Why Kenyan stars have been locked out of World Athletics Ultimate Championship

A number of factors have conspired to deny Kenya a strong representation in the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship scheduled for September 11 to 13, 2026, in Budapest, Hungary.

Olympics and world 10,000 metres and 5,000m champion, Beatrice Chebet and Olympic and world 1,500m champion, Faith Kipyegon, will not compete in the championship.

Chebet, who holds both the 10,000m and 5,000m world records, is currently on maternity break, having welcomed her firstborn with her husband, Peter Bii, on June 11 this year.

Kipyegon took a break from athletics on August 19 this year to focus on rehabilitating a recurring hamstring injury, prematurely ending her season.

World 800m champion Lilian Odira is a major doubt for having withdrawn from the Zurich Diamond League, the penultimate leg of the 2026 Diamond League that was due yesterday in the Swiss capital due to an illness.

She announced that she was unwell after finishing seventh in the women’s 800m in Lussaune, Switzerland  in one minute, 59.25 minutes in a race won by  home athlete Audrey Werro in a meet record time of 1:55.33 on August 21. 

“Since Lausanne, I have felt weaker and after medical advice, we decided it’s not wise to race in Zurich,” Odira said. The Diamond League Grand Finale, also known as the AG Memorial Van Damme Meeting, will be staged from September 4 to 5 at King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium.

The World Athletics Ultimate Championship is a brand-new athletics competition designed to bring the sport’s biggest stars together for one showdown at the end of the season.

Taking place in Budapest from September 11–13,  the inaugural edition of the event will pit Olympic champions, world champions and Diamond League winners against one another. It is also known as the Ultimate Championship.

The first edition has a prize fund of Sh1.3 billion (US$ 10 million), with winners receiving Sh19.5 million (US$ 50,000 each), which is by far the largest prize money in the sport.

The competition will start from the semi-finals and will feature eight athletes for field events, 16 athletes for individual track events and eight teams for relays.

Winners from the 2026 Diamond League, world as well as Olympic champions will compete in the Ultimate Championship. This means that winners from the 2024 Paris Olympics and 2025 Tokyo World Championships already have direct entries.

Chebet claimed a historic double at the 2024 Olympic Games, winning the 5,000m in 14:28.56 and the 10,00m gold in 30:43.25.

Kipyegon sealed a hat-trick of Olympic victories over 1,500m in Olympic Record time of 3:51.29. Chebet and Kipyegon chalked repeat performances at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, confirming their places at the Ultimate Championship.

The only other gold medallist at the Paris Olympics was Emmanuel Wanyonyi, who won in a personal best of 1:41.19. Wanyonyi also won the world title in Tokyo in a championship record time of 1:41.86.

Other than Wanyonyi, the other Kenyan gold medallist from Tokyo who will compete in the Ultimate Challenge is Faith Cherotich in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase.

Some of the Kenyan athletes, who have qualified for the Diamond League grand finale set for Brussels are the 2026 Xiamen Diamond League 100m winner, Ferdinand Omanyala, Wanyonyi in 800m and Timothy Cheruiyot in 1,500m.

The others are Cherotich in the steeplechase, Dorcas Ewoi in 1,500m and Agnes Ngetich in 5,000m.

Kenya will be represented in the 4x400m mixed relay race at the Ultimate Championship. The team has Kelvin Kiprotich Tonui, Boniface Mweresa, George Mutinda, Mercy Chebet,  Lanoline Aoko, and Mercy Oketch. 

Follow our WhatsApp channel for breaking news updates and more stories like this.