The Local Organising Committee of the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 (WCH Tokyo 25) today unveiled the official motto and visual identity for this year&rsquo;s highly anticipated event. The visual identity is represented by an official poster that strikes a powerful visual representation of the dynamism of athletics as a sport and was designed to captivate and inspire audiences across the world. The poster features the official motto for the 20th edition of the Championships; Every second, SUGOI. These bold graphics also lay the groundwork for the overarching stadium look and feel, promising an unforgettable experience for athletes and fans alike.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/678f44268b4c065724c0807a.jpg" alt="WCH Tokyo 25 Official Motto and Visual Identity" width="800" height="668" />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">　 Official motto</h3>
<h1 style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/678f1a11d1334575f9488ff7.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="131" /></h1>
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Extended version:
In a sport where every second counts,
Are you ready to be a part of a thrilling nine days?
Where everyone will unite with one loud cheer,
To celebrate greatness in a land bursting with passion.
Every second. Every cheer. At the highest level!&nbsp;
Every second, SUGOI
&nbsp;
Behind the motto
The official motto of WCH Tokyo 25, &lsquo;Every second, SUGOI&rsquo;, carries a powerful message&mdash;one that aspires to make the Japanese word &lsquo;SUGOI&rsquo; (amazing, extraordinary) a global expression of awe and inspiration. Through the Championships, WCH Tokyo 25 to have the world focus on Tokyo, with people from every corner of the globe embracing and echoing &lsquo;SUGOI&rsquo; throughout the Championships.
&lsquo;Every second, SUGOI&rsquo; signifies that every moment of this year&rsquo;s Championships, from start to finish, will be extraordinary, creating an event where the spirit of &lsquo;SUGOI&rsquo; resonates with everyone.
This motto also marks a historic first for the World Athletics Championships by combining both the language of the host country, Japanese, and the English language. It reflects the LOC&rsquo;s ambition to transcend language barriers, encouraging people worldwide to connect through shared emotions and a love for sport. With this, WCH Tokyo 25 is envisioned as a platform for people across the world to unite with Tokyo and Japan through the universal language of athletics.
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">　&nbsp;Visual identity</h3>
Behind the visual identity 
The official visual identity for the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 captures the energy and dynamism of athletics, while embracing the spirit of the Championship&rsquo;s motto, &lsquo;SUGOI&rsquo;, as well as elements of the extended motto; &ldquo;A land bursting with passion&rdquo;. It highlights Japan's passion for sport, the timeless elegance of the culture, and the prestige of the World Athletics Championships.
The visual identity constitutes the defining design elements that symbolise this year&rsquo;s iconic event. Used across various materials, including official posters, venue look and feel, event programmes, and tickets, these striking visuals are key to shaping the Tokyo Championships&rsquo; unique character in the minds of athletes and spectators alike. Designed to make a lasting impact, they will not only leave a lasting impression on people around the world but will also be forever intertwined with the legacy of the Championships, marking their place in history. This visual identity is set to elevate the spectator experience, leaving an unforgettable imprint on Tokyo, Japan and the global stage.
&nbsp;
The development process
The visual identity of the Championships was developed through a collaborative effort with World Athletics media partner and WCH Tokyo 25 principal supporter, TBS Television. This partnership focused on creating a cohesive design that seamlessly integrates both the stadium&rsquo;s look and feel and elements to be used on television broadcasts, ensuring a unified and engaging visual experience for spectators worldwide.
In consultation with World Athletics, the visual identity was crafted to convey the dynamic energy of athletics, incorporating calligraphic elements that symbolise not only traditional Japanese calligraphy, but also movement and strength. The fluid brush strokes reflect the intensity of athletic performance, capturing the power of athletes as they push their bodies to the limit. To infuse the design with both vitality and modernity, renowned calligrapher Bisen Aoyagi, who has contributed artwork to the Japan National Stadium, was enlisted to provide creative direction and bring these elements to life.
The visual identity, prominently featured in the official poster, places the athlete at the forefront, with sweeping calligraphy in the centre. The design utilises a sophisticated colour palette of four shades: the main WCH Tokyo 25 colour of Edo purple, along with black, gold, and red, which are also used in the WCH Tokyo 25 logo. This combination creates a dynamic yet refined aesthetic, capturing the excitement of the Championships while maintaining a prestigious and elevated tone.
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TBS Television comment
"TBS Television is proud to announce the official visual identity for this year&rsquo;s World Athletics Championships, set to take place in Tokyo. Over the past eight months, we have worked closely with the Local Organising Committee and World Athletics to refine a design that we believe truly embodies the spirit of this prestigious event. This marks the first time TBS Television has created the official visual identity for the World Athletics Championships, and we are honoured to have led this exciting project through our dedicated creative team. The design incorporates brushstroke imagery to capture the dynamic energy of the athletes, the vibrant excitement of the crowd, and the rich legacy of the Championships. This technique was brought to life with the collaboration of renowned calligrapher Bisen Aoyagi. We are thrilled to present our vision for the 2025 Championships, with these elements being featured not only in the Japan National Stadium's look and feel, but also across our broadcasts, helping to bring the global spectacle to audiences around the world."
&nbsp;
Calligrapher Bisen Aoyagi profile
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/678f1a97d1334575f9488ff8.jpg" alt="Calligrapher Bisen Aoyagi " width="300" height="260" />
<ul>
<li>Name: Bisen Aoyagi</li>
<li>Occupation: Calligrapher, artist</li>
<li>Born: 1990, Osaka</li>
<li>Professional accomplishments: Bisen has showcased her calligraphy in over 10 countries worldwide, including Japan, France, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates. She has a proven track record of calligraphy and providing artworks at the Japan National Stadium.</li>
</ul>
<h5><img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/678f1b40d1334575f9488ff9.jpg" alt="VIP room folding screen at Japan National Stadium" width="200" height="141" /> VIP room folding screen at Japan National Stadium</h5>
&nbsp;
Visual identity example:
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/678f1d29be4dda34b7a1248f.jpg" alt="Visual Identity" width="900" height="398" />
&nbsp;
<h3 style="text-align: left;">　&nbsp;Tickets</h3>
In keeping with the official poster design and visual identity, the tickets will feature the same elegant calligraphy brushstrokes that highlight three key aspects of athletics: running, throwing and jumping. Each ticket design will be &nbsp;unique to a specific seating category, giving spectators the exciting opportunity to discover which design will appear on their tickets.
Ticket holders who purchased tickets during the pre-sale period will receive their e-tickets via email between 28 and 30 January 2025. Additionally, e-tickets will be issued as of Friday 31 January at 18:00 JST through their My Page on the WCH Tokyo 25 ticketing site. Ticket holders who purchased their tickets through the Ticket Pia or TBS Ticket websites will have their tickets issued starting from Friday January 31 at 18:00 JST. Please refer to each website for further details. Please note that these designs are exclusive to tickets purchased through the official WCH Tokyo 25 ticketing site.
&nbsp;

