Ethan Katzberg arrived in Budapest as the reigning Olympic and world champion, with an 84.70m championship record to his name, only for his World Athletics Ultimate Championship campaign to end after just two rounds. The Canadian hammer thrower was unable to reach the later stages and was left frustrated by the format.
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Katzberg’s early exit was a major surprise given his recent form. He is an Olympic gold medalist from Paris 2024, and successfully defended his world title in Tokyo 2025. Instead of challenging for the first Ultimate Championship hammer title on September 11, Katzberg watched Germany’s Merlin Hummel take the victory with 81.46m. Hummel outshot Hungary’s Bence Halász (80.30m) to take the $150,000 first prize.
The result was especially disappointing for Katzberg because the new competition had brought together some of the world’s leading athletes in Budapest. But the Canadian was not simply unhappy with his own performance. He also raised concerns about the way the hammer throw competition was conducted. Katzberg questioned the decision to use a four-throw format, arguing that it did not give athletes enough opportunities to produce their best performances.
Under the Ultimate Championship format, eight athletes started the men’s hammer throw, with each competitor receiving only two attempts in the opening stage. The field was then reduced from eight athletes to six, before six were cut to four for the final stage. This meant that athletes did not automatically receive four throws. They had to survive each stage to earn another opportunity.
In a traditional championship, hammer throwers normally receive three attempts in the opening round and three more in the final. The new format left Katzberg with far less time to recover from a difficult start. The wet throwing circle also became another source of frustration for the Olympic champion.
The complaints came at an event built around a record $10 million prize fund and a new format designed to give athletics a fresh season-ending spectacle. Individual winners in Budapest are receiving $150,000. For Katzberg, however, the experience highlighted a problem with the new approach. The 24-year-old had been one of the strongest performers in the event leading into Budapest.
He recorded a throw of 82.92m in Poland on August 23 and followed it with an 80.97m victory at the Commonwealth Games. Those results came during a seven-meet winning streak and showed why Katzberg was expected to challenge for the title. Instead, his Ultimate Championship campaign ended before he could reach the later stages. While the night ended in disappointment for Ethan Katzberg, it gave Merlin Hummel a memorable way to close his 2026 season.
Hummel makes Ultimate Championship history
Merlin Hummel produced 81.46m to win the men’s hammer throw at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest. In doing so, Hummel also became the first-ever men’s hammer throw Ultimate Champion.
The victory was a fitting way for Hummel to finish his season, especially after another strong year at the highest level. The 24-year-old had already established himself as one of the leading hammer throwers in the world after winning silver at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo with a personal-best 82.77m. He also won silver at the 2026 European Championships.
Hummel was also showing strong form before arriving in Budapest. Earlier in the season, he threw 81.27m to take the European lead, while his final competition before the Ultimate Championship saw him record two throws beyond 80 meters in Chorzow.
After securing the victory in Budapest, Hummel summed up his reaction with one word at the stadium microphone: “Fantastisch.” He also backed the idea behind the new competition, saying, “I think it’s good to have a fresh impetus and reinvent ourselves,” Now, he can head into the next season as the first-ever Ultimate Champion in the men’s hammer throw.