When does it start?
The action kicks off at 11.30pm BST Friday night (7.30am local time) with the men’s and women’s 35km race walk. But do not worry about having to mainline caffeine for the next nine days to watch Noah Lyles, Keely Hodgkinson, Mondo Duplantis and Faith Kipyegon go for gold. All the track finals will be staged in the evening in Tokyo, between 11am and 2.30pm BST, and be shown on the BBC in the UK. The championships end on Sunday 21 September.
How are Team GB expected to fare?
Four years ago in Budapest, Great Britain won a record-equalling 10 medals, including golds for Josh Kerr in the 1500m and Katarina Johnson-Thompson in the heptathlon. That success was fuelled by relay medals and UK Athletics are hoping for a repeat. The big favourite is Hodgkinson in the women’s 800m and the Olympic champion could be joined on the podium by her room-mate and training partner, Georgia Hunter-Bell. Kerr, in the 1500m, and Matthew Hudson-Smith, in the men’s 400m, also believe they can win gold.
Keely Hodgkinson will aim to win her first gold medal at a world championships after taking top prize at the Paris Olympics. Photograph: Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters
What is the weather in Tokyo like?
Brutally hot and humid. At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, World Athletics moved the marathons to Sapporo due to heat concerns. This time around the unseasonably hot weather has forced them to push back the start time for the women’s race on Sunday and the men’s on Monday to 7.30am local time (from 8am). But with temperatures about 35C (95F), expect slow times and plenty of runners to pull out. Britain’s Emile Cairess, who was fourth in Paris, could sneak a medal.
What will be the race of the championships on the men’s side?
It is hard to look beyond an absolutely stacked 1500m. The Paris Games produced a classic, with Jakob Ingebrigtsen pushing hard but being overtaken by Kerr and the American Cole Hocker, who took a surprise gold. Those three are back, but this time there are an exciting crop of young superstars also in the mix. They are led by the brilliant Dutch 20-year-old Niels Laros. In last month’s Diamond League races in Brussels and Zurich, Laros ran his final 100m in a staggering 12.5sec. It makes him a worthy favourite. But it would be foolish to discount the veterans or the 18-year-old Kenyan Phanuel Koech, who has already run 3min 27sec.
And what about on the women’s side?
The 400m is sure to have a compelling three-way shootout. The favourite is the Olympic 400m hurdles champion, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who is bravely shifting events to take on the reigning Olympic champion, Marileidy Paulino, and the former world champion Salwa Eid Naser, who is back after a doping ban. Between them they hold the three fastest times this year with Naser’s 48.67sec a tiny bit quicker than her two rivals. It should be a classic.
What else whets the appetite?
The men’s 100m in Paris was settled by 0.005sec, with Lyles somehow pipping Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson on the line. The rematch between the pair should be compelling, with Lyles convinced he can pull it out when it matters again. However, he started his season late and has not won a 100m race all year and the bookies have Thompson as favourite. Another Jamaican, Oblique Seville, could beat them both if he can hold his nerve and get through the rounds.
Noah Lyles has backed himself to win the 100m event but he is not the favourite. Photograph: Til Buergy/AP
And on the women’s side?
The 5,000m could be a thriller with Kipyegon, the Olympic 1500m champion, taking on the Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m gold medallist, Beatrice Chebet. In 2023, Kipyegon won over 5,000m. In 2024, Chebet got revenge. Who will take round three?
Which emerging stars should we look out for?
Two immediately spring to mind. Gout Gout, the 17-year-old Australian who has run 10.17sec in the 100m and 20.02 in the 200m, and earned comparisons with Usain Bolt. And Sorato Shimizu, the 16-year-old Japanese schoolkid who ran 10.00 to break the 100m under-18 world record in July. That earned him a place in the 4x100m squad. Both are unlikely to win a medal, but they should underline their staggering potential.
Anything else to note?
Every female athlete will have undergone mandatory female sex-verification testing, via a cheek-swab SRY gene test. Seb Coe, the World Athletics president, has acknowledged there has been challenges with getting everyone tested in time but insists the policy – which is designed to protect the female category – had been “overwhelmingly backed by female athletes”.
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