World Athletics Championships, Tokyo 2025

The WCH Tokyo 25 unveiled the official motto and visual identity for this year’s highly anticipated event.  

Official motto and visual identity announced for WCH Tokyo 25

Olympic shot put champion Yemisi Ogunleye of Germany will take on two-time world champion Chase Jackson and world indoor champion Sarah Mitton at the INIT Indoor Meeting Karlsruhe &ndash; a World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold fixture &ndash; on 7 February.
The last time the three women met indoors was at the 2024 World Indoor Championships in Glasgow. Mitton emerged victorious on that occasion while Yemisi threw a PB of 20.19m to take a surprise silver ahead of Jackson.
Ogunleye went on to spring another surprise at the Olympic Games in Paris, taking gold with an outdoor PB of 20.00m. Jackson missed out on making the final while Mitton placed 12th, but both women rebounded after, Jackson throwing a season&rsquo;s best of 20.64m in Lausanne and Mitton winning the Diamond League Final.
Two-time world champion Malaika Mihambo is also set to compete in Karlsruhe. The 2021 Olympic champion will take on compatriot Mikaelle Assani, who placed fourth at the World Indoor Championships last year.
In the pole vault, European champion Angelica Moser will take on two-time European indoor silver medallist Tina Sutej and Olympic finalist Elisa Molinarolo of Italy.
Meanwhile, in the men&rsquo;s 60m hurdles 2022 European champion Asier Martinez will clash with France&rsquo;s 2021 European indoor champion Wilhem Belocian and two-time German champion Manuel Mordi.

Olympic shot put champion Yemisi Ogunleye of Germany will take on two-time world champion Chase Jackson and world indoor champion Sarah Mitton at the INIT Indoor Meeting Karlsruhe

Clash of the global shot put champions in Karlsruhe

It was entirely fitting, if not exactly helpful, that Allan Wells was an outsider when he powered his way to Olympic glory in Moscow.
Despite having clocked the fastest times in the second round and semifinal of the men&rsquo;s 100m at those 1980 Games, the marine engineer from Edinburgh found himself drawn in the outside lane for the final.
&ldquo;It was a big shock,&rdquo; confessed Wells, who clocked a British record of 10.11 in round two. &ldquo;The Russians used a computer. It must have been a Mickey Mouse one. It did set me back a bit.&rdquo;
Still, after getting to his mark out wide in lane eight, Wells proceeded to complete his fairytale journey from obscurity to the very top of the global sprinting game.
The blue spikes that he wore that day now stand in <a href="https://www.tinyurl.com/visitMOWA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Museum of World Athletics (MOWA)</a> as a reminder of the improbable triumph of the blacksmith&rsquo;s son from the south side of Scotland&rsquo;s capital city who only took up sprinting four years previously to improve his speed for the long jump.
Allan Wipper Wells, to use his distinctive full name, was 24 when he started training with a group of sprinters who competed as &lsquo;professionals&rsquo; in handicapped races on the annual Scottish Games circuit.
That summer he finished fifth in the 100m final at the British trials for the 1976 Olympic Games. His time was 10.82. Steve Green won in 10.71. The British selectors decided to travel to Montreal without a representative in the men&rsquo;s 100m.
Four years later, Wells hauled British sprinting from the depths of despair to the peak of Mount Olympus with a run that reflected his potent combination of speed, power and indomitable determination.
At the age of 28, he had only been using starting blocks for 12 weeks, following an IAAF rule stipulating their use in sprint events at major championships
<h2>&lsquo;Getting the dip just right&rsquo;</h2>
The rustiness was clear to see as Wells climbed out of his blocks almost a step behind the Cuban drawn directly inside him, Osvaldo Lara. Wells&rsquo; reaction time was a leaden 0.193.
It took him 30 metres to catch Lara, and at that stage the Cuban&rsquo;s teammate Silvio Leonard was leading the field in lane one.
As the race unfolded, it came down to a straight fight between two men separated by the width of the track: the featherweight figure of Leonard on the inside and the Herculean Wells on the outside.
They appeared to flash across the line together. From where Margot Wells was positioned in the main stand, she didn&rsquo;t think her charging husband had quite made it.
When the replay was shown on the big screen, however, the textbook timing of Allan&rsquo;s lean for the line looked decisively golden.
Both men were attributed with a 10.25 clocking but the gold medal went to the Flying Scotsman.
&ldquo;I thought I had got it but I wasn&rsquo;t sure until I saw the replay,&rdquo; said Wells. &ldquo;Lane eight was the worst possible draw for me. I only saw Leonard in the last 20 metres.
&ldquo;I knew then that I had to do something special to get it. I knew I had to finish strong and get the dip just right. If I&rsquo;d been running next to Leonard, I think I would have won by more. I knew I wanted to win it more than he did.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/678fb1b6006230c84c28bf47.jpg" alt="Allan Wells in action at the 1980 Olympic Games" />
Allan Wells in action at the 1980 Olympic Games (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
Lynn Davies, the British team manager in Moscow and long jump gold medallist at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, was one of the first to congratulate the new Olympic 100m champion.
After winning the Scottish U15 long jump title, Wells dreamed of following in the footsteps of &lsquo;Lynn the Leap&rsquo; and plucked up the courage to chat to him when he spotted the Welshman training at Edinburgh&rsquo;s Meadowbank Stadium &ndash; not while raking the pit for him at the 1970 Commonwealth Games, a commonly recited but apocryphal tale.
Wells made a couple of international appearances for Scotland as a long jumper and had a PB of 7.32m when he joined Wilson Young&rsquo;s professional sprint group.
Quickly thriving on the gruelling gym work &ndash; notably the use of a speedball, a spring-loaded boxer&rsquo;s punchball &ndash; and on prolonged sessions of plyometric work in his local park, Wells turned his attention to sprinting instead.
His big breakthrough came just two years later. At the 1978 Gateshead Games, Wells equalled Peter Radford&rsquo;s 20-year-old British 100m record of 10.29 and claimed a trio of world-class scalps: Jamaica&rsquo;s Olympic 200m champion Don Quarrie, Guyana&rsquo;s Pan American 200m champion James Gilkes and top US sprinter James Sanford.
Six days later he won the UK title on his home track in Edinburgh in 10.15, another British record, and at the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton the following month he won the 200m and finished a narrow second to Quarrie in the 100m, clocking wind-assisted times of 20.12 and 10.07.
Margot was a fellow sprinter in the Scottish team at those Games, reaching the semifinals of the 100m and 200m, but concentrated on helping her husband thereafter &ndash; as a training partner, coach and motivator-in-chief.
The rewards for their joint toil came in Moscow with gold from the 100m and silver from a tight 200m battle with the Italian Pietro Mennea.
The US boycott doubtless weakened the fields in both events but Wells proved a point in one of his first races as Olympic champion, beating the leading lights from across the Atlantic, Stanley Floyd (10.21) and Mel Lattanay (10.25) in 10.19 in Cologne.
For good measure, Allan Wipper Wells whipped his starred and striped rivals again in a trailblazing follow-up season, winning the IAAF Golden Sprints in Berlin and the 100m at the World Cup in Rome in 1981.
Simon Turnbull for World Athletics Heritage
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.tinyurl.com/visitMOWA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Check out Wells&rsquo; spikes and singlet in glorious 3D in the Museum of World Athletics (MOWA)</a></li>
</ul>

