Botswana will send six of its leading athletes to Budapest this week as the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship brings together the cream of global athletics for three nights of elite competition from September 11 to 13.
The final entry lists have confirmed that 381 athletes representing 65 federations will descend on the Hungarian capital for the first-of-its-kind biennial championship. The competition promises to offer both sporting prestige and record-breaking financial rewards. The championship features 13 individual events for both men and women, comprising eight track and five field events, in addition to two relay events.
Qualification has attracted some of the biggest names in athletics, including Olympic champions from Paris 2024, world champions and Wanda Diamond League winners, while other athletes earned their places through world rankings and exceptional invitations.
Leading Botswana’s charge is Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo, who will once again find himself among the sport’s global elite. Letsile, who made history with his golden performance in the men’s 200m at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, enters the competition ranked second in the world in the 200m and 17th in the 100m according to the latest World Athletics rankings.
The Botswana sprint sensation will be hoping to add another major international achievement to his rapidly growing list of accolades. Joining him in Budapest is Collen Kebinatshipi, the reigning world 400m champion and 2026 Diamond League champion, who will carry significant expectations in the men’s one-lap event. Kebinatshipi has established himself as one of the leading quarter-milers in the world and will face a field packed with quality as he seeks another statement performance on the international stage.
Beyond the prestige of becoming the first champions of the Ultimate Championship, athletes will have another major incentive to deliver in Budapest. A record US$10 million prize purse has been set aside for the championship, making it one of the richest competitions in the history of athletics.
Botswana’s strength in the 400m will also be evident through Lee Eppie and Bayapo Ndori. Eppie heads to Budapest ranked 12th in the world in the event this year, while Ndori sits ninth, putting both athletes firmly among the contenders capable of challenging for a place in the final and potentially a podium finish. The pair will be expected to complement Botswana’s growing reputation in the men’s 400m, a discipline that has produced some of the country’s biggest international successes in recent years. In the women’s 800m, Oratile Nowe will fly the national flag. Ranked eighth in the event, Nowe will be looking to hold her own against the world’s leading middle-distance runners and produce another memorable performance on the biggest stage.
Kemorena Tisang completes Botswana’s individual entries and will compete in the men’s 400m hurdles. Tisang, currently ranked 15th in the event, will be aiming to upset the established order and make his mark among the world’s best hurdlers. Botswana will, however, not field a relay team in Budapest after failing to qualify for the mixed relay category.
Beyond the prestige of becoming the first champions of the Ultimate Championship, athletes will have another major incentive to deliver in Budapest. A record US$10 million prize purse has been set aside for the championship, making it one of the richest competitions in the history of athletics.
Individual event winners will walk away with US$150,000, while runners-up will receive US$75,000 and bronze medallists US$40,000. In the relays, winning teams will share US$80,000.
For Botswana’s six representatives, the challenge will therefore be twofold: competing for global supremacy while chasing a potentially life-changing payday. The Ultimate Championship will bring together Olympic champions, world champions, Wanda Diamond League winners and the year’s best-performing athletes across 28 disciplines during three action-packed evenings.
With Tebogo leading a talented Botswana contingent, the country will be hoping its growing influence on the international athletics stage translates into medals, records and perhaps a slice of the historic US$10 million prize pot.
