Founded in 1913, the World Athletics Championship is the biggest track and field meeting of the year for most elite athletes. It is held over a thrilling nine days in the summer and contested by the best athletes in the sport.
The championships were created to drag track and field into the modern era. It was Dutchman Adriaan Paulen, president of the International Amateur Athletic Federation (now World Athletics) for 64 years, who pushed for change. He wanted a separate event to the Olympics, which he felt were overshadowing the sport.
It was a bold move that proved successful. It helped bring in the big names like Carl Lewis and Grete Waitz. It also spawned stars like Ed Moses and Daley Thompson. And it brought in a number of new events to the sport, including the 3000 metres steeplechase and the mixed 4 x 400m relay.
The event also featured some of the most spectacular finishes in history. For example, Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson won the heptathlon with the narrowest margin of victory in its history – and she was only denied a clean sweep of gold medals by a dropped baton in the final discipline.
The 2025 edition will take place in Tokyo from 13-21 September. This will be the second time the city has hosted the event. It is one of the biggest events in the sport’s calendar, attracting more than 2000 athletes from 200 countries.