The world’s top runners, jumpers, throwers and race walkers gather at World Championships to compete over the biggest prizes in track and field. The prestigious title of world champion can be just as valuable on an athlete’s CV as Olympic gold.
The competition takes place every two years, in even-numbered years between the Olympics. Each event is split into semi-finals and finals, with the world’s top ranked athletes competing to become the Ultimate Champion of their respective discipline.
As such, the competition is incredibly intense and fast-paced. The competition also offers a strong preview of what fans can expect to see at the following year’s Summer Olympics.
Spectating at World Championships is a unique experience and can be quite an inexpensive one, too. Tickets for each day are sold in blocks and start at $50. For a full nine-day pass, the cost is $500.
Worlds also provides a good look at the future stars of track and field. For example, the 2024 Olympic roster includes 139 athletes, nine of whom are previous world champions.
It can also be a bit of a wild ride, as was the case for US sprinter Noah Lyles in 2023. A golf cart transporting athletes to the 200-meter semis collided with another, causing injuries including shards of glass in the eye of Lyles.
The race was still on, though, and he ended up winning his first world title. Other highlights included Kenyan Faith Kipyegon winning the 1500-5000m double, Gianmarco Tambieri feeding off the roars of a massive crowd to win a record fifth major high jump gold and the jaw-dropping performances of Josh Kerr in the men’s 1500m and Zharnel Hughes in the mixed 4x100m relay.