10 things to look forward to at the World Indoor Championships Nanjing 25

More than 500 athletes from some 120 nations are expected to compete for medals across 26 events at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 25 from 21-23 March.

Here are 10 things to look forward to across those three days of action.

 

First global championships of 2025

The last time the world’s stars came together for a global athletics championships was at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The World Indoor Championships will not only be an opportunity for athletes to gain some post-Olympic revenge, it’s also a chance to see new stars emerge on the international stage.

Many of the athletes who excel in Nanjing will no doubt be medal contenders at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 later in the year.

 

How high can they go?

Pole vault superstar Mondo Duplantis and high jump supremo Yaroslava Mahuchikh already have it all: Olympic gold, world title, world record and World Field Athlete of the Year awards. If they choose to compete in Nanjing, they’ll want to continue defying gravity in their respective disciplines.

 

Sprint showdowns

Sprinters and hurdlers compete over 60 metres indoors, often making the races more intense and the margin between triumph and failure even tighter than outdoors. Before achieving Olympic glory over 100m in Paris last year, both Noah Lyles and Julien Alfred made it on to the podium at the World Indoor Championships. Alfred struck gold, winning by 0.02, while Lyles took silver in the men’s final, missing gold by just 0.03.

Hurdling stars Grant Holloway and Devynne Charlton both excelled at the last World Indoors. Charlton set a world record of 7.65, while Holloway equalled his own championship record of 7.29.

 

Mouth-watering middle-distance match-ups

There are some potentially incredible clashes in store in the middle-distance events. World 1500m champion Josh Kerr has stated that he intends to defend his world indoor 3000m title. Olympic 5000m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen has won three European indoor titles at that distance but is yet to contest it at the World Indoors. Olympic 1500m champion Cole Hocker, meanwhile, took world indoor 1500m silver last year so could be tempted to go for gold at either that distance or the 3000m.

 

Relays rematch

The rivalry between the Netherlands and the USA in the women’s 4x400m has provided many thrills at recent major championships. The Dutch quartet will head to Nanjing as the defending world indoor champions, while the US squad are the reigning Olympic champions. Expect a nail-biting showdown throughout the eight laps.

 

Fast and furious 400s

The 400m, the longest sprint event on the championship programme, is always packed with drama indoors. With athletes going full speed as they break for the inside lane approaching the final lap, anything could happen.

 

China’s home stars ready to shine

Expect host nation China to put forward a strong team. Two-time world shot put champion Gong Lijiao has twice earned medals at the World Indoors, while Olympic bronze medallist Song Jiayuan could also be a medal contender in Nanjing. Meanwhile, in the men’s jumps, look out for 2022 world long jump champion Wang Jianan and 2022 world triple jump bronze medallist Zhu Yaming.

 

Field event frenzy

One of the many benefits of indoor athletics is that fans are closer to the action. Some field events can be difficult to follow in a big outdoor stadium, but that’s not the case indoors where athletes will be throwing and jumping in plain sight. The likes of Ryan Crouser, Tara Davis-Woodhall, Hamish Kerr, Thea Lafond and Miltiadis Tentoglou all struck gold at the last World Indoors before going on to achieve Olympic glory in Paris, so expect the standard to be similarly high in Nanjing.

 

Marvellous multi-events

The best thing about combined events is that there are multiple events all rolled into one. The sport’s most versatile performers will battle it out across seven disciplines in the men’s heptathlon and five disciplines in the women’s pentathlon in a bid to crown the greatest all-round athletes. Past champions include the likes of Kevin Mayer, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Damian Warner. Whose turn will it be in Nanjing to take gold?

 

Surprises in store

There are always surprise winners at every major event, and the World Indoor Championships is no exception. Ahead of the last edition in Glasgow, few would have predicted gold medals for the likes of Tsige Duguma, Geordie Beamish, Elle St Pierre and Alexander Doom, yet all ended up on the top step of the podium. Keep your eyes peeled for another crop of surprise winners in Nanjing.