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Bringing together Olympic and World Champions, Diamond League winners and the world’s best-performing athletes, the three-night Ultimate Championship competition features small, stacked fields, a fast-moving format and a record US$10million prize pool. And among that exclusive company will be four Kiwi women – Eliza McCartney, Zoe Hobbs, Imogen Ayris and Tori Moorby – who arrive in Budapest fresh from all standing on the podium at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. LockerRoom caught up with the quartet heading into World Athletics’ premier meeting of 2026 and asked them: The Ultimate Championships is a new concept — what appealed to you about competing in Budapest, and what are you most looking forward to about it? Eliza: The idea of a new global competition that’s innovative and exciting does really appeal to athletes and to fans. It’s so important for sport to keep evolving and being entertaining. Budapest is a fantastic place to jump and I really enjoy competing there. Zoe: The thing I rate most about these championships is that, it should have the very best athletes in the world competing, without the limitations of country count you’d normally see. The Commonwealth Games was the event we chose to prioritise peaking for this year, so at this point I am holding onto whatever form is left in the tank. Any competitions on this side of that are very much a bonus to the year. With a condensed programme it will be an action packed, quick format and it’ll be cool to see how some of the initiatives applied come to life like picking your own lanes in the 200m. The prize money on offer is another nice enticing factor too. Imogen: The biggest appeal is that it’s only the top eight in the world competing in the pole vault. Being able to identify myself as one of those eight is something that means a lot to me and is a very recent concept for me. It’s a great opportunity to test myself against the very best. I’m really looking forward to the atmosphere in Budapest, competing on such a big stage, and seeing how I can perform against the best in the world knowing that I can put up a great fight. Tori: The idea of bringing more hype and atmosphere to elite level athletics with slightly different formats for the events sounds fun. I think I’m most looking forward to returning to compete in the Budapest stadium. I really enjoyed it in 2023 at World Champs and so it’ll be cool to compete there again against a strong field of throwers. How would you sum up your 2026 season so far? Eliza: My 2026 season has exceeded my own expectations that I had for myself. I had a really difficult year in 2025 because my achilles took me out for most of the year. I competed twice. This year I’m looking at doing 11 competitions in total. I may not have jumped super high and the results across the whole year were a bit sporadic but obviously winning the Commonwealth Games and some of the more prominent jumps were really exciting. Overall, it’s been a really big success with the context of last year. We will be scrutinising this year and hoping to replicate it because its allowed me to turn up fit and healthy – that in my books is a really big win. Zoe: Looking at the international outdoor season as a whole, I’ll have spent 75% of my time overseas self-managing my campaign without my coach or support team around me. When I go to meets on the professional circuit, like the Diamond League and now the Ultimate Championships, I sometimes have to take a step back and put that into perspective. I’m competing at some of the biggest meets in the world while managing the majority of my campaign on my own. A lot of the European and American athletes have their coaches or therapists with them more regularly, and having that support around you can make a real difference when you’re trying to perform at this level. So when I look at the season through that lens, I’m pretty proud of what I’ve been able to put together and the consistent level of performance I’ve managed to sustain over the past few months. Imogen: It’s honestly quite hard to put into words. It’s been such a massive breakthrough year for me, and I’ve achieved things this season that I could only have dreamed of before. Jumping 4.70m for the first time back in January opened the door to so much, and since then I’ve gone on to consistently jump over 4.70m (11 times now!) and vault a PB of 4.81m – which is something I’m incredibly proud of. To medal at World Indoors and the Commonwealth Games, win multiple Gold-level meets, qualify for the Diamond League Final and secure an automatic qualification standard for the 2027 World Championships has been surreal – it’s given me so much belief and excitement about what’s possible. Tori: It’s been a roller coaster! I’ve had some good placing results with winning my first Oceania title and a silver at the Commonwealth Games, but my distances have not been as consistent or as far as I had hoped to produce this season. In saying that, this season has had many challenges and been one of the hardest seasons to manage in my whole career. But I’ve being given a cool opportunity now to compete at the first ever Ultimate Champs and I’m so looking forward to it! You came away from the Glasgow Commonwealth Games with a medal — what did that medal mean to you? Eliza: The years of injury, missing out on the 2022 Games and coming second on the Gold Coast – there was a lot around the Commonwealth Games that I felt like that I hadn’t quite done what I’d wanted to yet. That didn’t necessarily mean winning gold it just meant doing myself justice. I felt in the comp in Glasgow, that’s what I was able to do. I was able to do myself justice. Glasgow was not the easiest competition but I was really proud of how I handled it. I think that’s what really speaks to what sport is…you can work away all the time and nothing is ever guaranteed. The medal represents that determination – to keep going, keep being there, if you love something and want to keep doing it you just need to keep showing up. Zoe: It represents years of quietly chipping away and turning up consistently, time after time, year after year. There are no guarantees in sport, but seeing our