Greatest World Championships moments
1983, Helsinki
USA’s Carl Lewis won gold in the 100m, long jump and 4x100m, setting a world record of 37.86 in the latter.
Celebrating before he even reached the home straight, Ireland’s Eamonn Coghlan won the 5000m.
1987, Rome
With his legendary winning streak having ended earlier in the year, USA’s Edwin Moses rebounded to win the 400m hurdles in Rome in an incredibly close final with a championship record of 47.46. Just 0.02 separated the three medallists.
Kenya’s Paul Kipkoech, winner of the 10,000m, became the first African world champion.
1991, Tokyo
In an epic long jump duel with Carl Lewis, Mike Powell overtook his US teammate in the fifth round to win gold with a world record of 8.95m. Lewis jumped a best of 8.91m – wind assisted – which was also beyond the previous world record, set by Bob Beamon in 1968.
Great Britain’s 4x400m team – which included hurdler Kriss Akabusi and 200m specialist John Regis – beat overwhelming favourites USA to win gold with a European record.
Much to the delight of host nation Japan, Hiromi Taniguchi won the marathon on home soil.
USA’s Greg Foster won his third consecutive world 110m hurdles title.
1993, Stuttgart
Britain’s Colin Jackson broke the world 110m hurdles record.
One year after the disappointment of failing to make the US Olympic team, having no-heighted in the decathlon pole vault at the US Trials, Dan O'Brien rebounded to win the world decathlon title.
1995, Gothenburg
Algeria’s Noureddine Morceli won his third world 1500m title.
Britain’s Jonathan Edwards twice broke the triple jump world record, opening his series with 18.16m before extending the mark to 18.29m – a record which still stands today.
1997, Athens
Pole vault legend Sergey Bubka won his sixth world pole vault title.
Having tripped and fallen in the Olympic final one year prior, Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj won his first of three world 1500m titles.
1999, Seville
Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie won his fourth consecutive world 10,000m title.
USA’s Michael Johnson broke the world 400m record with 43.18, winning his sixth individual world title.
In a close finish with Hezekiel Sepeng, Denmark’s Wilson Kipketer won his third consecutive world 800m title.
2001, Edmonton
Cuba’s Ivan Pedroso won his fourth world long jump title.
Jan Zelezny threw a championship record of 92.80m to earn his third world javelin title.
Germany’s Lars Riedel won his fifth world discus title, setting a championship record of 69.72m.
Ethiopia’s Gezahegne Abera, who had taken the Olympic title one year prior, won the marathon by one second from Kenya’s Simon Biwott.
2003, Paris
In a nail-biting showdown against 1500m winner Hicham El Guerrouj and 10,000m champion Kenenisa Bekele, an up-and-coming Eliud Kipchoge – aged 18 at the time – won the 5000m.
USA’s Allen Johnson won his fourth world 110m hurdles title.
Poland’s Robert Korzeniowski established the first official world record for the 50km race walk, winning his third world title at that discipline.
2005, Helsinki
Lithuania’s Virgilijus Alekna threw a final-round effort of 70.17m in the discus to move into first place and break the championship record, earning his fourth global title in the process.
Despite a torrential downpour, USA’s Bershawn Jackson won the 400m hurdles in a lifetime best of 47.30.
2007, Osaka
In a thrilling long jump duel against Andrew Howe, Panama’s Irving Saladino regained the lead with the final jump of the competition.
Ecuador’s Jefferson Perez won his third world 20km race walk title.
USA’s Jeremy Wariner ran 43.45 – a time that places him fourth on the world all-time list – to win his second consecutive world 400m title.
Racing from lane nine, China’s Liu Xiang won the 110m hurdles title.
2009, Berlin
Usain Bolt followed up on his 2008 Olympic breakthrough by winning triple gold in Berlin, setting world records at 100m, 200m and 4x100m.
Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele completed the 5000m and 10,000m distance double, setting a championship record in the latter.
2011, Daegu
In a close hammer contest, Japan’s Koji Murofushi won gold by just six centimetres.
USA’s Dwight Phillips – fittingly given bib number ‘1111’ – won his fourth world long jump title.
2013, Moscow
Germany’s Robert Harting won his third world discus title.
One year after taking two gold medals at the Olympics, Britain’s Mo Farah won his first World Championships distance double.
2015, Beijing
USA’s Christian Taylor produced the second-best leap in history, 18.21m, to win the triple jump.
Ezekiel Kemboi won his fourth world steeplechase title, leading a Kenyan 1-2-3-4 in the process.
Ashton Eaton broke his own world decathlon record with 9045. Within his series, he broke the world decathlon best for 400m with 45.00.
2017, London
Trinidad & Tobago – a population of 1.5million – defeated pre-race favourites USA to win the 4x400m.
2019, Doha
In an extremely high-quality and close shot put contest, Tom Walsh took an early lead with a championship record of 22.90m, one of the best marks in history. That stood as the best mark of the final until Joe Kovacs went out to 22.91m in the final round. Ryan Crouser then responded with 22.90m to miss out on gold by one centimetre but take silver on countback.
Returning from injury, Kenya’s Conseslus Kipruto won the steeplechase by just 0.01.
Competing on home soil, Mutaz Barshim returned from injury to win the high jump, much to the delight of the crowd.
2022, Oregon
Poland’s Pawel Fajdek won his fifth world hammer title.
Mondo Duplantis brought the curtain down on the World Championships in Oregon, breaking his own world pole vault record with 6.21m.
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