Patterson and Myers to lead Australia at World Athletics Ultimate Championship

The hottest names in Australian athletics are Budapest bound for the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship, with the three-day competition serving as an exclusive showcase of the world’s best athletes who will compete for a share in US$10 million.

Bringing together Olympic champions, world champions, Diamond League winners and the highest ranked athletes in the world from September 11-13, Australia qualified 12 athletes for the event, spearheaded by New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) high jumper Eleanor Patterson (NSW, Fayaaz Caan) and middle-distance star Cameron Myers (ACT, Dick Telford) who were victorious at last week’s Diamond League Final in Brussels.

Patterson will be joined by longtime rival and NSWIS teammate Nicola Olyslagers (NSW, Matt Horsnell) as the pair prepare to take on Olympic champion and world record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR), along with rising star Angelina Topic (SRB) and Iryna Gerashchenko (UKR).

Patterson and Olyslagers are tied for the outdoor world lead at 2.02m in 2026 and will open proceedings for Australia in Budapest, chasing the first of the US$150,000 winner’s checks.

Myers will have to wait until the third and final day of competition for his rematch with Commonwealth champion Josh Kerr (GBR), after the mile world record holder outsmarted the 20-year-old Australian in Glasgow.

Kerr’s world lead stands at 3:27.62, closely followed by Myers at 3:28.00, but the contest is far from a match race with Olympic champions Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) and Cole Hocker (USA) also toeing the line.

Pole vaulter Kurtis Marschall (WA, Declan Carruthers) will take to the track for the 21^st and final time in 2026, where he will look to continue his dream run with yet another podium finish in a star-studded field spearhead by Olympic champion and world record holder Armand Duplantis (SWE) and Emmanouil Karalis (GRE).

Olympic silver medallist Jessica Hull (NSWIS, Simon Hull) and Commonwealth champion Abbey Caldwell (VIC, Gavin Burren) are locked and loaded for the Women’s 1500m, where they will meet Georgia Hunter Bell (GBR) and Diamond League champion Klaudia Kazimerska (POL).

Hull set a season’s best of 3:54.73 to finish in third place of the Diamond League Final, while Caldwell’s closing speed makes her a live chance in any championship bout. Hull will also return for the 5000m where she is joined by Commonwealth champion Rose Davies (NSWIS, Scott Westcott) who is in the form of her life and primed to deliver another statement performance.

Commonwealth 10,000m champion Ky Robinson (QLD, Dathan Ritzenhein) loves the big stage and will once again stake his claim as a global contender, with the Australian record holder at 12:50.82 ranked ninth in the Men’s 5000m.

Robinson will not be discouraged by that with the top seed Egide Ntakarutimana (BDI) within reach at 12:46.73, while fellow national record holder Sarah Billings (VIC, Nic Bideau) will add to the middle-distance action when taking on the Women’s 800m – beginning with the semi-finals on night one.

The fastest Australian sprinters in history are ready to dance one final time in 2026, with Lachlan Kennedy (QLD, Andrew Iselin) ready to build on his five sub-10 second showings this year, while Torrie Lewis (QLD, Laurent Meuwly) will contest the 200m to round out her year – both facing the semi-final to final format.

Javelin thrower Mackenzie Little (NSWIS, Angus McEntyre) jets back overseas to complete the program, ranked sixth in the field of eight with her season’s best of 61.88m set to win the Commonwealth Games in challenging conditions.

Full entry lists can be found HERE. Australian viewers can tune in live and free via the World Athletics+ platform.