Thea Lafond, Julien Alfred, Marileidy Paulino qualifies for Inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026

Three Caribbean star athletes including, Thea Lafond-Gadson, Marileidy Paulino and Julien Alfred have secured their place as the first qualifiers for the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026. Tournament scheduled to take place in Budapest from 11th to 13th September, 2026, will feature a diverse array of races, relays and field events, providing athletes an opportunity to showcasing their skills, abilities and techniques on an international platform. 

Recently, the organizers have announced the names of 26 athletes, who have been qualified for the World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026. Notably, the Caribbean trio delivered standout performances at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, etching their names not only into sporting history and early entries into the World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026. 

Thea Lafond-Gadson’s historic victory at Paris Olympics 2024 

 Thea Lafond Gason registered a historic victory in the women’s triple jump, claiming gold medal for her island at the Paris Olympics 2024. She broke the national record with a jump of 15.02 meters and represented the best jump for 2024 to win the first-ever Olympic medal for Dominica. Thea Lafond is now looking to showcase her dominance on the ultimate stage of World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026. 

Julien Alfred’s standout performance at Paris Olympics 2024 

Julien Alfred became the first Saint Lucian to win the first-ever Olympic Gold and Silver medal for Saint Lucia at the Paris Olympics 2024. She clocked the time of 10.72sec in 100m, securing the first-ever Olympic gold medal. She later clocked the time of 22.08 seconds in 200m to win the silver medal for her nation. With her remarkable victory, Alfred is expected to headline the Saturday night 100m final, one of the marquee events in the Budapest schedule.

Marileidy Paulino remarkable performance in Paris 

Dominican Republic’s Marileidy Paulino also remained the standout performer in the women’s 400m in Paris. Following her remarkable performance at Paris Olympics, Paulino has now set her sights high for the World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026. Is it correct grammatically 

26 Qualifiers announced for World Athletics Ultimate Championship 2026

·         100m: Julien Alfred and Noah Lyles

·         200m: Gabby Thomas and Letsile Tebogo

·         400m: Marileidy Paulino and Quincy Hall

·         800m: Keely Hodgkinson and Emmanuel Wanyonyi

·         1500m: Faith Kipyegon and Cole Hocker

·         5000m: Beatrice Chebet and Jakon Ingebrigtsen

·         100m/110m hurdles: Masai Russell and Grant Holloway

·         400m hurdles: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Rai Benjamin

·         High Jump: Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Hamish Kerr

·         Pole Vault: Nina Kennedy and Mondo Duplantis

·         Long Jump: Tara Davis-Woodhall and Miltiadis Tentoglou

·         Women’s Triple Jump: Thea Lafond 

·         Men’s Hammer: Ethan Katzberg

·         Javelin: Haruka Kitaguchi and Arshad Nadeem