Women’s 1500m at World Athletics Ultimate Championships: Could be any of four athletes for the win

The women’s 1500 metres at the inaugural Budapest World Athletics Ultimate Championships arrives with an unusual vacancy. Any other year, Faith Kipyegon would be the prohibitive favourite. Her injury removes the sport’s most reliable closer and opens the door for a rare free‑for‑all.

Three athletes stand out: Great Britain’s Georgia Hunter‑Bell, Ethiopia’s Birke Haylom and Poland’s Klaudia Kazimierska. Australia’s Jessica Hull should be in the medals, but she is not immune to being outkicked.

Hunter‑Bell: strong season, long season

If there is a 1500m version of the 800m “race‑too‑often” cautionary tale, Hunter‑Bell may be the case study. She looked flat in Zürich, finishing fourth in the Diamond League final. It capped a long campaign that included 19 races indoors and out. The 32‑year‑old set a national indoor record at 3:58.53, and two weeks before Zürich, she ran a sharp 1:55.03 over 800m. The question is whether she has one more fast race in her legs.

Kazimierska: the late‑season hammer

Kazimierska arrives with the most momentum. On Aug. 3, she ran 3:55.59; on Sept. 5, she dropped a 3:54.05 in Brussels with a decisive final 200m. The 25‑year‑old raced 21 times this year, collecting four national records and six personal bests, including 1:58.11 (800m), 3:54.05 (1500m) and 4:21.36 (mile). She is the athlete trending upward at precisely the right moment.

Hull: always present, occasionally vulnerable

Hull has been too consistent for too long to dismiss. She raced 24 times this season, including a strong 3:54.73 in Brussels. But that sits nearly four seconds off her personal best from her silver‑medal run at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The lingering question: is she sharpening for this meet, or has she already spent her best work?

Haylom: early peak, late fade

Haylom, 20, is the 2022 world junior champion and won three Diamond League 1500m races in 2026 — Shanghai (3:55.56), Stockholm (4:00.68) and Doha (3:59.89). But her form collapsed after June. She finished eighth in Silesia, ninth in Brussels, and a disastrous 14th in the Monaco 3000m. A turnaround here would be difficult to justify based on recent evidence.

At this stage, Haylom should not factor in the medals.

Kenya’s Dorcus Ewoi has been in the top three at Pre, Silesia and Brussels. She should factor right to the line, but medalling is anyone’s guess.

Ewoi has only raced nine times this season, six of those races, she ran new personal bests including a 1500m in 3:54.72 on Sept. 5 in Brussels, finishing second behind Kazimierska.

Prediction:

1. Georgia Hunter Bell
2. Klaudia Kazimierska
3. Jessica Hull
4. Dorcus Ewoi (Hull and her could switch spots).

The field