The World Championships are the biggest track and field competition for elite athletes every two years, organized by the International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF). They are held a month and a half after the Olympics. They have become the top stage for the world’s finest athletes to prove themselves. There is a huge prize pot for winning gold medals.

This year’s edition of the event is taking place in Japan’s capital, Tokyo, from Sept 12-21 with live coverage on NBC Sports and Peacock. The championships began with a bang and saw the likes of Carl Lewis and Stefka Kostadinova take gold in the men’s long jump and high jump respectively.

But there have been plenty of other highlights including the first world titles for Kenyan middle- and long-distance runners in a decade thanks to Beatrice Chebet’s 5,000m and 10,000m wins. A thrilling sprint finish for the women’s marathon between Tanzania’s Alphonce Simbu and Germany’s Amanal Petros was one for the ages.

USA’s Noah Lyles is also the most popular athlete in the competition at the moment thanks to his two gold and a bronze. He is being compared to Bolt and could soon make history of his own with a fifth 200m title in the future. The US sprinter has a mutual love affair with Japan and the fans he has won over in Tokyo are sure to follow him when he heads to Beijing 2022.