The IAAF World Championships kick off in Doha, Qatar with 10 events on Day 1. With sweltering heat that has seen temperatures reaching 40 degrees celsius, the earliest race will begin at19:30 local time 16:30GMT with races scheduled for as late as midnight.
Ghanaians on Day 1?
Yes, Joseph Paul Amoah, will be in action in the men’s 100m heats starting at 21:05GMT. Having opted to compete in only the short sprint despite also qualifying for the 200m, Amoah is desperate to make an impression in his first World Championships.
The Coppin State Junior ran a lifetime best of 10.01s earlier this year and having broken the national 200m record already this year, the 22 year old will also have one eye on Leo Myles Mills’ national record of 9.98s set in 1999.
After Amoah competes today, we will have to wait till Day 8 of the competition, Friday October 4, to see Ghanaians compete again, this time in the 4x100m relays.
What else is on Day 1?
With both Usain Bolt absent from the championships for the first time since 2003, Justin Gatlin has an opportunity to defend his world title when he competes in the 100m heats today.
Countryman Christian Coleman, silver medalist from 2017 and fastest man in the world this year (9.81s); and Canada’s Andre De Grasse will also be looking to lay down a marker on what could become the most unpredictable 100m line up at the championships in a long while.
African and Commonwealth Champion Akani Simbine will also be looking to make the continent proud.
Women’s 800m
With South Africa’s Caster Semenya absent from the championships due to a controversial rule by the IAAF, the women’s 800m will have a new world champion for the first time since 2007.
America’s Ajee Wilson (1:55.61s) has been in superb form this year and will fancy her chances.
Men’s 5000m
The race to replace Mo Farah will take center stage here. Ethiopia has continued to bring young contenders into this event at an amazing rate – Telahun Haile Bekele, fastest in the world this year, is barely 20, and Selemon Barega, 12:43.02 last year, is still 19. The entry list also includes Norway’s three Ingebrigtsen brothers – Jakob, Filip and Henrik – defending champion Muktar Edris of Ethiopia, his teammate Hagos Gebrhiwet, Canadian record-holder Mo Ahmed and Australia’s Stewart McSweyn.