Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
The World Athletics Ultimate Championship will award titles in five men’s field events—high jump, pole vault, long jump, hammer throw, and javelin—with each winner receiving $150,000. Several headline head-to-head competitions are drawing attention ahead of the event.
In the hammer throw, Canadian Ethan Katzberg leads with a season-best of 82.43m in Nairobi. Katzberg recently secured his second world title and third global gold by age 23. He faces strong competition from Hungary’s Bence Halász, the Olympic silver medalist and first to throw over 80 meters this season. Halász is expected to have significant local support in Hungary, although Katzberg holds the season’s longest throw and a recent personal best of 84.70m, the farthest in 20 years.
Hamish Kerr of New Zealand, the reigning global outdoor champion and Olympic gold medalist, is also a prominent contender. Kerr cleared 2.36m last year and spent seven weeks training on the Gold Coast to prepare for the outdoor season, skipping the World Indoor Championships. Ukrainian Oleh Doroshchuk recently won with a 2.30m clearance, Mexico’s Erick Portillo took silver, and Korea’s defending champion Woo Sanghyeok earned bronze. Woo has cleared 2.30m earlier in 2026, while Jan Štefela opened a recent contest with a personal best of 2.32m.
In the pole vault, Emmanouil ‘Manolo’ Karalis made headlines in 2026 by clearing 6.17m, improving his mark by 12 centimeters and moving to second on the world all-time list. However, Mondo Duplantis extended his dominance by setting his 15th world record at 6.31m at the Mondo Classic in March. Karalis indicated potential for further improvement after his February performance.