{"id":262058,"date":"2026-09-11T11:29:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T11:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/11\/budapest-daily-preview-llopis-debuts-with-paulino-mondo-and-hocker-vs-jakob-athletics-news\/"},"modified":"2026-09-11T11:29:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T11:29:09","slug":"budapest-daily-preview-llopis-debuts-with-paulino-mondo-and-hocker-vs-jakob-athletics-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/11\/budapest-daily-preview-llopis-debuts-with-paulino-mondo-and-hocker-vs-jakob-athletics-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Budapest Daily Preview: Llopis Debuts with Paulino, Mondo and Hocker vs Jakob &#8211; Athletics News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"dynamic-entry-content\">\n<p>Budapest opens this Friday, September 11, a new chapter for world athletics. The <strong>World Athletics Ultimate Championship<\/strong> brings together for the first time in a single competition Olympic champions, world champions, Diamond League winners, and some of the season\u2019s standout athletes. It will be broadcast on Movistar+ from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>And it does so with a format that leaves little room for warming up. <strong>No preliminary rounds<\/strong>: in events with semifinals, only the top four from each race will advance to the final, while the 5,000 metres, relays and field events will be decided directly. From day one, the best will face off against one another.<\/p>\n<p>The opening day concentrates names such as <strong>Marileidy Paulino, Mondo Duplantis, Masai Russell, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Cole Hocker<\/strong>, and Ethan Katzberg, as well as the appearance of Quique Llopis in the 110 metres hurdles and the Spanish mixed 4\u00d7100 relay, a race scheduled at 7:08 p.m.<br \/>\nPaulino Reemerges as the Benchmark in the 400 Metres<\/p>\n<p>The women\u2019s 400 metres will stage their semifinals on Friday, with the final planned for Saturday. Marileidy Paulino returns as one of the leading favourites after dominating much of the season and also taking the Diamond League title.<\/p>\n<p>The Dominican arrives with <strong>48.48<\/strong>, the year\u2019s best world mark, but she will have to overcome a field of enormous quality. Salwa Eid Naser, one of the few athletes who has managed to defeat her recently, will be among her main rivals, along with Aaliyah Butler, Henriette J\u00e6ger, Natalia Bukowiecka or Nickisha Pryce.<\/p>\n<p>The level is reflected in a fact: <strong>12 of the 16 participants have gone under 50 seconds this season<\/strong>. The fight to reach the final will therefore be practically a pre-final.<\/p>\n<p>Werro, Bol and Hodgkinson\u2019s Return<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>800 metres for women<\/strong> present another of the day\u2019s great duels. Audrey Werro arrives as one of the standout athletes of 2026 and remains unbeaten outdoors after pushing her best time to <strong>1:53.70<\/strong>, the third-fastest mark in history.<\/p>\n<p>Her rivalry with Femke Broeders-Bol has produced some of the season\u2019s closest finishes. In the Brussels Diamond League final, Werro managed to prevail by just six hundredths: <strong>1:54.75 to 1:54.81<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Joining them is <strong>Keely Hodgkinson<\/strong>, Olympic champion, who returns to competition after the physical issues that prevented her from taking part in Zurich and in the Diamond League final. The Briton has not competed since her defeat to Werro at the European Championships in Birmingham, so her form will be one of the great unknowns in Budapest.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"c-mainarticle__fig is-video\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f TERTULIA DIAMOND LEAGUE ZURICH: Dos WR \ud83c\udf0d y un carrer\u00f3n de 800 metros \ud83d\udca5\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/x4U4lbhXjv0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p><figcaption class=\"c-mainarticle__cap\">We talk about the Tremendous Zurich Diamond League.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Russell Aims to End the Year with Another World Title<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>100 metres hurdles<\/strong> will crown a champion this Friday, and Masai Russell arrives as the clear favourite. The American remains unbeaten in 2026 and has just raised the world record to <strong>12.09<\/strong> in Zurich.<\/p>\n<p>Russell later underscored her superiority with a victory in the Brussels Diamond League final, where she ran 12.20. Now she will look to close an extraordinary season with another major title.<\/p>\n<p>The former world record holder <strong>Tobi Amusan<\/strong>, the European champion <strong>Nadine Visser<\/strong>, and <strong>Devynne Charlton<\/strong> appear as the main threats to a athlete who seems to have reached a higher level this season.<\/p>\n<p>Three Champions Face Off in the High Jump<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>women\u2019s high jump<\/strong> will be one of the most open events of the opening day. The world record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh will face Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson, three athletes accustomed to sharing major international titles.<\/p>\n<p>Mahuchikh still holds the year\u2019s best mark thanks to the <strong>2.03 metres<\/strong> achieved indoors, though her late-season run has been less dominant. Olyslagers and Patterson have reached <strong>2.02 metres outdoors<\/strong>, with the latter also arriving after winning the Diamond League final.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>long jump<\/strong> also presents no indisputable favorite. The absence of Tara Davis-Woodhall opens the competition completely. The Italian <strong>C Larissa Iapichino<\/strong>, European champion and this year\u2019s national record holder with <strong>7.12 metres<\/strong>, appears among the leading candidates, though she arrives after being defeated by Monae\u2019 Nichols in Brussels.<\/p>\n<h2>Kebinatshipi Seeks to Be the No. 1 in the 400<\/h2>\n<p>In the men\u2019s category, the <strong>400 metres<\/strong> will run semifinals with Collen Kebinatshipi as one of the big names. The Botswana athlete has dominated the specialty for much of the year and arrives after running <strong>43.40 in Brussels<\/strong>, a national record.