Defending champions andTokyo Olympic gold medallists are among the 2000 athletes taking part at 2023 World Athletics Championships in the Hungarian capital Budapest from 19-27 August.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the most decorated sprinter in World Championship history, is bidding for a sixth 100m individual title.
American Fred Kerley could become the first man to retain the men’s 100m crown since Usain Bolt in 2015.
Can triple world record holder Faith Kipyegon clinch a historic third 1500m world title?
And will record-breaking pole vaulter Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis raise the bar further in Budapest?
Here are some of the storylines well worth following over the nine days of the championships.
- Faith Kipyegon on pushing her legacy beyond titles and going for the 800m world record "if the chance comes"
- Karsten Warholm: The race for his 400m hurdles world record
- Erriyon Knighton on his goals for the 200m: “I actually want to go sub-19”
- Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson lead Jamaican team for World Athletics Championships
Athletes to watch at the 2023 World Athletics Championships
Who will rule the sprint events in Budapest?
Since Bolt joined Maurice Greene and Carl Lewis as three-time men's 100m world champions in 2015, no one has retained the title.
With 2017 winner Justin Gatlin retired, fellow Americans Christian Coleman (2019) and reigning champ Kerley (2022) can join that elite group of multiple world 100m champions.
But it looks a wide open event with reigning world 200m champion Noah Lyles eyeing a sprint double and Africa’s two fastest men, Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya and South African Akani Simbine, showing great form as they bid to give their nations first men's 100m world medals.
The fastest man in the world this year is Britain's Zharnel Hughes with Bolt's former training partner clocking 9.83 seconds to break Linford Christie's 30-year-old national record.
In the 200m, Lyles faces strong opposition from close to home in the form of world and Olympic silver medallist Kenny Bednarek and teen sensation Erriyon Knighton.
But a bigger threat could come from Botswana's exciting youngster Letsile Tebogo who was just three-hundredths behind Lyles when he clocked the fastest time of 2023 - a 19.47 - at last month's London Diamond League.
Olympic champion Andre De Grasse has not enjoyed the best of seasons, failing to qualify in the 100m, but showed improved form to win the Canadian trials over 200m.
The women's 100m is one of the most anticipated events in Budapest with Fraser-Pryce taking on compatriot Shericka Jackson, USA's Sha’Carri Richardson and Ivorian veteran Marie Josee-Ta Lou who is enjoying perhaps the best season of her long career.
Jackson is a strong favourite to retain her 200m title with Richardson and Olympic bronze medallist Gabrielle Thomas - the fastest woman in the world this year thanks to her 21.60 at the U.S. Trials - among her main rivals along with Britain's 2019 world champion Dina Asher-Smith.
Also look out for 2018 Youth Olympic silver medallist Julien Alfred from Saint Lucia who has shown good form in both sprints this season.
Missing from both individual sprints is Elaine Thompson-Herah who only travels as part of Jamaica's sprint relay team having failed to make the top three in either event at the Jamaican trials.
- The race for Flo-Jo's 100m world record: Can Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce or Sha'Carri Richardson make history in 2023?
One-lap heroes set to light up Budapest
The last three men's 400m world champions are set to do battle in Budapest.
Having fully recovered from a career-threatening knee injury, South Africa's Olympic champion Wayde van Niekerk is targeting a third 400m world title after his last in London in 2017.
Against him are the Bahamas' reigning Olympic gold medallist Steven Gardiner, winner at Doha 2019, who has the fastest time in the world this year, and defending champion Michael Norman after the American's unsuccessful switch to 100m.
And there's Grenada's perennial medal contender Kirani James who won the world title in 2011 before taking gold at London 2012.
Gardiner's compatriot Shaunae Miller-Uibo makes a stunning return just five months after giving birth although she is yet to run a 400m race this year and only competed in five heptathlon events at July's National Championships.
WIth Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone a late injury withdrawal, Dominican Republic’s world and Olympic silver medallist Marileidy Paulino is among the favourites with Poland's Natalia Kaczmarek leading the European challenge after a breakout season.
Karsten Warholm is bidding to regain his 400m hurdles world title after finishing seventh at Eugene 2022 in an injury-marred season.
The Norwegian has been unbeatable this year and could go close to his jaw-dropping run at the Olympic final in Tokyo where he set a new world record of 45.94.
