Heptathlon

Saturday 8/19-Sunday 8/20 (Specific times for each event can be found here)

With two-time Olympic champ and two-time World champ Nafi Thiam out with an injury, and last year’s 4th-place finisher Adrianna Sułek expecting a baby, American fan favorite Anna Hall is now the betting favorite as well after taking home bronze last year.

Reigning silver medalist Anouk Vetter has not finished a competition since setting her Dutch record in Eugene last year and will be a major question mark in Budapest this time around. Other top ranked heptathletes that don't have a complete competition on their resumes this year are last year’s fifth and sixth place finishers Noor Vidts and Annik Kalin.

The only competitor within 500 points of Hall’s season’s best – the fifth best mark in history – is 2019 World Champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson. In an event where so much can change from year to year, one surprise candidate to watch is Taliyah Brooks who can give the U.S. hope of getting two women onto the podium.

Decathlon

Friday 8/25-Saturday 8/26 (Specific times for each event can be found here)

After winning the NCAA title 3 months ago, German Leo Neugebauer (also a Texas Longhorn andowner of the highest decathlon score in the world this year), will look to become the first collegian to win decathlon gold at a global championship since the 1956 Olympics.

He will have to once again fend off his collegiate rival Kyle Garland, who has the third highest score of the year, tied with fellow American Harrison Williams. Also vying for the top spot will be Canadian Pierce LePage, who is ranked number one in the world, and reigning world champion and world record holder Kevin Mayer.

Other former champions in the field include Olympic gold medalist Damian Warner, and Doha gold medalist Niklas Kaul. With so many names in the mix it is easy to overlook even those with impressive resumes like last year’s bronze medalist Zachary Ziemek of the U.S., and 2022 NCAA champion Ayden Owens-Delerme representing Puerto Rico, both of whom are ranked in the top-six in the world.

Mayer, at 31 years old, has not set a personal best in any event in two years, but if he’s anywhere close to his best form he’ll be tough to beat.

Women’s High Jump

Final: Sunday, 8/27, 2:05pm E.T.

In an event where it has taken a clearance higher than 2 meters to win every world championship gold since the turn of the century, it is only natural to start with the four athletes that have surpassed that mark this season. The star Ukrainian duo of Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Iryna Gerashcenko may be aiming for a podium sweep with teammate Yuliia Levchenko (also ranked in the top 10).

World leader Nicola Olyslagers watched her countrywoman Eleanor Patterson take home gold last year and both Aussies will battle it out for the top spot again in Budapest. Former indoor world champion Vashti Cunningham is the only athlete from the U.S that qualified to compete in the event and will be looking to redeem her disappointment from last year where she failed to make the final in Eugene. Cunningham won bronze in 2019 but has struggled to medal at the global level outdoors in the past.

Lastly, it is worth mentioning that for a second straight year, three-time world champion and reigning Olympic champion Mariya Lasitskene will not be competing due to the World Athletics ban of Russian and Belarusian athletes due to their nations’ involvement in Ukraine.

Men’s High Jump

Final: Tuesday, 8/22, 1:55pm E.T.

With the credentials that Mutaz Barshim has, it's impossible to not label the reigning 3x high jump world champion the favorite as he goes for four straight. He has the world-leading mark at 2.36m and highest personal best in the field at 2.43m, but he will have stiff competition.

American JuVaughn Harrison bested Barshim at last month’s London Diamond League meeting, and has made the jump – no pun intended – from up-and-coming star to legitimate global contender.

Barshim’s biggest competitors at the last two global championships, Gianmarco Tamberi and Sang-hyeok Woo, remain at the top of their game and will look to add to their medal collection. After just missing the world final last year, Hamish Kerr has ridden a stellar indoor season to a top five ranking in the world and if the reigning Commonwealth Games champion is in top shape, he is a threat to take displace of the favorites.

Women’s Pole Vault

Final: Wednesday, 8/23, 1:30pm E.T.

Last year, Katie Nageotte won pole vault world gold. This year she’ll look to repeat the victory as Katie Moon. Moon remains the best pole vaulter in the world this year and is the favorite headed into the competition with a world-leading 4.90m season’s best. Her compatriot and last year’s silver medalist Sandi Morris hasn’t returned to her top form yet this season, but when an athlete has medaled at seven of the last eight major global competitions – including indoor/outdoor world championships and the Olympics – she shouldn’t be doubted on the world’s biggest stage.

After just missing the podium in Eugene last year, Tina Sutej has put together a career year at 34 years old and her first global outdoor medal is within her reach. However, Australia’s Nina Kennedy may not give up her third place position from last year’s Worlds so easily. Kennedy makes up the next generation of pole vault stars along with respective indoor and outdoor world U20 record holders Wilma Murto and Eliza McCartney, both of whom will look to make their mark on the senior level of competition.

