World Athletics Championships open in Tokyo as stars and injuries loom

The World Athletics Championships open in Tokyo on Saturday, drawing roughly 2,000 athletes from about 200 countries for nine days of competition that will run through Sept. 21. The meet features a host of established stars and rising talents, with medal hopefuls including Keely Hodgkinson, Josh Kerr and Mondo Duplantis, and national teams such as Canada and Great Britain arriving with high expectations and shifting lineups after a summer of breakthroughs and injuries.

Organisers have published a full, day-by-day schedule of morning and evening sessions across track, field, marathon and race walk events. The programme begins with the 35 kilometre race walks and preliminary rounds in sprint, throw and jump events, and builds to marquee finals including middle-distance and relay events in the final weekend. World Athletics says the championships rank alongside the Olympic Games as the top level of outdoor competition.

The build-up has been shaped by both excitement and uncertainty. Several headline names are set to compete, among them Noah Lyles, Femke Bol and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, while injury concerns have clouded others. Reports say Jakob Ingebrigtsen is battling an...