approach all come together at the right time, in the moment that mattered most, is something we can be incredibly proud of (medal aside). There’s something pretty indescribable about reaching a point you once weren’t sure was possible. To stand on top of a major championship podium is the ultimate cherry on the top and made the moment incredibly special. Imogen: To be honest, probably even more than the bronze I won in 2022. In 2022, the medal was a bit of a surprise – I was young, there wasn’t really any expectation on me, and it felt like a bit of a happy accident. This time was completely different. I came into the Games with expectation and pressure, but also with four years of work, sacrifices and a lot of changes behind me. I knew I belonged in that field, and I knew I could compete for a medal, so to deliver and come away with another bronze felt really rewarding. The colour of the medal was the same, but what it represented was completely different. In 2022 it showed me what might be possible; this time it felt like proof of how far I’ve come and that all the work has been worth it. Tori: That medal meant so much to me. The medal was the reward for 10+ years of hard work, early morning trainings, lessons, losses and learnings – just to name a few. When I look at that medal, I can’t help but smile because I just see all the people who have been in my corner and believed in me over those 10-plus years and who continue to ride on the journey with me What’s one moment from Glasgow that will stick with you beyond the medal itself? Eliza: The support after I won gold was something that I wasn’t expecting and it hit me hard. I guess I wasn’t expecting that so many people were following along on my journey over the years. People could resonate with periods of injury or how people have just had to persevere through difficult times and then come out the other side. I also know how much the Commonwealth Games means to Kiwis. I did know that but I guess it really hit home when it did happen and the support came in. It’s an incredible thing to be able to represent your country and truly feel everyone supporting you. Zoe: It all coming together at the right time on the right day in the right moment. Getting to celebrate that live in the moment with those who helped make that possible for me was very special. Imogen: For sure, having the Pou Tangata haka performed for Eliza and me trackside immediately after the competition. We were still in the stadium, with the New Zealand flag around our shoulders, and having the NZ team come together to do the haka for us was such a special moment. It was emotional and something I’ll never forget. It felt like a proud moment of representing New Zealand and being able to share that with the team. Tori: Getting to do my medal ceremony at the NZ House with the Silver Ferns felt like a crazy full circle childhood moment because when I was a young girl, I thought I was going to be a Silver Fern. My sister played netball to a high level and that netball pathway seemed like the obvious option for me. So here I was, standing on the stage with the team most young kiwi girls back then idolised. I stood there as a javelin thrower, that took a bit of a punt and originally had no idea how to get to the Commonwealth Games, let alone get a silver medal. We’re getting towards the end of a pretty big year — what does the rest of 2026 look like for you after Budapest? Eliza: I get to finally come home after 4 months away competing! It’s like a long day at work and finally been able to relax for me. I will have some time off from training for a few weeks and then it’s back into for me. It never stops because there’s always another competition to prepare for. Zoe: I have one more competition after Budapest before I sign off for 2026 – Athlos in London. After that, I’m on my final leg home and get to be on a training break for a few weeks. Imogen: After Budapest, I’m taking three weeks completely off training, which I think I’ll really appreciate after such a big and long season. Budapest will be my 23rd competition of the year, so both my body and mind will be ready for some rest and recovery. I’m also looking forward to having some time to properly reflect on the year I’ve had and, rather than immediately moving on to the next goal, take a moment to be proud of what I’ve achieved and let it all sink in. It’s been an incredible year, and I don’t want to rush past that. Tori: Hopefully no more long-haul travel! There’s plenty on the cards, but the top of my list is some quality time at home with my people – Cam, my family, my friends. This year’s challenges have made it hard for me to be as present with them as I’d like. Spending some quality time with them will be well overdue! Of course, there’s also work – we’ve got a big summer ahead of athletics with the St Peter’s School team. And looking ahead to the Kiwi summer — what’s the plan? Eliza: I’m hoping to do hybrid season between some domestic competitions and then an international indoor season. Whenever I can I do try to compete at home. Competing in front of my family and friends but also the Kiwi public and supporters, that’s a really important part of what it means to be an athlete in New Zealand. Zoe: It sounds boring but I always mostly look forward to the simplicity of slipping back into familiar old routine from the comforts of home – sleeping from my own bed, not having to live out of a suitcase on the move and being able to be surrounded by my people again after spending months away from home. Bring it on. Imogen: I’m planning on being in Europe for another indoor season from January through March. I really love the indoor season – the meets are amazing, the competition is always strong, and I feel like it gives me such a good opportunity to build momentum early in the year. I love the energy of competing week after week and being around the best vaulters, so I’m really looking forward to getting back out there and building towards the outdoor season. Tori: Aside from training and preparations for the 2027 season, I’m looking forward to Christmas with my family down south and some outdoor adventures in Central Otago. Plenty of BBQ’s, sunshine and swimming at the lakes and beaches.