Men’s Pole Vault

Final: Saturday, 8/26, 1:25pm E.T.

In his last competition before Worlds, Mondo Duplantis did something he hadn’t done in almost two years: finish outside the top three in a pole vault competition. Despite this hiccup, he remains the clear favorite in the competition as he has eighteen career clearances over the next highest personal best in the field.

Last year’s silver medalist Chris Nielsen is probably the U.S.’s best chance at a medal this time around, but he’ll have to beat last year’s third place finisher, Filipino Ernest John Obiena, who’s one of two vaulters entered other than Duplantis to clear 6 meters.

The other is Norwegian Sondre Guttormsen who had a stellar indoor season in the NCAA system for the Princeton Tigers but has struggled to find his rhythm outdoors. The absence of former Olympic champions Renaud Lavillenie and Thiago Braz may allow vaulters who have yet to break through on the global stage, like two time Commonwealth champion Kurtis Marschall to reach for a medal.

Women’s Long Jump

Final: Sunday, 8/20, 10:55am E.T.

With reigning world and Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo hurt, there will be a new face at the top of the women’s long jump podium at a global outdoor championships since 2017, when Brittney Reese won her fourth and final World gold.

The U.S is sending a strong team looking to repeat that performance, with the charismatic Tara Davis-Woodhall finally getting a chance to break through on the world stage and capitalize on the opening at the top of the podium. With her in Budapest will be teammate – and rival – Quanesha Burks and newly minted pro Jasmine Moore.

Moore’s collegiate rival, world leader Ackelia Smith, will be representing Jamaica and might be Davis-Woodhall’s top competition for gold. With the competition this open, there are a number of other women who may end up outjumping the competition including top ranked Ivana Vuleta, European indoor champion Jazmin Sawyers, and up-and-coming Italian Larissa Iapichino. Lastly, while reigning silver medalist Ese Brume hasn’t had her best season this year, she’s landed on the podium in each of the last three global championships, so you can’t count the Nigerian out.

Men’s Long Jump

Final: Thursday, 8/24, 1:30pm E.T.

No big names are missing from the men’s long jump, but the competition for gold is just as uncertain in the women’s event. The defending champion is China’s Jianan Wang, but he has a season’s best outside the top ten in the field.

Reigning Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou won silver in Eugene last year and is the top ranked long jumper in the world, and his propensity to come up big in the final round of jumping may serve him well here. The two athletes other than Tentoglou that have shown the most consistency this year are American Marquis Dendy, who is ranked second in the world, and Simon Ehammer of Switzerland, who rounded out last year’s podium.

The Indian duo of Jeswin Aldrin and Murali Sreeshankar have the two longest jumps this outdoor season, but they are both young and have yet to prove themselves on the global stage. Jamaicans Wayne Pinnock and Carey McLeod are in a similar boat, while their countryman Tajay Gayle is looking for redemption: the 27-year-old won the 2019 World Championships in Doha with the longest jump in the world since 2009 but failed to register a mark last summer in Eugene.

Women’s Triple Jump

Final: Friday, 8/25, 1:35pm E.T.

It's Yulimar Rojas’s world and we are just living in it. The 3x reigning world champion and Olympic gold medalist has not lost a global final indoors or out since taking silver at the Rio Olympics when she was only 20 years old, and she’s shown no signs of slowing down.

The remaining two medal positions however are full of intrigue as Jamaica, the U.S, and Cuba all have hopes of grabbing silver and bronze. Last year’s silver medalist Shanieka Ricketts will be looking for a repeat performance while her teammate Ackelia Smith might be looking for her second medal of the week. Also doubling back from the long jump will be Jasmine Moore, the former NCAA star who has serious medal potential in her signature event, as well as last year’s bronze medalist Tori Franklin. Along with American record holder Keturah Orji, both women have a legit shot at a medal as they come closer to the famed 15-meter barrier. The last pair of teammates with podium aspirations are Leyanis Perez Hernandez and Liadagmis Povea, the Cuban duo with the two longest jumps of the year outside of Rojas. Finally, 2019 silver medalist Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk will be looking for a bounce back performance after an 11th place finish in the final last year.

Men’s Triple Jump

Final: Monday, 8/21, 1:40pm E.T.

This event comes down to youth versus experience. 18-year-old Jaydon Hibbert of Jamaica just finished his freshman year at Arkansas with the farthest jump in the world this year and doesn’t seem afraid of anyone in the competition.

That includes Burkina Faso’s only medalist in World Championships history, Hugues Fabrice Zango who is the highest ranked jumper in the competition and needs only a gold medal to complete his set. It also includes reigning Olympic and World champion Pedro Pichardo, who has the third farthest season’s best despite not jumping since early May.

