The inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship closed in Budapest on Sunday with two sprint doubles. Kenny Bednarek won the 200m in a world-leading 19.52 to add to the 100m he took in 9.85 on Saturday, and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden matched him with a world-leading personal best of 21.47 over 200m, having won the 100m in 10.62 the night before.
Bednarek's 19.52 was the fastest time of the three nights by a clear margin and put 0.24 between him and Letsile Tebogo, the Olympic champion, who ran a season's best 19.76 for second. Courtney Lindsey took third in 19.79. Jefferson-Wooden's run was similarly decisive: Gabrielle Thomas, the Olympic champion over the distance, was second in 21.77 and Kayla White third in 21.93 for an all-American podium.
The middle-distance finals produced the night's most contested racing. Josh Kerr, one of two athletes added to the men's 1500m on an exceptional invitation, won in 3:29.35 from Australia's Cameron Myers in 3:29.68, with Hobbs Kessler third in 3:30.73. Djamel Sedjati took the 800m in 1:41.91 ahead of Marco Arop and Emmanuel Wanyonyi, the Olympic champion, who was third in 1:42.44. Likina Amebaw won the women's 5000m in 14:30.36 with Jessica Hull second in a personal best 14:32.39.
Alison dos Santos won the men's 400m hurdles in 45.98, with Rai Benjamin second in a season's best 46.40 and Karsten Warholm third in 46.78. Jasmine Jones took the women's event in 52.45 from Slovakia's Emma Zapletalova. In the field, Gianmarco Tamberi cleared a world-leading 2.37m to win the high jump from JuVaughn Harrison, and Sri Lanka's Rumesh Tharanga threw 91.09m to win the javelin, the longest throw of the championship.
The United States closed the meeting by winning the mixed 4x400m relay in 3:08.32 from Great Britain and the Netherlands, and Saly Sarr's 15.06m took the women's triple jump by two centimetres from Cuba's Davisleydi Velazco. Twenty-eight titles were settled across three evening sessions, with no heats in any event and semi-finals only in the sprints and hurdles. The championship is scheduled to return in 2028.