His main rivals, as they were in Tokyo, are defending champion Alison dos Santos and world and Olympic silver medallist Rai Benjamin.
With McLaughlin-Levrone switching to the flat 400m, Dutch star Femke Bol is a hot favourite in the women's one-lap hurdles event as she bids for her first major title after Olympic bronze and world silver last year.
- Rai Benjamin on 400m hurdles world record: ‘It could be a lot faster.
- Karsten Warholm: The race for his 400m hurdles world record
Olympic champions chase double in middle and long distance runs
After setting three world records this season, Faith Kipyegon lines up in both the 1500m and 5000m.
She faces Sifan Hassan who won the long-distance double at Tokyo 2020 as well as 1500m bronze.
Hassan is chasing another treble of medals with the pair set to meet in the 1500m final on 22 August, and the 5000m final four days later.
The Dutch star faces the daunting prospect of competing in the 1500m heats and the women’s 10,000m final on the opening day.
That 10,000m is the first track final of the meet with London Marathon winner Hassan - who only finished fourth last year - facing 2023 world leader and Ethiopian Trials victor Gudaf Tsegay.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen is bidding for the same double as Kipyegon with the Norwegian coming desperately close last year.
The Norwegian won the 5000m in Eugene but was second to Jake Wightman in the 1500m with the Britain injured this time round.
Having set a new European record this term, Ingebrigtsen is a strong favourite in the shorter event as he hopes to secure his first 1500m world title with 2019 champion and Olympic silver medallist Timothy Cheruiyot among his main rivals.
The 5000m could be the tougher of the two this time with the Monaco Diamond League seeing a hot race where Spain's Mo Katir broke Ingebrigtsen's European record but only finished fourth.
Ethiopia boast a formidable squad headed by Berihu Aregawi who beat Uganda's world and Olympic 10,000m champion Joshua Cheptegei in Lausanne and clocked the sixth-fastest time in history in the process.
Cheptegei's teammate Jacob Kiplimo is missing through injury.
Olympic champion Athing Mu is no certainty to defend her 800m crown with coach Bobby Kersee indicating that she may skip the event to focus on Paris 2024.
Keely Hodgkinson just lost out to Mu in Eugene last year, but Kenya’s Commonwealth Games champion reigning gold medallist Mary Moraa is unbeaten this season and appears to have the beating of the Briton.
The men’s 800m could be an open race despite the presence of the current world and Olympic champ Emmanuel Korir who has looked short of his best this season.
His teenage compatriot Emmanuel Wanyonyi, the world U20 champion, could be the one to watch after he finished fourth in last year's world final and won the Kenyan trials.
- Joshua Cheptegei on how he powers-up for his world record runs and gold medal wins: It’s all about self-talk
- Emmanuel Korir on nearly quitting track, losing crucial support and his comeback at the worlds
- If anyone can, Sifan Hassan can
Will world records stumble in pole vault and triple jump?
Three of the hottest favourites in Budapest are in field events: Duplantis in the pole vault, Yulimar Rojas in the triple jump, and Ryan Crouser in the shot put.
The men's triple jump could see distances close to 18m with Portugal’s Pedro Pichardo the reigning world and Olympic champion.
Both long jumps look wide open with two-time reigning women's champion Malaika Mihambo missing through injury and men's Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou only fourth in this year's world lists behind Indian record holder Jeswin Aldrin.
Current world champion Wang Jianan is only 11th among long jumpers this year.
Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim is seeking a fourth consecutive world high jump title but faces oppostion from American JuVaughn Harrison who defeated him last month in London.
In the women's the Australian pair of reigning world champion Eleanor Patterson and Olympic silver medallist Nicola Olyslagers are primed to face Ukraine's two top jumpers Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Iryna Gerashchenko.
Grenada's Anderson Peters is bidding for a hat-trick of javelin world titles, but he has been well below his best this season with Czech thrower Jakub Vadlejch leading the way this season with 89.51m.
Vadlejch looks set to battle it out for gold with India's Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, but German Julian Weber will also have designs on the top of the podium.
There's another three-peat hopeful in the women's javelin, Australia’s Kelsey-Lee Barber, although Japan's Kitaguchi Haruka - bronze medallist last year - has the best throw in the world this year by some way.
