German hammer thrower Merlin Hummel secured a victory and a record-setting payout at the inaugural Ultimate Championship in Budapest, capturing a top prize of 150,000 US dollars despite an errant self-inflicted strike during competition, according to sports reports from the event.
The 150,000-Dollar Hammer Throw Triumph
At the Nationalen Leichtathletikzentrum, 24-year-old Merlin Hummel claimed the hammer throw title at the newly introduced athletics series. Hummel also recorded the second-best mark of the day with an 81.44-meter effort.
The competition featured a compressed format dropping the traditional six throws down to four rounds with progressive field reductions. Reporting from sportschau.de noted that Hummel experienced a brief scare during his second attempt when he clipped his own heel and fell to the ground, but his opening throw remained untouched by the rest of the field.
Format Changes and Elite Casualties
World Athletics launched the Ultimate Championship with a ten million US-dollar total prize pool designed to streamline the sport through direct head-to-head matchups and reduced preliminary rounds. Canadian world champion and Olympic gold medalist Ethan Katzberg crashed out of the competition after recording two invalid throws in the opening rounds, while Hungarian European champion Bence Halasz finished second with a best mark of 80.30 meters.
Hummel noted that the shorter series suited his throwing style, explaining that he often logged two weaker efforts under the traditional six-throw format that were now eliminated.
Financial Realities and Grounded Reactions
Reflecting on his historic payday, Hummel offered a grounded assessment of his winnings to public broadcasters. As reported by sportschau.de, the “Ultimate Champion” stated that he planned to pay a significant amount in taxes and invest the remainder wisely, emphasizing that his primary motivation remains the competitive process alongside his coaching team.
“I do this because it brings me joy, the journey is the goal,” Hummel said in an interview with sportschau.de. “The process with my team is what makes me happy, that is something no amount of money in the world can buy.”
Broader Results at the Budapest Premiere
The three-day event features 26 individual disciplines and two mixed relays. In the opening session on Friday in front of a crowd of spectators, the United States quartet won the 4×100-meter mixed relay in 39.64 seconds, narrowly missing a world record, while the German team of Kevin Kranz, Jolina Ernst, Florian Ganter, and Sina Kammerschmidt placed sixth in 40.85 seconds, as detailed by sportschau.de.
Next Steps in Budapest
The Ultimate Championship runs through Sunday, with additional German competitors including javelin European champion Julian Weber, long hurdlers Emil Agyekum and Owe Fischer-Breiholz, and 1,500-meter runner Robert Farken scheduled to take part in upcoming sessions at the Budapest stadium.
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