Budapest Daily Preview: Llopis Debuts with Paulino, Mondo and Hocker vs Jakob

The 100 metres hurdles will crown a champion this Friday, and Masai Russell arrives as the clear favourite. The American remains unbeaten in 2026 and has just raised the world record to 12.09 in Zurich.

Russell later underscored her superiority with a victory in the Brussels Diamond League final, where she ran 12.20. Now she will look to close an extraordinary season with another major title.

The former world record holder Tobi Amusan, the European champion Nadine Visser, and Devynne Charlton appear as the main threats to a athlete who seems to have reached a higher level this season.

The women’s high jump will be one of the most open events of the opening day. The world record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh will face Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson, three athletes accustomed to sharing major international titles.

Mahuchikh still holds the year’s best mark thanks to the 2.03 metres achieved indoors, though her late-season run has been less dominant. Olyslagers and Patterson have reached 2.02 metres outdoors, with the latter also arriving after winning the Diamond League final.

The long jump also presents no indisputable favorite. The absence of Tara Davis-Woodhall opens the competition completely. The Italian C Larissa Iapichino, European champion and this year’s national record holder with 7.12 metres, appears among the leading candidates, though she arrives after being defeated by Monae’ Nichols in Brussels.

Kebinatshipi Seeks to Be the No. 1 in the 400

In the men’s category, the 400 metres will run semifinals with Collen Kebinatshipi as one of the big names. The Botswana athlete has dominated the specialty for much of the year and arrives after running 43.40 in Brussels, a national record.

His time stood just two hundredths above the World Leader of the year, Samuel Ogazi, who has posted 43.38. Kebinatshipi will look to finish 2026 as the top of the rankings, although he will have to overcome rivals such as Jereem Richards, who ran 43.68 in Brussels, or Rai Benjamin, who this year has split his time between the 400 metres hurdles and his usual presence in the hurdles, clocking 43.83.

Ingebrigtsen and Hocker Meet in the 5,000 Metres

The men’s 5,000 metres will offer one of the most unpredictable races of the day. The absence of the Diamond League winner, Birhanu Balew, leaves the field even more open in a race that will be run directly to the final.

In it will be Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Cole Hocker, two of the sport’s top middle-distance figures. The Norwegian continues to regain his form after physical issues, while the American will tackle his first 5,000 of the season in Budapest.

Alongside them will be Addisu Yihune, the world ranking leader, Parker Wolfe, Grant Fisher, Graham Blanks, Nico Young or the Burundian Egide Ntakarutimana, especially dangerous if the race comes together in the final laps.

The men’s pole vault could be one of Friday’s great spectacles. Mondo Duplantis returns to competition after a season in which he once again pushed the limits of his own world record to 6.31 metres.

However, there is a small doubt about his fitness. The Swede withdrew from the Diamond League final after feeling discomfort during warm-ups.

His absence in Brussels allowed Emmanouil Karalis to claim one of the most significant victories of his career. The Greek has reached 6.20 metres this year and is establishing himself as the main athlete capable of nearing Duplantis’ dominance.

Also present will be Kurtis Marschall, who in Stockholm this year finally ended nearly three years of undefeated streaks for the Swedish star.

The men’s hammer will pit two of the event’s great names against each other. Ethan Katzberg, Olympic and World champion, will challenge the Hungarian Bence Halász, the world leader of the year with 84.25 metres and recent European champion.

Halász also has an extra factor: the home crowd. And he arrives with a particularly interesting angle: he was precisely the last athlete to defeat Katzberg.

The Canadian has not tasted defeat for over a year and will also return to the stage where he captured his first world title in 2023. All signs point to one of the night’s most anticipated clashes.

Llopis Looks to Break into the Top Tier

The 110 metres hurdles will resolve semifinals and final on the same day. Ja’Kobe Tharp arrives as the favorite after running 12.75, a world record, and also winning the Diamond League.

The American will face Jamal Britt, winner of five Diamond League meetings this year, and the world champion Cordell Tinch.

Among them will be Enrique Llopis, who will need to first overcome a highly demanding semifinal to reach a final in which only eight places will be available. The Spaniard thus faces one of the season’s big milestones.

The Ultimate Championship thus kicks off without a presentation day. From the very first day there will be Olympic champions, world champions, world record holders and season leaders competing directly for a new title.

That is precisely the aim of this new World Athletics competition: to bring together in one venue a large portion of the planet’s best athletes and to offer direct clashes with very little recovery time.

Corredor Magazine will be in Budapest with reporters on site to cover the Ultimate Championship from the stadium, closely following Spanish athletes and the major international stars over the three days of competition.