<\/p>\n<p>His time stood just two hundredths above the World Leader of the year, Samuel Ogazi, who has posted 43.38. Kebinatshipi will look to finish 2026 as the top of the rankings, although he will have to overcome rivals such as Jereem Richards, who ran 43.68 in Brussels, or Rai Benjamin, who this year has split his time between the 400 metres hurdles and his usual presence in the hurdles, clocking <strong>43.83<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2>Ingebrigtsen and Hocker Meet in the 5,000 Metres<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>men\u2019s 5,000 metres<\/strong> will offer one of the most unpredictable races of the day. The absence of the Diamond League winner, Birhanu Balew, leaves the field even more open in a race that will be run directly to the final.<\/p>\n<p>In it will be Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Cole Hocker, two of the sport\u2019s top middle-distance figures. The Norwegian continues to regain his form after physical issues, while the American will tackle his first 5,000 of the season in Budapest.<\/p>\n<p>Alongside them will be Addisu Yihune, the world ranking leader, Parker Wolfe, Grant Fisher, Graham Blanks, Nico Young or the Burundian Egide Ntakarutimana, especially dangerous if the race comes together in the final laps.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"c-mainarticle__fig\"><figcaption class=\"c-mainarticle__cap\">Cole Hocker celebrating his Olympic 1500m title in Paris. VSM PHOTOEVENTS.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>Duplantis Returns to Competition with Uncertainty<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>men\u2019s pole vault<\/strong> could be one of Friday\u2019s great spectacles. Mondo Duplantis returns to competition after a season in which he once again pushed the limits of his own world record to <strong>6.31 metres<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>However, there is a small doubt about his fitness. The Swede withdrew from the Diamond League final after feeling discomfort during warm-ups.<\/p>\n<p>His absence in Brussels allowed <strong>Emmanouil Karalis<\/strong> to claim one of the most significant victories of his career. The Greek has reached <strong>6.20 metres<\/strong> this year and is establishing himself as the main athlete capable of nearing Duplantis\u2019 dominance.<\/p>\n<p>Also present will be Kurtis Marschall, who in Stockholm this year finally ended nearly three years of undefeated streaks for the Swedish star.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-mainarticle__main-media\" data-ck-asset-wrapper=\"\">\n<figure class=\"c-mainarticle__fig\"><figcaption class=\"c-mainarticle__cap\">Armand Duplantis celebrating his world title won in Tokyo last year. EFE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Katzberg vs Hal\u00e1sz: the Duel Budapest Expects<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>men\u2019s hammer<\/strong> will pit two of the event\u2019s great names against each other. Ethan Katzberg, Olympic and World champion, will challenge the Hungarian <strong>Bence Hal\u00e1sz<\/strong>, the world leader of the year with <strong>84.25 metres<\/strong> and recent European champion.<\/p>\n<p>Hal\u00e1sz also has an extra factor: the home crowd. And he arrives with a particularly interesting angle: he was precisely the last athlete to defeat Katzberg.<\/p>\n<p>The Canadian has not tasted defeat for over a year and will also return to the stage where he captured his first world title in 2023. All signs point to one of the night\u2019s most anticipated clashes.<\/p>\n<h2>Llopis Looks to Break into the Top Tier<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>110 metres hurdles<\/strong> will resolve semifinals and final on the same day. Ja\u2019Kobe Tharp arrives as the favorite after running <strong>12.75<\/strong>, a world record, and also winning the Diamond League.<\/p>\n<p>The American will face Jamal Britt, winner of five Diamond League meetings this year, and the world champion Cordell Tinch.<\/p>\n<p>Among them will be <strong>Enrique Llopis<\/strong>, who will need to first overcome a highly demanding semifinal to reach a final in which only eight places will be available. The Spaniard thus faces one of the season\u2019s big milestones.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-mainarticle__main-media\" data-ck-asset-wrapper=\"\">\n<figure class=\"c-mainarticle__fig\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Quique Llopis, en el centro, finalizando cuarto los 110 metros vallas de Pari\u0301s 2024. SPORTMEDIA.\" data-id=\"13544323\" data-resize=\"null\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/www.athletics.co.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789126149_122_Budapest-Daily-Preview-Llopis-Debuts-with-Paulino-Mondo-and-Hocker.jpeg\" title=\"Quique Llopis, en el centro, finalizando cuarto los 110 metros vallas de Pari\u0301s 2024. SPORTMEDIA.\" width=\"1920\"\/><figcaption class=\"c-mainarticle__cap\">Quique Llopis, center, finishing fourth in the 110 metres hurdles at Paris 2024. SPORTMEDIA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>A Championship Designed to Bring the Best Together<\/p>\n<p>The Ultimate Championship thus kicks off without a presentation day. <strong>From the very first day there will be Olympic champions, world champions, world record holders and season leaders competing directly for a new title.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That is precisely the aim of this new World Athletics competition: to bring together in one venue a large portion of the planet\u2019s best athletes and to offer direct clashes with very little recovery time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Corredor Magazine will be in Budapest with reporters on site to cover the Ultimate Championship from the stadium, closely following Spanish athletes and the major international stars over the three days of competition.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.athletics.co.ke\/budapest-daily-preview-llopis-debuts-with-paulino-mondo-and-hocker-vs-jakob\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Budapest opens this Friday, September 11, a new chapter for world athletics. The World Athletics Ultimate Championship brings together for the first time in a single competition Olympic champions, world champions, Diamond League winners, and some of the season\u2019s standout athletes. It will be broadcast on Movistar+ from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. And it [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":262059,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6802],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-262058","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-athetics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=262058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/262059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=262058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=262058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=262058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}