Merlin Hummel wins hammer throw at Budapest Ultimate Championship for $150,000 prize

Hummel secures hammer throw victory

Merlin Hummel won the hammer throw competition at the inaugural Ultimate Championship in Budapest with a throw of 81.46 meters. The 24-year-old German athlete earned 150,000 US dollars (around 129,000 euros) for his victory at the National Athletics Centre. Hummel, who secured silver medals at the 2025 World Championships and the 2026 European Championships in Birmingham, defeated Hungarian European champion Bence Halasz, who threw 80.30 meters. Ukraine's Mykhaylo Kokhan took third place with a 78.90-meter mark. Hummel overcame a stumble on his second attempt when his hammer struck the safety netting, while world and Olympic champion Ethan Katzberg of Canada exited after two foul attempts. The victory marked Hummel's first gold medal following his recent championship second-place finishes.

Hummel reflected on claiming the win after several runner-up finishes.

To get gold now is of course refreshing and I can definitely get used to it.

Compact format and record prize fund

World Athletics organized the three-day competition with 26 individual disciplines and two mixed relays, replacing qualifying heats with fast-paced finals. In the hammer throw, the field was reduced incrementally across four rounds rather than the standard six attempts. Several standard Olympic events, including the decathlon, shot put, discus throw, and marathon, were omitted from the schedule to fit the condensed evening sessions. The event distributes a total prize fund of 10 million US dollars (about 8.6 million euros), which World Athletics reported as the highest prize sum offered at a single athletics competition. Every winner of an individual discipline receives 150,000 dollars, with Hummel remarking that he plans to invest his payout wisely. Hummel expressed support for reforming athletics presentation while noting the balance between athlete needs and entertainment.

In general, I think it is cool that they are trying to make the sport attractive to people again and find the perfect balance between what is good for the athlete and what is good for the programme.

Track and field results across disciplines

In the pole vault, Armand Duplantis cleared 6.20 meters to take victory before attempting an unsuccessful world record height of 6.32 meters. Emmanouil Karalis of Greece finished in second place behind Duplantis with a mark of 6.15 meters. Ukrainian high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh won the women's high jump, while Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen took first place in the men's 5,000 meters. In the mixed 4x100-meter relay, the United States captured victory in 39.64 seconds, finishing ahead of Jamaica at 39.72 seconds and Great Britain at 40.26 seconds. Germany's quartet of Kevin Kranz, Sina Kammerschmitt, Jolina Ernst, and Robin Ganter finished sixth with a time of 40.85 seconds, competing without regular squad member Gina Lückenkemper.

German entries and future championship plans

Germany sent five individual athletes alongside its mixed relay squad to the Hungarian capital. European javelin champion Julian Weber, 400-meter hurdlers Emil Agyekum and Owe Fischer-Breiholz, and 1,500-meter runner Robert Farken are scheduled to compete across the weekend sessions. The competition runs through Sunday at the same venue where the German team failed to win any medals at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. World Athletics plans to stage the Ultimate Championship every two years without replacing the traditional nine-day World Championships. Hummel suggested reducing individual prize money payouts in future editions to allow athletes from excluded disciplines to compete. The German thrower plans to take a vacation before beginning preparations for the upcoming competitive year.