In the world of professional track and field, there are few competitions as revered as a World Athletics Championship. To be crowned the ultimate champion in your sport is an incredibly rare honour, with the title carrying as much weight as Olympic gold for the planet’s elite runners, jumpers, throwers and race walkers. To even qualify for a World Championship is an achievement in itself, so it’s little wonder why the likes of Carl Lewis (100m, long jump and 4x100m relay), Mary Decker (marathon and 3000m double) and Sergey Bubka (pole vault) have all claimed world titles at the event.
It’s a competition that has been going on since 1983, with the inaugural edition staged in Helsinki. It was the first time that an official competition had been run with a full roster of events and the success helped keep track and field on people’s radar – shifting it from the once-every-four-years event that is the Summer Olympics to a fully fledged sport in its own right.
The next World Athletics Championship will take place in Tokyo from 13-21 September 2025. It will be the 20th edition of the tournament and, over the course of its history, a staggering fifteen world records have been set at the event. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt is the most successful athlete at claiming world championship gold, with four titles in his career. The championships are the highest-level competition for senior outdoor track and field events, with athletes competing in a full list of individual disciplines as well as a mixed 4x100m relay.