Noah Lyles yet to sign up for Ultimate Championship
Noah Lyles says he is not sure to run in next year’s inaugural Ultimate Championship, in a potentially huge blow to World Athletics’ new event that is supposed to showcase the best of the best over three days in Budapest.
Fresh from securing his fourth successive world 200 metres title, the 28-year-old Lyles said a September return to Budapest, where he did the world championships sprint double in 2023, is far from guaranteed.
“Me and World Athletics are still in talks on whether I’ll even go to Ultimate Championship,” he told Reuters in an interview at his Adidas Tokyo HQ on Saturday.
“They’ve claimed that they want to get athletes more involved. We plan to have more talks in the future about that and what that could mean.”
The Ultimate Championship has been introduced by the sport’s governing body to fill the “void” in a non-global championship year, with two editions of the world championships and the Olympics filling three of every four.
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It will have a prize fund of $10 million, with winners receiving $150,000 – by far the biggest prize available in the sport.
It will take place from September 11-13, with no heats, just a high-octane succession of track and field finals featuring the world and Olympic champions and Diamond League winners.
However, the absence of the biggest name in the sport would be a huge setback. World Athletics has been asked to comment.
Lyles was calm and relaxed on Saturday, his hair in neat braids in a far cry from the start line of the 200m, where, with his hair bleached and wild, he let out a huge, guttural roar with his arms raised as his name was read out.
“It’s a battle cry. It’s a moment where you go from having all the pieces to go beyond your limits,” he explained.
“You have the crowd, you have the world championships, you have the racers, and now you have the moment. It’s powering up, it’s knowing that you’re about to push your body to the absolute point of no return.”
Published on Sep 20, 2025