The must-watch events at the World Championships

Nine days of captivating drama featuring the biggest track and field players in the world will kick off the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Saturday.

In the Japanese capital, 147 medals will be awarded across 49 competitions, totaling $8.5 million ($6.3 million).

Thursday, 18 September 11: 55 BST – heats, Friday, 19 September 12: 45 BST – semi-finals, Sunday, 21 September 11: 35 BST – final

Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson will compete in Tokyo as the gold medal favorite despite having to wait 12 months to recover from an injury to win the Olympic title.

The 23-year-old returned just four weeks before the World Championships after two torn hamstrings, but she made her fastest time since 2025 in her comeback, which she backed up with another victory at the Lausanne Diamond League victory last month.

Georgia Hunter Bell, a medalist in the 1500m, and fellow Briton Jemma Reekie, a fellow Briton, have joined training partner Hodgkinson and fellow Olympian Jemma Reekie in a podium fight.

Saturday, 13 September 12: 35 BST – heats, Sunday, 14 September 12: 43 BST – semi-finals and 14: 20 – final

After winning dramatic Olympic gold in Paris 2024, American Noah Lyles now competes for a third consecutive world 100m title.

The 28-year-old defeated Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson in the summer’s fastest race of all time, but his season’s best time of 9.90 seconds placed him only 11th in the world this year.

Thompson is the 2025’s top man in 9.75, while Oblique Seville, a native of Jamaica, completely outscores Lyles in August.

Gout Gout, an Australian teenager who has been compared to sprint legend Usain Bolt, will also receive attention.

Saturday, 13 September 10: 55 BST – heats, Sunday, 14 September 12: 20 BST – semi-finals and 14: 13 BST – final

In addition to Gabby Thomas, the only athlete who was able to deny her accomplishment last summer, St. Lucia’s Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred will attempt to complete the sprint double.

After capturing her Olympic silver medal, American Sha’Carri Richardson will fight to defend her world title, but Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who won the Paris 2024 bronze medal, has been the standout performer this year.

Jefferson-Wooden records an unmatched 10.65 seconds run, as well as five of the six fastest times this year, with her fourth-fastest time slot tied for Alfred’s best of 10.75 secs.

Sunday, 14 September 01: 35 BST – heats, Monday, 15 September 13: 30 BST – semi-finals, Wednesday, 17 September 14: 20 BST – final

Josh Kerr and Jakob Ingebrigtsen have their most recent duel, this time fully aware of the dangers that surround them.

In a two-year victory over Ingebrigtsen, Kerr, a defending champion, compared him to British team-mate Jake Wightman.

However, when American Cole Hocker defeated Kerr to win the gold medal in an Olympic record-setting setpiece, he gave the most unexpected twist to the most recent showdown between the two fierce rivals.

Friday, 19 September 09: 33 BST – 100m hurdles, 10: 20 BST – high jump, 12: 30 BST – shot put, 13: 38 BST – 200m, Saturday, 20 September 03: 30 BST – long jump, 11: 00 BST – javelin, 13: 11 BST – 800m

As both Belgian and British athletes compete for the title of three-time world champions in Tokyo, Katerina Johnson-Thompson and Nafi Thiam square off.

Johnson-Thompson won the previous four world titles while Thiam suffered a broken ankle.

In a dramatic 800-meter finale in Paris, Thiam defeated Johnson-Thompson to claim the gold medal, which he had already won three times.

Sunday, 14 September 10: 35 BST – heats, Tuesday, 16 September 13: 35 BST – semi-finals, Thursday, 18 September 14: 10 BST – final

Will Matthew Hudson-Smith’s defining moment take place in Tokyo?

The 30-year-old, who finished just 0.09 seconds clear of winning the world title at the previous two global championships, fell four-hundredth of a second behind American Quincy Hall at the Olympics.

His time of 43.44 seconds in Paris 2024, which is the fifth-fastest 400-meter runner in history, eclipsed that of his best time of 44.10, which included American Diamond League champion Jacory Patterson, who set the record for the fastest 400-meter runner in history.