafted with meticulous care by Hungarian designers, jewellers, and sculptors to bring the vision of Lyles and World Athletics to life.
The trophies will not be presented in the manner of a traditional medal ceremony. Upon winning their event, each Ultimate Champion will grab their trophy from the plinth at each event site, where it will wait for them throughout their competition. The Trophy Moment will be highlighted by video, sound and fireworks. After their lap of honour, the Ultimate Champions will make their way into the stands and through the crowd on the Champion’s Pathway up to the TV mixed zone with their trophies.
Photos of the trophy and the bracelet are available here for editorial use.
The World Athletics Ultimate Championship is designed to settle the debate over who is the best of the best – with world champions, Olympic champions, Wanda Diamond League winners and the year’s top-ranked athletes all striving to be crowned the champion of champions. The first edition will feature a historic prize pot of $10 million.