It was entirely fitting that Allan Wells was an outsider when he powered his way to Olympic glory in Moscow

‘I wanted to win it more than he did’ – Wells’ Olympic kit displayed in Museum of World Athletics

Thirteen meetings on five different continents will feature on the <a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-continental-tour/calendar-results" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2025 World Athletics Continental Tour Gold calendar</a>, which has been published today.
In the sixth season of the Continental Tour, the top tier comprises events in some of the biggest cities in the world.
Gold level action kicks off on 29 March in the Australian city of Melbourne, where World Athlete of the Year Letsile Tebogo is due to compete, then the series heads to Gaborone, Botswana, two weeks later (12 April). On 18 May, Tokyo will host the Golden Grand Prix, which will act as a dress rehearsal of sorts for the World Championships later in the year.
Continental Tour Gold action continues throughout that month with Zagreb (22-24 May), Bydgoszcz (30 May) and Nairobi (31 May) all hosting top-level meetings.
June is also a busy month with five meetings taking place in the series: Los Angeles (8), Hengelo (9), Turku (17), New York (21) and Ostrava (24).
Following a stop in Szekesfehervar on 12 August, Beijing will host the final Continental Tour Gold meeting of the season on 7 September, just six days before the first day of the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25.
More than 200 meetings will feature in this year&rsquo;s tour, which is divided into four levels &ndash; Gold, Silver, Bronze and Challenger. The status of each meeting is determined by the quality of competition and prize money on offer.
Last year, more than 20,000 athletes from almost 200 countries competed in the Continental Tour, setting one world record, 12 area records, 205 national records and 7146 personal bests.
<h3>Gold level meetings in the 2025 World Athletics Continental Tour</h3>
29 March: Maurie Plant Meet &ndash; Melbourne (AUS) 12 April: Botswana Continental Tour &ndash; Gaborone (BOT) 18 May: Golden Grand Prix &ndash; Tokyo (JPN) 22-24 May: Boris Hanzekovic Memorial &ndash; Zagreb (CRO) 30 May: Irena Szewinska Memorial &ndash; Bydgoszcz (POL) 31 May: Kip Keino Classic &ndash; Nairobi (KEN) 8 June: USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix &ndash; Los Angeles (USA) 9 June: FBK Games &ndash; Hengelo (NED) 17 June: Paavo Nurmi Games &ndash; Turku (FIN) 21 June: New York City Grand Prix &ndash; New York (USA) 24 June: Ostrava Golden Spike &ndash; Ostrava (CZE) 12 August: Istvan Gyulai Memorial &ndash; Szekesfehervar (HUN) 7 September: World Athletics Continental Tour &ndash; Beijing (CHN)

Thirteen meetings on five different continents will feature on the 2025 World Athletics Continental Tour Gold calendar

World Athletics Continental Tour returns for 2025

World champions Grant Holloway, Gudaf Tsegay and Katie Moon will return to the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais Troph&eacute;e EDF in Lievin for the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting on 13 February.
All three are no stranger to the Arena Stade Couvert. Holloway has won the men&rsquo;s 60m hurdles in Lievin for the past four years. The Olympic champion clocked a meeting record, and then PB, of 7.32 when winning there in 2021. After further victories in 2022 and 2023, he equalled the meeting record last year, then went on to improve his world indoor record with 7.27 in his very next race.
On the same day Holloway made his Lievin debut back in 2021, Tsegay broke the world indoor 1500m record. The Ethiopian powered to a 3:53.09 victory, which remains the world indoor record. Like Holloway, Tsegay has notched up three further victories in Lievin since then, winning the mile in 2022, the 1500m in 2023 and the 3000m in 2024.
This time, the two-time world champion will contest the 3000m and will once again take aim at the world indoor record of 8:16.60, having come close to it on two occasions, running 8:16.69 in Birmingham in 2023 and 8;17.11 in Lievin last year.
US pole vaulter Moon will be making her fourth appearance in Lievin. The two-time world champion last competed there in 2023, winning with a vault of 4.83m.
European 400m champion Natalia Bukowiecka is another past winner set to return to Lievin. She set a Polish indoor record of 50.90 when winning in Lievin in 2023, then went on to reduce it to 50.83. Since then, she has added the outdoor Polish record to her collection, clocking 48.90 last year before going on to earn Olympic bronze in Paris.

