World Athletics Ultimate Championships: Can Nathaniel Erase Brussels Disappointment In Budapest?

Ezekiel Nathaniel will be out to prove that his disappointing performance at the Diamond League Final in Brussels was nothing more than a bad day when he lines up among the world’s best 400m hurdlers at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest.

The Nigerian has been drawn in the second semifinal on Saturday, September 12, where he will start from lane six and face a formidable field headed by Norwegian star Karsten Warholm and Brazilian world record-holder Alison dos Santos.

But Nathaniel does not arrive in Budapest as an outsider. The 23-year-old Nigerian is ranked third in the field and owns a 47.11 personal best, credentials that have placed him among the world’s top four 400m hurdlers over the past two years.

His 2026 season has also been strong, with a 47.37 best, but his otherwise impressive campaign was given an unexpected blemish by his run in Brussels. Nathaniel will now have an immediate opportunity to put that performance behind him.

The Nigerian’s semifinal, scheduled for 8:08 p.m. local time, is loaded with quality.

Warholm, the former world record-holder and one of the most decorated 400m hurdlers in history, has a 45.94 personal best and has run 46.52 this season.

Dos Santos has taken the event to another level this year, producing a world record of 45.80 in Zürich on August 27. The performance is still pending ratification but currently stands as the world-leading mark.

Rai Benjamin, another Olympic and global championship giant, is also in the first semifinal, where he owns a 46.17 personal best and a 46.67 season’s best.

Nathaniel’s heat also includes Brazil’s Matheus Lima, who has run 47.26 this season, American Caleb Dean, whose personal best is 47.23, Qatar’s Bassem Hemeida, Turkey’s İsmail Nezir, Botswana’s Kemorena Tisang and Germany’s Owe Fischer-Breiholz.

Only the first four finishers will automatically qualify for the final, making Nathaniel’s task demanding but by no means beyond him.

If he advances as expected, Nathaniel will then have the opportunity to confront the biggest names in the event once again in the final, with the inaugural Ultimate Championships title and its $150,000 winner’s prize at stake.