Watch World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026 live streams
The biggest stars of track and field converge on Budapest this weekend for a new biennial competition unlike any in the sport's history: the World Athletics Ultimate Championship. A mix of Olympic champions, world champions, top-ranked athletes and wildcards will compete across 28 events over the next three days, with American sprint queen Sha'Carri Richardson, Swedish pole vault legend Mondo Duplantis and women's 800m stars Keely Hodgkinson and Audrey Werro among those involved.
The Ultimate Championship is a little different to traditional athletics events, with lane drafts, glowing javelins, a black infield, no medals, and injured Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles acting as MC and host. The winners of each event will take home $150,000, more than double the amount given to gold medalists at last year's World Championships. With each event starting with the semi-finals or the final, there is no margin for error — guaranteeing high-stakes action from the very start of the weekend.
Lyles' injury sets up a men's 100m battle between world champion Oblique Seville, from Jamaica, Nigeria's Kayinsola Ajayi, who has beaten him twice in the Diamond League this season, and Cameroon's Commonwealth Games champion Emmanuel Eseme. In the 200m, USA's Kenny Bednarek is the fastest man in the world this year but has Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo standing in his way.
The women's event looks set to be dominated by American team-mates Gabby Thomas and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, the Olympic and world champions respectively, with the latter also aiming to beat Paris 2024 gold medalist Julien Alfred and 2023 world champion Sha'Carri Richardson in the 100m. Great Britain's Amy Hunt competes in both events, fresh from becoming the first athlete to win four golds at a single European Championships. Elsewhere on the track, bitter men's 1500m foes Josh Kerr and Jakob Ingebrigtsen renew their rivalry.
Pole vault sensation Duplantis headlines the field events and fans around the world will hope he is pushed high enough to break another world record, with the current mark 6.31m. Other stars in action include Ukraine's Yaroslava Mahuchikh, who is the women's high jump world-record holder, two-time Olympic men's long jump champion Miltiadis Tentoglou, from Greece, and China's rising women's javelin star, Yan Ziyi.
Follow our guide below for how to watch World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026 live streams from anywhere with a VPN. We've also listed the full timetable, schedule and list of events below.
World Athletics Ultimate Championship: Day 1 timetable
(All times BST)
🗓 Day 1 – Friday, 11 September
6.08pm – 4x100m relay | Mixed final
6.13pm – High jump | Women's final
6.19pm – 400m | Men's semi-finals
6.23pm – Hammer | Men's final
6.38pm – 400m | Women's semi-finals
7.04pm – 100m hurdles | Women's semi-finals
7.08pm – Pole vault | Men's final
7.21pm – 110m hurdles | Men's semi-finals
7.36pm – 5,000m | Men's final
7.53pm – Long jump | Women's final
7.57pm – 800m | Women's semi-finals
8.20pm – 100m hurdles | Women's final
8.49pm – 110m hurdles | Men's final
World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026 |
Fri, 11 Sep – Sun, 13 Sep |
Free streams |
BBC iPlayer (UK) / World Athletics+ (subject to broadcasting restrictions) |
Live streams |
Peacock (US) |
WATCH ANYWHERE |
How can I watch World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026 for free?
Athletics fans in the UK can watch World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026 for free, courtesy of BBC iPlayer.
In countries without a dedicated broadcaster, including Australia, the World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026 is available to stream for free via World Athletics+. You just need to sign up to watch at no cost.
If you're from the UK but you're currently abroad, you can simply use a VPN to tap into that free World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026 coverage. More details below...
Watch World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026 live streams from anywhere
You won't be able to watch your regular World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026 live streams while traveling abroad. The platform will detect that you're in a foreign country and block you.
You can use a VPN (virtual private network) to get around this, though. It's a straightforward piece of software that sets your device to appear as if it's in a different country, allowing you to watch the action from anywhere in the world.
We rate NordVPN as one of the best VPN for streaming sports. It offers a generous 30-day guarantee for all your money back if you're not happy with the service.
Watch World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026 in the US
Fans in the US can watch World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026 live on NBC and Peacock, NBC's streaming service.
Peacock will have live coverage from Budapest from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET on Friday, and from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Peacock Premium plans start from $12.99 a month and $129.99 a year.
NBC will simulcast Sunday's coverage from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m..
Away on vacation right now? Remember to use a good VPN, as detailed above, to tap into your free World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026 stream.
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Watch World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026 live streams in the UK
The World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026 is free-to-air in the UK, thanks to BBC One, BBC Two and BBC iPlayer. Just make sure you have a valid TV license.
You can catch the action live on BBC Two from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. BST on Friday, and from 5.55 p.m. to 8.15 p.m. on BBC One on Saturday. Coverage on Sunday is also on BBC One, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
BBC iPlayer will show the action live throughout the weekend.
Outside the UK for the World Athletics Ultimate Championship? Use NordVPN to tune in as if you were back at home.
Watch World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026 in Australia?
As mentioned above, the World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026 will be on World Athletics+ in Australia, in the absence of a dedicated broadcast partner Down Under.
Sign up with a free account and you're good to go.
If you're away on holiday, you can simply use a VPN to tap into that free coverage.
World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026: Full timetable
(All times BST)
Day 1 – Friday, 11 September
6.08pm – 4x100m relay | Mixed final
6.13pm – High jump | Women's final
6.19pm – 400m | Men's semi-final
6.23pm – Hammer | Men's final
6.38pm – 400m | Women's semi-finals
7.04pm – 100m hurdles | Women's semi-finals
7.08pm – Pole vault | Men's final
7.21pm – 110m hurdles | Men's semi-finals
7.36pm – 5,000m | Men's final
7.53pm – Long jump | Women's final
7.57pm – 800m | Women's semi-finals
8.20pm – 100m hurdles | Women's final
8.49pm – 110m hurdles | Men's final
Day 2 – Saturday, 11 September
5.08pm – 400m | Women's final
5.13pm – Javelin | Women's final
5.18pm – 400m | Men's final
5.26pm – 800m | Men's semi-finals
5.43pm – Pole vault | Women's final
5.46pm – 400m hurdles | Women's semi-finals
6.04pm – 100m | Women's semi-finals
6.21pm – 100m | Men's semi-finals
6.36pm – 1500m | Women's final
6.44pm – Long jump | Men's final
6.57pm – 400m hurdles | Men's semi-finals
7.18pm – 800m | Women's final
7.38pm – 110m | Women's final
7.49pm – 100m | Men's final
Day 3 – Sunday, 13 September
5.08pm – 400m hurdles | Women's final
5.13pm – Javelin | Men's final
5.18pm – 200m | Men's semi-finals
5.36pm – 400m hurdles | Men's final
5.44pm – 200m | Women's semi-finals
6.04pm – High jump | Men's final
6.10pm – 5,000m | Women's final
6.34pm – Triple jump | Women's final
6.41pm – 800m | Men's final
6.53pm – 4x400m relay | Mixed final
7.12pm – 1500m | Men's final
7.38pm – 200m | Men's final
7.49pm – 200m | Women's final
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