Anete Sietiņa the only Baltic athlete competing at new "Ultimate Championship"

The newly established "Ultimate Championship," created by the international athletics federation, continues today in Budapest, Hungary. The format was designed for years when neither a world championship nor the Olympic Games take place, offering a way to determine the world's best athletes. Only a limited number of events are included, and spots are scarce — just 16 athletes qualified in running events, and only eight in throwing and jumping events.

From the Baltic states, only one athlete secured qualification — Latvian javelin thrower Anete Sietiņa. Automatic qualification required a win at a major global competition: the Olympics, the World Championships, or the Diamond League. Sietiņa, the current world vice-champion, qualified thanks to her high fifth-place position in the world rankings, largely built on her strong performance at last year's World Championships, where she threw 63.67 meters in qualification and 64.64 meters in the final. This season her best result is 60.05 meters, only the 39th-best mark in the world this year.

Tough competition ahead

Sietiņa faces stiff competition tonight — five of the seven competitors have thrown beyond 65 meters this season. Standing out is 18-year-old Chinese thrower Ziji Jana, who has raised her personal best to 71.74 meters, second only to Barbora Špotáková's world record of 72.28 meters. Colombian athlete Flora Urtado also exceeded 67.34 meters this season, achieving that mark in early August, and will take part in tonight's competition as well.

In throwing events, the "Ultimate" format gives athletes fewer attempts than standard competitions, raising the cost of mistakes. All eight athletes are guaranteed only two throws, after which the six best continue to a third attempt, while only the top four proceed to a fourth and final throw. Sietiņa will compete with start number five, with the competition scheduled to begin at 19:13 Latvian time.