World champions Grant Holloway, Gudaf Tsegay and Katie Moon will return to the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais Trophée EDF in Lievin

Holloway, Tsegay and Moon return to Lievin

Picture a world where the World Athletics Championships never existed &ndash; no records, no champions, no memories. Only you, a true athletics fan, hold the knowledge to solve the mystery and restore sporting history.
In <a href="https://www.aeonagon-worldathletics.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Aeon Agon</a>, players are thrust into an alternate reality where all traces of the World Athletics Championships have vanished mysteriously. They were erased mistakenly by PSU Theorem, a corporation that attempted to redesign the present through time travel.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WuAV898ybuA" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Only the players, alongside the story&rsquo;s protagonist, Agon, know the truth and have the power to restore the natural flow of events. Their efforts are guided by The Intern, a mysterious figure who sends Agon old tapes and images filled with fragmented information, revealing impossible encounters and distorted timelines. The Intern also frequently travels through time in an effort to fix the timeline.
The players and Agon are called to contribute valuable information to piece together the history of the World Athletics Championships, ensuring the sport&rsquo;s legacy is preserved and reality is restored.
To play, sign up at <a href="https://www.aeonagon-worldathletics.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">aeonagon-worldathletics.org</a>. The first clue will be sent to you via email. Then, starting on Monday 20 January and running until Sunday 26 January, content will be posted each day at 12pm CET on the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/worldathletics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Athletics Instagram account</a>. Solve the riddles each day and enter the code on the website for the game.
The first 10 players to submit all of the correct codes following the final clue will win an exclusive World Athletics Championships poster book, showcasing historic posters from Helsinki 1983 to Budapest 2023.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vR-sHaCwbCc" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<a href="https://www.aeonagon-worldathletics.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sign up now and help solve the mystery of Agon</a>

Picture a world where the World Athletics Championships never existed

Uncover the mystery and win exciting prizes in an online alternate reality athletics game

European indoor silver medallist Jakub Szymanski got his season off to a tremendous start at the CMCM Luxembourg Indoor Meeting, clocking 7.41 in the 60m hurdles at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver fixture on Sunday (19).
The meeting record tumbled three times throughout the course of the competition. Belgium&rsquo;s Elie Bacari broke it with 7.51 in the first heat, then Szymanski bettered it in the second heat with 7.46, equalling his own Polish record.
Just an hour later, Szymanski went even quicker to win the final in 7.41, finishing 0.14 ahead of Bacari. Szymanski now moves to equal second on the European all-time list.
It was one of nine disciplines in which the meeting record was broken.
Spain&rsquo;s Elvin Josue Canales achieved the feat in the men&rsquo;s 800m, striding to victory in a national indoor record of 1:44.65 to win comfortably from Poland&rsquo;s Bartosz Kitlinski (1:45.75). Canales moves to just outside the top 10 on the world indoor all-time list.
Home sprint star Patrizia van der Weken delighted the home crowd by producing two national indoor records. She won the 60m in 7.07, then clocked 23.17 in the 200m to finish second behind Germany&rsquo;s Jessica-Bianca Wessolly, who won in a meeting record of 22.84.
South Africa&rsquo;s Marione Fourie took the women&rsquo;s 60m hurdles final in 7.98 after clocking a meeting record of 7.91 in the heats.
Marta Zenoni set an Italian indoor record of 4:03.59 to win the women&rsquo;s 1500m in what was perhaps the most dominant victory of the competition. Belgium&rsquo;s Pieter Sisk (3:36.71) and Germany&rsquo;s Florian Bremm (7:39.01) set meeting records in winning the men&rsquo;s 1500m and 3000m respectively.
There were also meeting records for European champion Angelica Moser in the pole vault (4.65m) and Bulgarian long jumper Plamena Mitkova (6.55m).
<h2>Hoey clocks North American 1000m record, Mihambo and Yemisi open seasons</h2>
On a busy weekend of indoor action, Josh Hoey produced one of the standout performances.
The 800m specialist, who last month ran 3:52.61 for the mile, smashed his 1000m PB with a 2:14.48 run at the Quaker Invitational in Philadelphia. It broke the North American indoor record that Marco Arop set last year, and elevated Hoey to second on the world indoor all-time list, just 0.28 shy of Ayanleh Souleiman's world indoor record.
At the Corky Classic in Lubbock, Olympic champion Masai Russell got her 2025 campaign under way with a 7.89 run in the 60m hurdles, her fastest ever season opener.
Another Olympic champion, Yemisi Ogunleye, also opened her season last weekend. The German shot putter was a convincing winner of her discipline at the Sparkassen Indoor Meeting in Dortmund on Saturday (18), throwing 18.98m to defeat Alina Kenzel (18.16m).
At the same meeting, two-time world champion Malaika Mihambo won the long jump with 6.79m.
In Vaxjo on Friday (17), 20-year-old Erik Erlandsson made a notable breakthrough to win the 200m in 20.43, smashing the long-standing Swedish record and moving up to equal sixth on the European indoor all-time list.

