10 things to look forward to in 2025

There are so many things to get excited about in the sport of athletics in 2025.

Four World Athletics Series events take place this year, kicking off with the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing in March.

The global showpiece is the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 in September and for many athletes the road to Tokyo will include the one-day meeting circuits such as the Diamond League and Continental Tour, where statements will be made and rivalries will be renewed.

Here are just 10 of the many things to look forward to over the next 12 months.

1. World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25

Four years on from the Tokyo Olympics, the world’s best athletes will return to Japan’s capital city for the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25. This time, Tokyo will have the chance to fill the Japan National Stadium with athletics fans who were unable to attend the Olympic Games due to pandemic restrictions. More than 2000 athletes from some 200 countries will compete in one of the world's biggest sporting events, where 49 titles are up for grabs across the nine action-packed days of competition. The general ticket sale opens on 31 January and fans can register now for updates.

2. World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 25

Fans don’t have to wait long for the first global track and field championships of the year, as the Chinese city of Nanjing hosts the World Indoor Championships on 21-23 March. The 20th edition of the World Indoor Championships will see more than 500 athletes from about 120 nations challenge for medals across 26 disciplines during the three days of competition. Two world records were among the standout performances at the last edition in Glasgow in 2024, when Femke Bol and Devynne Charlton made history. They could be among the athletes seeking further success in Nanjing.

3. World Athletics Relays Guangzhou 25

Athletes will be racing for World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 places when top-class athletics action returns to China in May. Guangzhou hosts the seventh edition of the World Athletics Relays on 10-11 May, with World Championships places available in the men’s and women’s 4x100m and 4x400m, plus the mixed 4x400m. The programme will also feature a mixed 4x100m for the first time.

4. World Athletics Road Running Championships San Diego 25

The streets of San Diego will welcome the world for a festival of road racing from 26-28 September. At the front of the fields the elites will battle for World Road Running Championships titles in the mile, 5km and half marathon, and runners can join the celebration by taking part in the mass races. The three-day programme kicks off with the mile events on Friday 26 September and closes with the half marathon races on Sunday 28 September.

5. One-day meeting circuits

It is during the sport’s one-day meeting circuits that the world’s best athletes will hone their preparations for those four World Athletics Series events. Expect fierce competition as athletes look to make their mark during the Wanda Diamond League and World Athletics Continental Tour, plus the World Indoor Tour, Cross Country Tour, Combined Events Tour and Race Walking Tour throughout the year.

6. Road racing

Away from the track and field, a whole host of action will take place as World Athletics Label road races span the calendar, from January through to December. Fourteen of those races are Platinum Label, starting with the C&D Xiamen Marathon on 5 January. This top-tier Platinum Label series includes the Abbott World Marathon Majors in Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, New York and Tokyo, plus Sydney which became the seventh Major in November 2024.

7. World Mountain & Trail Running Championships

The eyes of the mountain and trail running world will be on Canfranc-Pirineos in Spain in September. The third edition of the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships takes place between 25-28 September, and as well as the four-day elite race programme, the event will include a summer-long cultural and leisure festival. Around 1700 athletes from 70 countries are expected to compete as part of a race programme that features uphill mountain running, classic up and down mountain running, short trail, long trail and U20 classic up and down mountain events.

8. Head-to-heads

There are thrilling clashes everywhere you look in athletics: Julien Alfred and Sha'Carri Richardson in the 100m, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Femke Bol in the 400m hurdles, Letsile Tebogo and Noah Lyles in the sprints, Emmanuel Wanyonyi and Marco Arop in the 800m, Nina Kennedy and Katie Moon in the pole vault, Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem in the javelin, to name just a few. In a year when world titles are on the line, competition is set to be stacked. 

9. Records

A total of 28 senior world records were set in 2024. Three of those were by Mondo Duplantis, as the 25-year-old took his tally of world pole vault records to 10 – managing a high of 6.26m at the Diamond League meeting in Silesia. Other athletes to have set multiple world records last year were Femke Bol, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Devynne Charlton, Agnes Ngetich and Beatrice Chebet and they will be among the stars looking to make even more history in 2025.

10. New stars

While the established stars will be in the spotlight, it is always exciting to see which athletes will break through to join them. U20 athletes such as last year’s Rising Stars Mattia Furlani and Sembo Almayew have already made their presence felt on the senior stage and will want to build on that this year.

With so much going on in 2025, make sure you don’t miss a moment by syncing your calendar to keep up to date with the year’s athletics events.