The inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship saw a challenging start for South Africa, as all three initial athletes failed to advance past the semifinals. The elite global competition took place at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary, featuring a contingent of six athletes from South Africa.
Чемпионат мира по легкой атлетике
On Friday evening, Zakithi Nene placed seventh in the 400m semi-final with a time of 45.30s. Marione Fourie secured sixth place in the 100m hurdles semi-final, clocking 12.59s, while Prudence Sekgodiso finished sixth in the 800m semis with a time of 1:59.66; consequently, none of the three reached the finals.
Later in the competition, sprinting talents Akani Simbine and Gift Leotlela are scheduled to compete in the men's 100m semifinals, with the final set for 20:49 South African time. Sinesipho Dambile will complete the South African team in the 200m event on Sunday.
Despite South Africa's early setbacks, international top athletes capitalized on the event's $10 million prize pool. Scandinavian stars Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis and Jakob Ingebrigtsen each won $150,000. Duplantis demonstrated dominance in the pole vault by clearing 6.20m, whereas Ingebrigtsen achieved a remarkable recovery from injury to win the 5,000m race in 12:59.24.
Victories were also secured by American world-record holders Masai Russell (in the 100m hurdles with 12.22s) and Ja'Kobe Tharp (in the 110m hurdles with 12.94s), in addition to the mixed 4x100m relay squad representing Team USA, which clocked 39.64s. Furthermore, Yaroslava Mahuchikh from Ukraine claimed the high jump title with a height of 1.99m, while Canada's Olympic hammer champion, Ethan Katzberg, experienced an unexpected early exit.