European indoor silver medallist Jakub Szymanski got his season off to a tremendous start at the CMCM Luxembourg Indoor Meeting

Szymanski and Canales impress in Luxembourg

Stefka Kostadinova was still a teenager when she limbered up in the Palais Omnisports for the high jump at the World Indoor Games on 19 January 1985.
Those ground-breaking Games, staged in the Bercy district of Paris 40 years ago, paved the way for the World Athletics Indoor Championships, which were inaugurated in Indianapolis two years later, in March 1987.
For Kostadinova, they were the launching pad for a decade and more of domination of the global women&rsquo;s high jump game.
That Sunday afternoon in the 12th arrondissement of the French capital, the 19-year-old emerged from the shadows to claim the first of nine successive titles on the senior international stage &ndash; the first of an unprecedented five world indoor crowns.
At the time, Kostadinova was ranked number two in her event in her own country; in East Berlin the previous June, Lyudmila Andonova had jumped 2.07m, eclipsing Tamara Bykova&rsquo;s world record by two centimetres.
Two months shy of her 20th birthday, however, the PE student from Plovdiv was a rapidly rising star.
Kostadinova had improved by 10 centimetres in the summer of 1984, when Bulgarian athletes missed out on the Los Angeles Olympics because of the Eastern Bloc boycott, becoming only the eighth woman in history to jump 2.00m.
In the absence of Andonova, Kostadinova produced a flawless performance in Paris, with first-time successes at 1.80m, 1.85m, 1.90m, 1.94m and 1.97m.
The latter clearance proved sufficient to secure victory. Swede Susanne Lorentson secured silver with 1.94m, while third place was shared by three women who had ventured over 1.90m: Poland&rsquo;s Danuta Bulkowska, Silvia Costa of Cuba and the 31-year-old Canadian Debbie Brill, who had been a Commonwealth champion at the age of 17 back in 1970.
Not content with the gold medal, Kostadinova took a shot at the 2.04m world indoor record held by another great teenage prodigy of the event, Ulrike Meyfarth, the German who won Olympic gold in Munich at 16 in 1972 (and as a 28-year-old in LA in 1984).
She failed her three attempts, but over the course of 1985 the young World Indoor Games champion proceeded to establish herself as the undisputed world No.1 in the women&rsquo;s high jump.
Unbeaten in all 25 of her competitions, Kostadinova emerged victorious at the European Indoor Championships in Piraeus and the World Cup in Canberra, and topped the world list with 2.06m, her winning height ahead of Bykova at the European Cup in Moscow.
In 1986 she first equalled Andonova&rsquo;s outdoor world record of 2.07m in Sofia on 26 May, then eclipsed it six days later with a second-time clearance at 2.08m, again in Bulgaria&rsquo;s capital city.
<h2>World record intact for 37 years</h2>
The upward trajectory continued in 1987.
The burgeoning Bulgarian bagged world titles indoors, with a world indoor record of 2.05m in Indianapolis in March, and outdoors in Rome in September, with a world outdoor mark of 2.09m.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/9b34690b-afc0-4097-b446-4342b2e92cf4.jpg" alt="Stefka Kostadinova, winner of the high jump at the 1987 IAAF World Championships in Rome" />
Stefka Kostadinova, winner of the high jump at the 1987 World Championships in Rome (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
It was a measure of Kostadinova&rsquo;s class that her 2.09m remained intact as the world record for two months short of 37 years, before Yaroslava Mahuchikh&rsquo;s landmark 2.10m jump at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Paris in July last year.
Such was Kostadinova&rsquo;s domination of the women&rsquo;s high jump, between 1985 and 1988 she won nine international championships, Cups or Games in a row: in 1985 the World Indoor Games, European Indoor Championships and World Cup; in 1986 the Goodwill Games and outdoor European Championships; in 1987 the European Indoor Championships, the World Indoor Championships and the outdoor World Championships; and in 1988 the European Indoor Championships.
As fate would have it, the winning came to an end at the Olympic Games in Seoul later in 1988. In a jump off for the gold, Kostadinova was beaten by Louise Ritter, the injury-plagued US jumper from Texas, scraping over the Olympic record height of 2.03m.
Kostadinova&rsquo;s own career was subsequently dogged by physical problems, her explosive lift-off causing a knee injury and a broken foot bone.
She finished fourth at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, then took time off to give birth to a son, Nikolai, before winning a second world outdoor title in Gothenburg in 1995.
Kostadinova&rsquo;s autographed bib number from that victory is on display in the <a href="https://www.tinyurl.com/visitMOWA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Athletics Championships Collection gallery of the Museum of World Athletics (MOWA)</a>.
She finally claimed Olympic gold a year later.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very happy,&rdquo; Kostadinova declared in the aftermath of 1996 triumph in Atlanta. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve waited eight years for this.&rdquo;
By then, she was 31, but one final high jump hurrah still remained.
<h2>Return to Bercy &ndash; fifth world indoor gold</h2>
Completing her 12-year circle of global successes, Kostadinova returned to Paris and the Palais Ominsports for the 1997 World Indoor Championships.
Victorious in the French capital in 1985, in Indianapolis in 1987, in Budapest in 1989 and in Toronto in 1993, the pride of Plovdiv prevailed once again, securing world indoor title number five as the only woman clear at 2.02m.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/678a6b6cd43f693819982df0.jpg" alt="Stefka Kostadinova in action in the high jump" />
Stefka Kostadinova in action in the high jump (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
It was a record haul of world indoor golds in a single individual event, equalled by the Cuban long jumper Ivan Pedroso in 2001 and ultimately surpassed by Mozambique&rsquo;s Maria Mutola with a sixth 800m success in 2004, and a seventh in 2006.
In retirement, Kostadinova has forged a successful career in sports administration as president of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee since 2005.
Her world record might have gone now, but the depth of her dominance is still reflected in the list of the greatest women&rsquo;s high jump clearances of all-time.
Kostadinova made eleven clearances of 2.06m or higher. Mahuchikh has two.
At 23, the Ukrainian has jumped 2.00m on 23 occasions thus far. The reigning world and Olympic champion has a long way to go to catch up with Kostadinova.
The brilliant Bulgarian, who turns 60 in March, achieved a staggering tally of 197.
Simon Turnbull for World Athletics Heritage

