Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
Jasmine Jones secured her first major international title by winning the 400m hurdles at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship Budapest 26, clocking a season-best 52.45. Before this event, Jones had finished just outside the podium at the 2024 Olympics and narrowly missed gold at the 2025 World Championships, with only one 400m hurdles win earlier in the year at the Istvan Gyulai Memorial in the same stadium. She also ran a season-best 52.77 in the semifinals.
In the final, Diamond League champion Anna Cockrell led the first half of the race, chased by world bronze medallist Emma Zapletalova and Jones. As the race progressed, Jones gained momentum on the home straight to take the lead, while Cockrell's pace slowed, allowing European champion Zapletalova to move into second. Zapletalova finished second with a time of 52.68, marking her seventh sub-53-second run of the year, and Cockrell took third in 53.09. Former world record holder Dalilah Muhammad, competing in her final race, came in fourth, just 0.02 seconds behind Cockrell.
After the race, Jones expressed surprise and excitement at her victory, noting the inspiration she drew from Muhammad’s career and the new championship format. Muhammad reflected on her achievements, expressing gratitude for her 2016 Olympic and 2019 world titles.