
2025 World Athletics Championships

Contents
- 2025 World Athletics Championships
- Where and When Will the 2025 World Athletics Championships Be Held?
- Which Athletes Will Take Part in the 2025 World Athletics Championships?
- Features of the 2025 World Athletics Championships
- Competition format and structure: Event progression is structured through rounds to finals
- Which Athletes Will Win Their Respective Disciplines in the 2025 World Athletics Championships?
- Pros and Cons of the 2025 World Athletics Championships Favorites
- FAQs
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The championships are organized by WA (formerly known as the International Association of Athletics Federations /IAAF/), the international governing body for the sport of athletics, in partnership with the Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF).
Where and When Will the 2025 World Athletics Championships Be Held?
The 2025 World Athletics Championships are scheduled from September 13 to September 21, 2025. Approximately 2,000 athletes from around 200 countries are expected to participate.
All events will be hosted at the Japan National Stadium, rebuilt for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. There’s a total prize money pot of US$8,498,000 allocated for the championships. World Athletics typically distributes prize money to individual winners and relay teams across various placements (e.g., first, second, and third), but specific distribution details per placement haven’t yet been publicly disclosed in the sources available.
Which Athletes Will Take Part in the 2025 World Athletics Championships?
The names of confirmed participants aren’t finalized yet, as national federations make selections once the qualification window closes and internal criteria are met. However, generally, the world’s top performers—like Olympic and world champions, world record-holders, and standout athletes—are expected to compete. Some individual events already list qualified athletes—for example, the men’s 100m includes Noah Lyles, Fred Kerley, Andre de Grasse, and others, while the women’s 100m field includes Sha’Carri Richardson, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Dina Asher-Smith, Marie-Josée Ta Lou Smith, and more. In short, while many top stars are anticipated, the definitive entry list will only be published by World Athletics once national federations confirm final selections.
Athletes can qualify for the championships through multiple pathways. World Athletics has adopted a hybrid qualification system (dual-pathway model):
Entry standards
Each event has a set performance standard (e.g., times, distances, heights). About 50% of available spots per event are expected to be filled by athletes who achieve these standards during designated qualification windows. Qualification windows vary by event category:
- Marathon & 35 km race walk: November 5, 2023 – May 4, 2025
- 10,000 m, 20 km race walk, combined events, relays: February 25, 2024 – August 24, 2025
- All other events: August 1, 2024 – August 24, 2025.
World Rankings
The remaining ~50% of spots are filled based on athletes’ positions in the World Athletics Rankings during the qualification period. For relays, qualification is via placements at the 2025 World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou (top 14 teams per relay event), plus up to 2 additional teams based on the top lists.
Special provisions
- Marathons & area championships: Top 5 finishers in Platinum Label marathons and winners of area (continental) championships (excluding the marathon) automatically achieve entry, regardless of standard.
- 10,000 m via Cross Country Tour: The top 3 athletes (not already qualified) from the 2024–25 World Athletics Cross Country Tour get entry into the 10,000 m event.
Wild cards
- Reigning 2023 World Champions and 2025 Diamond League Champions receive wild card entries. Only one wild card per country-event is allowed; if a country holds both titles in a given event with different athletes, they must choose which wild card to apply. Wild card entries can allow federations to field a fourth athlete in that event, beyond the standard three-member limit.
- Continental champions or leaders in certain tour circuits may also receive special consideration, depending on the rules per event and region.
- Backfill via World Rankings: If quotas aren’t filled via standards or wild cards, additional athletes are invited based on world rankings as of the cutoff (likely late August 2025).
Features of the 2025 World Athletics Championships
While the 2025 World Athletics Championships don’t use the term “stages”, the event spans 9 consecutive competition days. These 9 days are divided into 14 stadium sessions, with events scheduled across morning and evening sessions throughout.
Session timing pattern
- Morning sessions occur on Saturdays, Sundays, and on Monday, September 15 (a national holiday in Japan)—ideal for road events like race walks and marathons.
- Evening sessions handle most track and field finals on weekdays and are designed to maximize excitement.
Competition format and structure: Event progression is structured through rounds to finals
- Most events (e.g., sprints, middle- and long-distance races, hurdles) follow a traditional, i.e., standard progression: heat → semifinal → final.
- Field events (jumps, throws) typically have qualification rounds followed by finals.
The official daily schedule outlines where each round takes place—morning heats and evening semifinals/finals. For example,
men’s and women’s 100m
- Heats: Morning of Day 2 (14 Sept)
- Semifinals and finals: Evening of Day 2
Road events
- Men’s and women’s 35 km race walks (morning), mixed 4×400m relay final (evening): Day 1 (Sept. 13)
- Women’s marathon: Morning of Day 2
- Men’s marathon: Morning of Day 3
- 20 km race walks (both genders): Morning of Day 8 (Sept. 20)
Semifinals & finals lane expansion will undergo a significant update in 2025: These 2 rounds in lane track events will now use all 9 lanes when available, instead of the traditional 8. The top 3 athletes in each semifinal now advance to a 9-person final.
Which Athletes Will Win Their Respective Disciplines in the 2025 World Athletics Championships?
Top-ranked contenders on the overall World Rankings are a safe bet, of course. Historical betting insight includes a parlay of clear favorites:
- Armand Duplantis (pole vault)
- Femke Bol (400m hurdles)
- Faith Kipyegon (1,500m and 5,000m)
- Jakob Ingebrigtsen (1,500m and 5,000m)
- Ryan Crouser (shot put)
- Noah Lyles (100m and 200m)
Experts anticipate Team USA to top the medal table—historically dominant, and priced accordingly in betting markets.
Specialized athletics betting platforms, with great odds and promotions, include:
- International sites: bet365, Coral, Unibet, Betfred, NetBet, LeoVegas (each of which is ranked as the top betting website on some rating platform)
- Athletics-focused portals: ThePuntersPage, OLBG provide strategic guides and event-specific bets (outright winners, medalists, matchups).
Betting on form rather than star power often yields better value, especially in athletics, where outcomes can be less predictable.
The inaugural World Athletics Championships were held in 1983, initiated due to dissatisfaction with relying on Olympic titles. Initially quadrennial, it changed to a biennial schedule starting in 1991. Growth in participation and viewership can be best portrayed by the fact that the 1983 edition had 1,333 athletes from 153 countries, while now there will be about 2,000 athletes from nearly 200 nations.
Global coverage of the tournament is reserved to several countries:
- USA: Exclusive streaming via NBC and Peacock.
- Australia: Free-to-air and live coverage on Nine Network / 9Now. Also, SBS Sport has rights through 2025.
- Europe and beyond: Likely broadcast through Eurosport, which holds rights for World Athletics events across numerous European countries.
Global streaming
- The World Athletics “Where to Watch” page provides regional broadcast partners.
- WorldAthletics.org may stream events live, subject to regional rights.
Pros and Cons of the 2025 World Athletics Championships Favorites
ATHLETE / EVENT | Armand Duplantis – Men’s pole vault | Faith Kipyegon – Women’s 1,500m & 5,000m | Noah Lyles – Men’s 100m & 200m | Femke Bol – Women’s 400m hurdles |
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