Poland’s Pawel Fajdek is going for a sixth consecutive world title in the hammer, but he will have his work cut out against teammate and Olympic champion Wojciech Nowicki.
Who to watch in the marathon and race walks
Reigning marathon world champions Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola and Gotytom Gebreslase will fight for the titles on the circular course in Budapest's urban area.
Tola returns to defend his men’s marathon title barely four months after his third-place finish at the 2023 London Marathon in 2:04:59.
His season best ranks him third on the marathon list behind the Kenyan duo of Timothy Kiplagat, second in Rotterdam this year in 2:03:50 and Joshua Belet, a half marathoner, who will be lining up in only his second marathon after finishing second at the 2023 Hamburg Marathon in 2:04.33.
Tokyo Olympics marathon silver medallist Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands will compete in his first worlds.
Gebreslase opened her season with 10th place finish in Boston and is hoping to battle it out for the title with 2022 London Marathon champion Yalemzerf Yehualaw.
The top two race walkers in the women’s 35km are set to clash in Budapest: Defending world champion, Peruvian Kimberly Garcia, a former world record holder, and Spain’s Maria Perez who obliterated the world record by nearly half a minute last May.
Italy’s Olympic champions Massimo Stano, who’s also the defending world champion in the 35km walk, and Tokyo 20km gold medallist Antonella Palmisano are favourites in the men’s race walks. Japan’s Toshikazu Yamanishi is the favourite for a third consecutive world 20km walk title.
How and where to watch the 2023 World Athletics Championships
NBC Sports is the exclusive rights' holder of the 2023 World Athletics Championships in the U.S..
Track and field fans in Europe can follow and watch the action and through Warner Bros. Discovery. The broadcaster signed a deal with World Athletics to air the event live in more than 45 European countries (excluding the Nordic region) on its channels Discovery+, Eurosport 1, Eurosport 2, and the Eurosport App. Athletics fans in the UK can watch it on the BBC.
Streaming will be available on Discovery+ in Austria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, UK and Ireland.
In Australia, all the sessions will be broadcast live on SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand, while CBC has the rights in Canada.
SuperSport and TVMS have the rights in pan sub-Saharan Africa.
Sony Liv app and the website will live stream the championships in in many countries in South Asia.
The championships will be available for free on JioCinema in India.
Full schedule for the 2023 World Athletics Championships, Budapest
DAY 1 - Saturday 19 August
08:50 Men 20 Kilometres Race Walk Final
10:30 Men Shot Put Qualification
10:35 Women 100 Metres Hurdles Heptathlon
11:05 Mixed 4x400 Metres Relay Heats
11:35 Men 3000 Metres Steeplechase Heats
11:45 Women High Jump Heptathlon
12:00 Men Hammer Throw Qualification - Group A
12:25 Women Long Jump Qualification
12:35 Men 100 Metres Preliminary round
13:15 Women 1500 Metres Heats
13:40 Men Hammer Throw Qualification - Group B
19:02 Men 1500 Metres Heats
19:05 Women Shot Put Heptathlon
19:10 Men Discus Throw Qualification - Group A
19:35 Men Triple Jump Qualification
19:43 Men 100 Metres Heats
20:30 Women 200 Metres Heptathlon
20:35 Men Shot Put Final
20:40 Men Discus Throw Qualification - Group B
20:55 Women 10,000 Metres Final
21:47 Mixed 4x400 Metres Relay Final
DAY 2 - Sunday 20 August
07:15 Women 20 Kilometres Race Walk Final
09:00 Women Discus Throw Qualification - Group A
09:35 Women 400 Metres Heats
