The World Athletics Championship is the premier track and field event of the sport’s calendar. The event pits Olympic champions, Diamond League winners, and the year’s best athletes against each other to crown an ultimate world champion in each discipline. The competition is scheduled to take place from September 11 to 13 and is expected to offer a prize pool of $10 million dollars.
The Championships are held in odd years to avoid conflicts with the Olympics, which occur on a quadrennial basis in even years. Unlike the Olympics, which are organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), sport federations and their national associations organize the World Athletics Championships with their own budgets, using a mixture of private and public funding.
The 2023 edition was the nineteenth World Athletics Championships, and it took place in Budapest, Hungary, from 19 to 27 August 2023. The competition returned to its normal two-year cycle after the 2021 edition in Eugene, Oregon, United States was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Traditionally, the World Championships serve as a strong preview of what to expect at the following year’s Summer Olympics. The Championships have produced some of the most dynamic and thrilling performances ever seen on a track, with Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and American long-distance runner Carl Lewis leading the way in terms of world record breaks at the event. Athletes competing at the World Championships must be approved by their sport federations, and the selection process is based on world rankings.