世界陸連 トップ選手のみ出場の「アルティメット選手権」開催を発表

【パリＡＦＰ＝時事】ワールドアスレティックス（世界陸連）は３日、３日間で争われる世界陸上アルティメット選手権の開催を発表した。（写真は、第１９回世界陸上ブダペスト大会女子４×１００メートルリレー決勝で、ゴールに向かう米国のシャカリ・リチャードソン〈右〉とジャマイカのシェリカ・ジャクソン）
　アルティメット選手権は、世界陸上が行われない合間の年に、競技が世界の観客に届けられるように設立された。
　大会には各種目世界トップクラスの最大１６選手、総勢約４００人が出場。トラック競技は準決勝と決勝、フィールド競技は決勝のみで争われる。賞金総額は陸上競技史上最高の１０００万ドル（約１５億７０００万円）で、金メダリストは１５万ドル（約２３５０万円）を獲得する。
　大会は２年に１度開催される屋外での世界陸上の合間に行われる。次回の世界陸上は来年の東京大会となっており、アルティメット選手権第１回大会は、翌２０２６年の９月１１日から１３日にかけて、ハンガリー・ブダペストで開催される。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/06/04-19:15）

World Athletics on Monday launched a new three-day global championship starting in 2026 in Budapest to attempt to ensure track and field has a global audience in the years between world championships.
The World Athletics Ultimate Championship will take place every two years, with the first on September 11 to 13, 2026.
Gold medallists are set to receive $150,000 (138,000 euros) each from an overall prize fund of $10 million, the largest ever prize pot in the history of the sport.
The event will be held every two years -- in other words, in the years between outdoor world championships which are also biennial, with the next taking place in Tokyo in 2025.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said the timing of the Ultimate Championship would ensure for the first time that athletics will enjoy a moment of maximum audience reach on an annual basis.
We want to make sure that we have the famous billion eyeballs that watch our world championships and Olympics Games, Coe said in a conference call with international reporters.
We have to have every year in that four-year cycle that coalescence of fans on television and secondly it is really important that we extend the season as much as we can at both ends. We need the athletes out there as often as they can.
The new event will feature up to 16 of the world's top-ranked athletes per discipline, with a total of around 400 athletes taking part.
The field events will be straight finals while track athletes must progress through semi-finals.
With only the best of the best on show and cutting straight to semi-finals and finals, we will create an immediate pressure to perform for athletes aiming to claim the title of the ultimate champion, Coe said.
We want it to look different, we want it to feel different, we want it to be showtime, we want it to be focused on attracting new audiences.
World Athletics have chosen to return to Budapest, which hosted the 2023 World Championships in front of near-capacity crowds for the evening sessions. They were arguably our most successful world championships, Coe said.
While the venue for the 2028 Ultimate Championship has not been decided, the Briton said it was possible Budapest could be chosen again.
It is possible these could come back to Budapest in '28 but we are a global sport... fundamentally we want to make sure we go to places where we're not just chasing the dollar but we know we will go to organising committees that... have the ability and competence to deliver a world-class championships.
If you don't, you are badly serving the athletes. There is no point increasing prize money for athletes if they are competing in front of empty stadiums.