Sebastian Coe leant on his Sheffield roots when describing the new World Athletics Ultimate Championship as a “blast furnace” to help cast and shape the future of the sport. Although for the athletes invited to take part, the more pressing matter is winning some of the hefty prize money.Coe was speaking on the eve of this weekend’s inaugural event in Budapest and in his last year as World Athletics president, a position he’s held since 2015, he also said the Ultimate Championship would provide “a compelling glimpse into the future and the potential of this sport ... which at its best is untouchable”.In truth, the only attraction for the athletes is the record $10 million purse – including the largest ever winner’s prize of $150,000 – which has drawn the majority of reigning Olympic or World champions, including in the three events with Irish interest.For Mark English, Sharlene Mawdsley and Rhasidat Adeleke, Budapest will also present what feels like different opportunities, given their contrasting fortunes over the season to date.English will line up in the second of two 800 metres semi-finals on Saturday evening (5.34pm Irish time), his first race since winning the European title in Birmingham just over four weeks ago. He has avoided Olympic and World champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi from Kenya, who has also run the fastest time this year with his 1:41.76, but still faces some daunting opposition. Only the top four in each semi-final will progress to Sunday’s final.At 33, English may be the oldest of the 16 runners, but with no pacemakers and tactics now paramount, he’s also the most experienced. He does have Djamel Sedjati from Algeria and Marco Arop from Canada for company, second and third fastest in the world this year, but given he’s been back training at altitude in Sierra Nevada with this race in mind, English should be primed to press for another final.The eighth and last-place finisher in the final still gets $10,000, and while English already pocketed $20,000 for winning the 800m at the Diamond League in Shanghai back in May, a place inside the top four on Sunday would result in the biggest single pay-day of his career.Mawdsley is the first of the trio of Irish athletes in action when she lines up in her 400m semi-final on Friday evening (6.38pm Irish time). She will have the Olympic and World champion Marileidy Paulino for company, with the Dominican Republic athlete starting in lane six and Mawdsley in lane three. Olympic silver medallist Salwa Eid Naser from Bahrain also starts in lane eight.Sharlene Mawdsley competing in the 200m at the National Senior Track & Field Championships at Morton Stadium in Dublin. Photograph: Mark Kavanagh/Sportsfile This will feel like bonus territory for Mawdsley, who clocked a lifetime best of 50.06 seconds at the Paris Diamond League in June, but looked to have sustained a season-ending injury at the National Championships in Santry at the end of July. After making a winning return to racing on Tuesday, winning the 400m in Rovereto in Italy in 50.58, the Tipperary athlete can also sign off her season with her biggest pay-day to date.Mawdsley is the only athlete in her semi-final not to have broken 50 seconds, although she’s certainly earned her right to be there mixing it with the best of them.[ Mary McAleese’s accusations cannot be waved off by the GAA – they need to get integration rightOpens in new window ]For Adeleke, who turned 24 at the end of last month, the Ultimate Championship also provides something of an end-of-season bonus, although she’s set to race again over 200m in London next Friday at the all-women Athlos meeting, where the winners of each event take home $60,000.Again, Adeleke is part of a daunting line-up in Sunday’s 200m. Drawn in lane two in the first of the semi-finals (5.44pm), she’ll have Olympic champion Gabby Thomas and World champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, both from the US, in the lanes outside her. Adeleke’s national record of 22.28, set when winning the silver medal at last month’s European Championships in Birmingham, ranks her fourth best on times this season, so making that eight-woman final, the last event on Sunday evening, is certainly within her reach.Ultimate Championship Irish Schedule (all times Irish, live coverage on BBC)Friday – 6.38pm: Sharlene Mawdsley, women’s 400m semi-finals.Saturday – 5.08pm: Sharlene Mawdsley, women’s 400m final (pending qualification); 5.34pm: Mark English, men’s 800m semi-finals.Sunday – 5.44pm: Rhasidat Adeleke, women’s 200m semi-finals; 6.41pm: Mark English men’s 800m final (pending qualification); 7.49pm: Rhasidat Adeleke women’s 200m final (pending qualification).