The first-ever World Athletics Ultimate Championship is set to take place in Budapest, with the world’s top athletes competing for a share of the $10 million prize pool. Among them, fans expected to see Olympic and two-time world champion Pedro Pichardo, who has been one of the leading names in men’s triple jump for years. But Pichardo will not compete in Budapest after WA left the men’s triple jump out of the programme, while the women’s event was included. The decision has angered Pichardo, who has now publicly questioned World Athletics over the exclusion.

On September 7, Pichardo shared a post on Instagram questioning World Athletics’ decision. “No men’s triple jump in the Ultimate Championship. I really don’t understand what your problem is, and even less why you made this decision without any explanation. This isn’t track and field, and it’s not good for our sport. Stop leaving us out,” he wrote.

Pichardo is frustrated because he has a commanding presence in the event. He won gold at the Tokyo 2020 Games, and his first world medal at Eugene 2022. Now he’s got it back at Tokyo 2025 with a 17.91m on the last shot. He remains one of the world’s best triple jumpers. He can still be one of the top-performing triple jumpers in the world. Pichardo had a world-leading 17.71m in Doha in 2026.

However, he will not get to showcase his level and form in Budapest. There are only 28 events selected by World Athletics for the first edition of the Ultimate Championship, which is based on three short sessions from 11–13 September. 

That omission of the men’s triple jump, however, stands out because its women’s event has been retained. The decision is also not new to Pichardo. The Portuguese star had already questioned the programme in 2025 when he raised concerns about World Athletics leaving men’s triple jump out while retaining other field events. “You can’t put 5 and leave 2 out,” Pichardo said at the time. Now, with the Ultimate Championship only days away, he has returned to the issue and made his strongest criticism yet.

For now, World Athletics has not published a specific explanation for why the men’s triple jump was omitted while the women’s event was retained. But Pichardo is not the only athlete affected by the decision to cut events from the inaugural championship.

Ryan Crouser and Fanny Roos join Pichardo in questioning World Athletics’ bold programme

Several traditional events have been left out of the programme, including the men’s and women’s shot put, men’s and women’s discus throw, women’s hammer throw, 10,000m, steeplechase and combined events. World Athletics has described the format as a compact, three-evening championship designed to keep the action moving, with the programme shaped around audience interest and a made-for-TV format.

But the decision has not gone down well with everyone. Several athletes from the excluded events have also voiced their disappointment. Three-time Olympic champion and three-time world champion Ryan Crouser has expressed his disappointment over the shot put being left out of the Ultimate Championship. “We don’t have the Ultimate Athletic Championship as a shot putter, which is disappointing.”

Swedish shot putter Fanny Roos has also criticized the decision to leave the throwing events out of the programme. “It’s sad. It feels like the throwing disciplines are being overlooked. It’s gotten a lot better in Sweden, but it feels like we’re still a little behind in the world. They take the most popular disciplines, the ones that the audience finds most fun to watch, and that brings them more money. It’s more of a business.”

With Pichardo and other leading athletes already questioning the decision, the debate over which events belong in the Ultimate Championship is unlikely to end when the competition begins.