Stefka Kostadinova was still a teenager when she limbered up in the Palais Omnisports for the high jump at the World Indoor Games on 19 January 1985

Forty years since Kostadinova’s breakthrough in Paris

Olympic champions Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Letsile Tebogo will launch their Wanda Diamond League campaigns at the season opener in Xiamen on 26 April.
Ukraine&rsquo;s Mahuchikh is a three-time Diamond League high jump champion and her performances on the circuit last year included the world record of 2.10m she achieved at the meeting in Paris, the city in which she later claimed her Olympic gold medal.
She also secured Diamond League wins in Stockholm, Lausanne and Zurich, before claiming her third consecutive Diamond League Trophy at the final in Brussels.
Botswana&rsquo;s Tebogo secured the 200m title at the Olympic Games and his Diamond League season saw him win 200m races in Monaco, Lausanne, Silesia and Zurich, as well as the 100m in Rome. He then finished second in the 200m final in Brussels.
In 2025, Mahuchikh will return to Xiamen looking to challenge her own meeting record of 2.02m set in 2023. Tebogo will race in the Chinese city for the first time and will contest the 100m.
Another Olympic champion recently announced for the Diamond League is Saint Lucia&rsquo;s Julien Alfred.
The Olympic 100m gold and 200m silver medallist has been confirmed for a Diamond League double, as she will race the 100m in both Oslo on 12 June and Stockholm on 15 June.
&ldquo;The upcoming Diamond League season is very important because I won&rsquo;t be having any trials for the World Championships,&rdquo; she told event organisers. &ldquo;So, I hope these races put me closer to my goals for Japan.&rdquo;
Alfred, who also won the world indoor 60m title in 2024, claimed the first Diamond League meeting victory of her career last year when she stormed to top spot in the 100m in Monaco. She then claimed the Diamond Trophy in the discipline at the final in Brussels.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/diamond-league/calendar-results" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wanda Diamond League 2025 calendar.</a>

Olympic champions Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Letsile Tebogo will launch their Wanda Diamond League campaigns at the season opener in Xiamen on 26 April