09:50 Women Long Jump Heptathlon
10:25 Men 400 Metres Heats
10:30 Women Discus Throw Qualification - Group B
10:35 Men High Jump Qualification
11:25 Men 400 Metres Hurdles Heats
12:00 Women Javelin Throw Heptathlon - Group A
12:10 Women 100 Metres Heats
13:05 Men 110 Metres Hurdles Heats
13:05 Women Javelin Throw Heptathlon - Group B
16:35 Men 100 Metres Semi-Final
16:55 Women Long Jump Final
17:05 Women 1500 Metres Semi-Final
17:35 Men 1500 Metres Semi-Final
17:50 Men Hammer Throw Final
18:00 Women 800 Metres Heptathlon
18:25 Men 10,000 Metres Final
19:10 Men 100 Metres Final
Day 3 - Monday 21 August
18:40 Women Pole Vault Qualification
18:50 Women 400 Metres Hurdles Heats
19:35 Men 400 Metres Hurdles Semi-Final
19:40 Men Triple Jump Final
20:05 Men 110 Metres Hurdles Semi-Final
20:30 Men Discus Throw Final
20:35 Women 100 Metres Semi-Final
21:10 Women 400 Metres Semi-Final
21:40 Men 110 Metres Hurdles Final
21:50 Women 100 Metres Final
DAY 4 - Tuesday 22 August
18:40 Women 100 Metres Hurdles Heats
19:20 Men 800 Metres Heats
19:55 Men High Jump Final
20:20 Women Discus Throw Final
20:25 Women 400 Metres Hurdles Semi-Final
21:00 Men 400 Metres Semi-Final
21:30 Women 1500 Metres Final
21:42 Men 3000 Metres Steeplechase Final
DAY 5 - Wednesday 23 August
10:05 Women 800 Metres Heats
10:15 Men Pole Vault Qualification
10:20 Women Javelin Throw Qualification - Group A
11:10 Women 5000 Metres Heats
11:15 Men Long Jump Qualification
11:55 Women Javelin Throw Qualification - Group B
12:05 Women 200 Metres Heats
12:50 Men 200 Metres Heats
19:00 Women Hammer Throw Qualification - Group A
19:10 Women Triple Jump Qualification
19:30 Women Pole Vault Final
19:45 Women 3000 Metres Steeplechase Heats
20:35 Women Hammer Throw Qualification - Group B
20:40 Women 100 Metres Hurdles Semi-Final
21:15 Men 1500 Metres Final
21:35 Women 400 Metres Final
21:50 Men 400 Metres Hurdles Final
DAY 6 - Thursday 24 August
07:00 Men 35 Kilometres Race Walk Final
07:00 Women 35 Kilometres Race Walk Final
19:00 Men 5000 Metres Heats
19:30 Men Long Jump Final
19:45 Women 200 Metres Semi-Final
20:15 Women Hammer Throw Final
20:20 Men 200 Metres Semi-Final
20:50 Men 800 Metres Semi-Final
21:25 Women 100 Metres Hurdles Final
21:35 Men 400 Metres Final
21:50 Women 400 Metres Hurdles Final
DAY 7 - Friday 25 August
10:05 Men 100 Metres Decathlon
10:10 Men Javelin Throw Qualification - Group A
10:20 Women High Jump Qualification
10:55 Men Long Jump Decathlon
11:45 Men Javelin Throw Qualification - Group B
12:20 Men Shot Put Decathlon
18:30 Men High Jump Decathlon
19:30 Men 4x100 Metres Relay Heats
19:35 Women Triple Jump Final
20:00 Women 4x100 Metres Relay Heats
20:20 Women Javelin Throw Final
20:25 Women 800 Metres Semi-Final
21:05 Men 400 Metres Decathlon
21:40 Women 200 Metres Final
21:50 Men 200 Metres Final
DAY 8 - Saturday 26 August
07:00 Women Marathon Final
10:05 Men 110 Metres Hurdles Decathlon
10:25 Women Shot Put Qualification
11:00 Men Discus Throw Decathlon - Group A
12:05 Men Discus Throw Decathlon - Group B
14:00 Men Pole Vault Decathlon
19:05 Men Javelin Throw Decathlon - Group A
19:25 Men Pole Vault Final
19:30 Men 4x400 Metres Relay Heats
19:55 Women 4x400 Metres Relay Heats
20:10 Men Javelin Throw Decathlon - Group B
20:15 Women Shot Put Final
20:30 Men 800 Metres Final
20:50 Women 5000 Metres Final
21:25 Men 1500 Metres Decathlon
21:40 Men 4x100 Metres Relay Final
21:50 Women 4x100 Metres Relay Final
DAY 9 -Sunday 27 August
07:00 Men Marathon Final
20:05 Women High Jump Final
20:10 Men 5000 Metres Final
20:20 Men Javelin Throw Final
20:45 Women 800 Metres Final
21:10 Women 3000 Metres Steeplechase Final
21:37 Men 4x400 Metres Relay Final
21:47 Women 4x400 Metres Relay Final