Mahuchikh and Tebogo set for Diamond League season opener in Xiamen

To Emmanouil &lsquo;Manolo&rsquo; Karalis, the performances he achieved in 2024 represent more than sporting success &ndash; he continued to break barriers.
In Silesia in August, fresh from claiming Olympic bronze in Paris, the Greek star became the 29th pole vaulter in history to vault six metres or more, in the first competition to ever have three athletes clear that height in a single contest.
Karalis is doing great things in what he deems a &ldquo;golden era&rdquo; of pole vaulting. As well as the 6.00m clearances by Karalis and USA&rsquo;s Sam Kendricks during that Wanda Diamond League meeting in Silesia, Sweden&rsquo;s Mondo Duplantis improved the world record for the 10th time, clearing 6.26m.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/678b9844c52f350a89ea84aa.jpg" alt="Emmanouil Karalis celebrates his six-metre clearance in Silesia" />
Emmanouil Karalis celebrates his six-metre clearance in Silesia (&copy; Matthew Quine / Diamond League AG)
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Those performances came 20 days after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where Duplantis set another of his world records &ndash; 6.25m &ndash; and was joined on the podium by Kendricks, who cleared 5.95m, and Karalis, who soared 5.90m. Karalis went on to clear 5.88m to win at the Boris Hanzekovic Memorial meeting in Zagreb and closed his season with a second-place finish at the Diamond League final in Brussels.
&ldquo;Of course, getting an Olympic medal is something big, at the age of 24, but my biggest milestone is jumping over six metres. It&rsquo;s something that I have always dreamed of,&rdquo; explained Karalis. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve done it and now I feel more confident than ever. I feel that I can start thinking about higher heights.
&ldquo;That was history,&rdquo; he added, reflecting on how his six-metre clearance was not only a milestone for himself and his nation, but also the sport. &ldquo;It was something amazing. With Mondo and Sam and all the other guys, we are really good friends.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m the same age as Mondo, so I hope we are going to continue &ndash; Mondo will do what Mondo does and I hope I can start reaching towards him. It&rsquo;s a big motivation, having Mondo as a friend and as a competitor, to jump every week. That&rsquo;s really important to the sport and for pole vault.&rdquo;
The Paris Olympics offered something of a full circle moment for Karalis, as he gained bronze and Duplantis got gold &ndash; nine years on from their respective medals of the same colour at the World U18 Championships in Cali. On both occasions, they received their medals from former world record-holder Sergey Bubka, who in 1985 became the first pole vaulter to clear six metres.
&ldquo;When I was young, Sergey was one of my biggest idols,&rdquo; said Karalis. &ldquo;In Cali, he gave me my first medal, alongside Mondo, and at the Olympic Games he did the same with the same medals &ndash; I got bronze and Mondo got gold.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s something great. Him saying that I am a really good pole vaulter &ndash; when it comes from him, it&rsquo;s something amazing.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/678b9b6a9e13d45fd064d07d.jpg" alt="The 2015 world U18 pole vault medallists Vladyslav Malykhin, Mondo Duplantis and Emmanouil Karalis" />
The 2015 world U18 pole vault medallists Vladyslav Malykhin, Mondo Duplantis and Emmanouil Karalis (&copy; Getty Images)
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Both Karalis and Duplantis have steadily built on their early success, with Karalis going on to become European U18 champion in 2016, a world indoor fifth-place finisher in 2018, European U23 silver medallist in 2019 and 2021, European indoor silver medallist in 2023 and then European silver medallist, world indoor bronze medallist and Olympic bronze medallist in 2024.
While his progress has seen him soar, Karalis has openly talked about the struggles he has encountered during a career of &ldquo;ups and downs&rdquo;.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been dealing with racism, and I&rsquo;ve been dealing with depression,&rdquo; he explained. &ldquo;I had one or two years where I wasn&rsquo;t able to perform as well as I wanted, but I believed in myself and had a support system around me.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I have my family, of course, and other people around me who support me &ndash; my agents, my coaches and my teammates. They have helped me to surpass all those problems and sometimes you need to relax and think about life in general. I was hungrier than ever to be able to come back and compete at the highest level. I&rsquo;ve been very lucky to have my family around me.&rdquo;
That&rsquo;s another reason why his six-metre clearance meant so much.&nbsp;
&ldquo;When I was young in Greece, they used to tell me that black people don&rsquo;t pole vault, but I have become the first black pole vaulter to ever jump six metres,&rdquo; Karalis said.
&ldquo;I think I break some barriers for my community &ndash; my Greek community, my African community &ndash; and I hope a young black kid from Greece or anywhere in the world can see me as someone that broke a barrier, and that being black and doing pole vault is something that you can do and you can do on a high level. I hope I can be someone that can inspire young kids to start pole vaulting.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/678b99ea9e13d45fd064d07a.jpg" alt="Emmanouil Karalis in action in Paris" />
Emmanouil Karalis in action in Paris (&copy; Christel Saneh for World Athletics)
</div>
Athletics is a family affair for Karalis, whose main coach is his father Charalampos, a former decathlete. He is also supported by his mother Sarah Karali and his twin sister Angeliki Karali, a national age-group heptathlete champion.
Karalis junior was 15 when he matched his father&rsquo;s pole vault PB of 4.80m and he still has ambitions of trying the decathlon and heptathlon one day.
&ldquo;My dad is the core and the maestro,&rdquo; Karalis explained, describing a coaching set up that also sees him guided by Marcin Szczepanski, who works with Polish pole vaulter Piotr Lisek, and George Pomaski, who coaches Greek multiple global long jump gold medallist Miltiadis Tentoglou.
&ldquo;I train with Miltiadis every day for my technique for running, weightlifting and explosiveness,&rdquo; said Karalis. &ldquo;My dad does all my physical preparation to get my body right until it is time for me to go to Poland, where I train with Lisek.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s fun training with other pole vaulters at the same level and I like being in Greece and then going to Poland and on training camps. This set up has worked out really well for me. My dad, of course, he is the project manager.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/678b98e69e13d45fd064d077.jpg" alt="Emmanouil Karalis celebrates with his family in Paris" />
Emmanouil Karalis celebrates with his family in Paris (&copy; Christel Saneh for World Athletics)
</div>
Having the opportunity to take some time away from Greece has also helped, as his accomplishments mean Karalis has become an icon in his home country.
&ldquo;Being the first Greek to ever break six metres&hellip; it&rsquo;s something incredible, it&rsquo;s something historical. That&rsquo;s why it&rsquo;s so big in Greece &ndash; we invented the Olympic Games, sport is like a religion in Greece, so after me doing all those things back-to-back, it&rsquo;s unbelievable,&rdquo; said Karalis, who was named on the Greek Forbes &lsquo;30 Under 30&rsquo; list last year.
&ldquo;In Athens, I can&rsquo;t dine &ndash; everywhere I go now I am recognisable. It&rsquo;s something new to me. Before, people knew me &ndash; I had done national records and I had some medals &ndash; but now after the Olympic bronze and after six metres, it&rsquo;s something really big.&rdquo;
And while his focus remains on his own performances right now, this increasing stature means he hopes to be able to give back to the sport in other ways in future.
&ldquo;I want to make an athletic club in my home town and I want to help young people starting pole vaulting,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Now is not the time because I have to focus on my own sport, but for sure I want to do something to help the younger generations in Greece to get involved.&rdquo;
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After taking some time to reflect on 2024 and enjoy a well-deserved break, Karalis returned to training to prepare for another important indoor season, which he will open in Rouen on 24 January to start his journey towards the European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn and World Indoor Championships in Nanjing. His big target for the outdoor season is understandably the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, the city in which he finished fourth on his Olympic debut.
&ldquo;Pole vaulting is changing and I think we are in the golden era of pole vaulting,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Having a guy like Mondo doing magical stuff, it&rsquo;s something great because the barrier of six metres &ndash; now it&rsquo;s something that is possible for most of us. Every guy on tour that hasn&rsquo;t jumped six metres, in their mind they are feeling more than capable of it.
&ldquo;Even if Mondo wasn&rsquo;t the world record-holder, we have a lot of guys jumping 5.90m and six metres now, there&rsquo;s a lot of great guys on the circuit. In the future we will see amazing stuff, for sure.
&ldquo;I really believe that I can be consistent on the six metre bars, and I can&rsquo;t wait for the future.&rdquo;
Jess Whittington for World Athletics

To Emmanouil ‘Manolo’ Karalis, the performances he achieved in 2024 represent more than sporting success – he continued to break barriers

Newest member of six-metre club, Karalis continues to break barriers

Peres Jepchirchir and Alexander Mutiso Munyao will defend their TCS London Marathon titles on Sunday 27 April, organisers of the World Athletics Platinum Label road race have confirmed.
The elite field also includes world record-holder Ruth Chepngetich, two-time Berlin Marathon champion Tigist Assefa, four-time London Marathon winner Eliud Kipchoge and two-time world cross country champion Jacob Kiplimo, who&rsquo;ll be making his debut over the classic distance. They&rsquo;ll join Olympic marathon champions Sifan Hassan and Tamirat Tola, whose participation was <a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-label-road-races/news/hassan-tola-2025-london-marathon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confirmed earlier this week</a>.
It means the three fastest women in history &ndash; Chepngetich, Assefa and Hassan &ndash; will all toe the line in the British capital.
The race will also include 2021 London Marathon champion Joyciline Jepkosgei and Valencia Marathon champion Alemu Megertu, who finished third and fourth respectively in London this year. They&rsquo;re among the six women in the field with a PB faster than 2:17.
Ethiopia&rsquo;s 2023 Osaka Marathon champion Haven Hailu, Ugandan record-holder Stella Chesang and world bronze medallist Fatima Ezzahra Gardadi are also in the line-up, while Commonwealth 10,000m champion Eilish McColgan is set to make her marathon debut.
Kipchoge, Kiplimo, Tola and Mutiso will be joined in the men&rsquo;s race by world half marathon champion Sabastian Sawe, who ran 2:02:05 in Valencia last month on his debut at the distance. Berlin Marathon champion Milkesa Mengesha and 2024 Tokyo Marathon runner-up Timothy Kiplagat are also in the field.
The line-up also includes New York City Marathon champion Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands, Olympic fourth-place finisher Emile Cairess of Great Britain, German record-holder Amanal Petros, Norway&rsquo;s Sondre Moen, Australian record-holder Andrew Buchanan, Italy&rsquo;s European half marathon champion Yeman Crippa and Olympic triathlon champion Alex Yee.
Kipchoge was the final name announced for the race, as he makes his return to compete in London for the first time since 2020. The Kenyan marathon great claimed his four London Marathon titles in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019. The two-time Olympic marathon champion is the fastest man in the field thanks to the PB of 2:01:09 he set in Berlin in 2022, a former world record that now places him second on the world all-time list.
&ldquo;This is quite simply the greatest elite field in the history of the London Marathon,&rdquo; said Hugh Brasher, CEO of London Marathon Events. &ldquo;We are welcoming back all our defending champions and, excitingly, Ruth Chepngetich who produced one of the most outstanding performances of all time when she became the first woman to run inside 2:10 in Chicago last year.
&ldquo;In Ruth, Sifan Hassan and Tigist Assefa we have the three fastest women of all time in the field in a thrilling showdown. All three have run inside 2:14 and no marathon in history has ever had a faster line-up. This year, our historic 45th edition, is stronger than ever before.&rdquo;
<h3>Elite field</h3>
Women Ruth Chepngetich (KEN) 2:09:56 Tigst Assefa (ETH) 2:11:53 Sifan Hassan (NED) 2:13:44 Peres Jepchirchir (KEN) 2:16:16 Joyciline Jepkosgei (KEN) 2:16:24 Megertu Alemu (ETH) 2:16:34 Stella Chesang (UGA) 2:18:26 Haven Hailu Desse (ETH) 2:19:29 Susanna Sullivan (USA) 2:21:56 Charlotte Purdue (GBR) 2:22:17 Sofiia Yaremchuk (ITA) 2:23:16 Rose Harvey (GBR) 2:23:21 Fatima Ezzahra Gardadi (MAR) 2:24:12 Philippa Bowden (GBR) 2:25:47 Lucy Reid (GBR) 2:26:37 Emily Durgin (USA) 2:26:46 Eilish McColgan (GBR) debut Holly Archer (GBR) debut
Men Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) 2:01:09 Sabastian Sawe (KEN) 2:02:05 Timothy Kiplagat (KEN) 2:02:55 Alexander Mutiso Munyao (KEN) 2:03:11 Milkesa Mengesha (ETH) 2:03:17 Tamirat Tola (ETH) 2:03:39 Mohamed Esa (ETH) 2:04:39 Abdi Nageeye (NED) 2:04:45 Hillary Kipkoech (KEN) 2:04:45 Amanal Petros (GER) 2:04:58 Sondre Nordstad Moen (NOR) 2:05:48 Yemaneberhan Crippa (ITA) 2:06:06 Andrew Buchanan (AUS) 2:06:22 Emile Cairess (GBR) 2:06:46 Mahamed Mahamed (GBR) 2:07:05 Brett Robinson (AUS) 2:07:31 Jacob Sommer Simonsen (DEN) 2:07:51 Philip Sesemann (GBR) 2:08:02 Adam Lipschitz (RSA) 2:08:54 Jonathan Mellor (GBR) 2:09:06 Dewi Griffiths (GBR) 2:09:49 Weynay Ghebresilasie (GBR) 2:09:50 Jacob Kiplimo (UGA) debut Alex Yee (GBR) debut

Peres Jepchirchir and Alexander Mutiso will defend their TCS London Marathon titles on Sunday 27 April

Jepchirchir, Mutiso, Kipchoge and Chepngetich confirmed for London Marathon

Men&rsquo;s world U20 triple jump record 17.75m Jaydon Hibbert (JAM) Kingston, 1 June 2024
 Jaydon Hibbert&rsquo;s world U20 triple jump record of 17.75m has been ratified by World Athletics.
The Jamaican athlete, who turns 20 today (17), improved his own world U20 record with that performance in Kingston on 1 June 2024. The previous ratified record was the leap of 17.66m Hibbert achieved in Monaco on 21 July 2023.
His series in Kingston included an opening leap of 16.45m. He improved to 17.14m in the second round and 17.30m in the third round before he soared out to a meeting record and world U20 record of 17.75m (-0.7m/s) in the fourth and final round.
&ldquo;I was satisfied with the third and fourth jumps of the series,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I feel splendid. I wanted to jump 17.70m, so 17.75m is a bonus.&rdquo;
After that 17.75m jump on home soil during the Racers Grand Prix, Hibbert went on to finish fourth in the Olympic final in Paris, soaring 17.61m, just three centimetres off the bronze medal-winning mark.
His result in Kingston placed Hibbert third on the world top list for 2024 behind only Olympic medallists Jordan Alejandro Diaz Fortun and Pedro Pichardo.
Hibbert&rsquo;s achievements in 2024 also earned him a nomination for Men's Rising Star at the World Athletics Awards.
World Athletics

Jaydon Hibbert’s world U20 triple jump record of 17.75m has been ratified by World Athletics

Heritage plaque honours Hannut's cross country history

Kebede, Kipruto, Kosgei and Cheptegei announced for Tokyo Marathon

Course record-holder Edesa faces Salpeter and Matsuda in Osaka

World Athletics presented with electric SUV as part of Honda sponsorship agreement

Thompson makes indoor debut as World Indoor Tour Gold kicks off in Astana