Last year’s bronze medalist Yaming Zhu has only competed against an international field this season once, but his medal pedigree shows that he steps up when the lights are brightest. Reigning World Indoor champion Lazaro Martinez leads the Cuban contingent but didn’t register a mark last year in Eugene. It is important to note that the top ranked triple jumper in the world, Andy Diaz Hernandez, will continue to sit out global championships as his allegiance transfers from Cuba to Italy – a process that should wrap up just days before the event kicks off at next year’s Olympics.

Women’s Shot Put

Final: Saturday, 8/26, 2:15pm E.T.

Returning champ Chase Ealey may have a challenge on her hands with fellow American Maggie Ewen, who holds the world lead in the shot put this year by nearly forty centimeters. Neither has had a perfect season, showing both flashes of greatness and vulnerability to defeat. Ealey hasn’t competed since USAs and may be using the downtime to get healthy or work through any kinks in training.

Both should be podium favorites nevertheless, along with Chinese veteran Lijiao Gong. The 34-year-old has been on the podium for seven straight world championships, an unprecedented stretch that has included gold medals in 2017 and 2019. She is looking to join all-time greats Merlene Ottey, Usain Bolt, and Mo Farah as the only athletes with eight or more individual world championship medals.

Other former medalists include last year’s third place finisher Jessica Schilder of the Netherlands and 2019 silver medalist Danniel Thomas-Dodd of Jamaica. Last year in Eugene, Sarah Mitton of Canada and Auriol Dongmo of Portugal finished just off the podium. They have both put together solid seasons this time around but are just one gear away from cracking the top three absent a major breakthrough.

Men’s Shot Put

Final: Saturday, 8/19, 2:35pm E.T.

The United States returns all three members of their podium sweep in this event last year – Ryan Crouser, Joe Kovacs, and Josh Awotunde – and is responsible for 4 of the 8 throwers over 22 meters on the entry list. For Crouser the question is likely not if he will win gold – he has almost a full meter on the competition – but how far he can go. But Crouser is not infallible, and it’s worth noting that until last summer he had never won a gold medal at Worlds.

Kovacs, the reigning silver medalist, actually has more world titles (two: 2015 and 2019) than his teammate, but it would still be seen as an upset for Crouser to fall. The biggest podium threats from outside the U.S are last year’s fourth place finisher Tom Walsh and Jamaican contender Rajindra Campbell who has the fourth farthest throw in the world this year. Eugene was the first time Walsh had missed a World/Olympic podium since 2015, so the tall Kiwi will certainly be looking to get back up there this time around.

Women’s Discus

Final: Tuesday, 8/22, 2:20pm E.T.

Last year on home soil, Olympic champ Valerie Allman had to settle for bronze. In 2023, it’s clear the ASICS star has nothing but gold on the mind. With the top six throws in the world this year, the reigning Diamond league champ has more than a 3-meter lead on her next closest competitor in Budapest.

With 2019 champ and second farthest thrower in the world this year Yaime Perez not on the start list, Allman’s closest competition is Dutchwoman Jordine Van Klinken who finished fourth last year as a collegian and is also entered in the shot put later in the week.

Last year’s champ Bin Feng of China, who beat Allman with a huge personal best in Eugene, is still a medal threat although she’s yet to throw within two meters of her winning mark last year. Germany brings three athletes with season’s bests among the top six in the field – all of whom made the final last year – led by Olympic silver medalist Kristin Pudenz. American Laulauga Tausaga-Collins is looking to improve on her previous finals performances (she fouled out in 2019 and finished 12th in 2022), and with a shiny new PB from the final round of USAs, she should have a good shot at a much higher finish.

Men’s Discus

Final: Monday, 8/21, 2:30pm E.T.

Defending world champ Kristjan Ceh has been dominant on the world stage over the last two seasons in the discus, but has been beaten in both of his last two competitions. Both of those competitions were won by 2019 champ and longtime rival Daniel Stahl, the Swedish Olympic champ looking to take his gold back after finishing 4th in Eugene.

The Lithuanian duo of Mykolas Alekna and Andrius Gudžius both medaled last year in Eugene and if Stahl falters, they should be well-positioned to do so again. Alekna’s father’s championship record from 2005 was broken last year by Ceh, but remains one of only three men in history to throw over 73 meters, a mark that no one has come within a meter of in over 15 years.

There are two other men in the field who have surpassed 70m this year, Austria’s Lukas Weißhaidenger, and Samoa’s Alex Rose. Sam Mattis will look to improve on his disappointing performance in last year’s final, the only American to make it that far.

Women’s Hammer Throw

Final: Thursday, 8/24, 2:15pm E.T.

The U.S women make up six of the top seven spots at the top of the hammer throw leaderboard this season, but they’re capped at four entrants, led by defending champ Brooke Andersen.

The best candidate to break up the American women on the podium is fellow North American and NCAA alum, 2022 silver medalist Camryn Rogers of Canada. Last year’s bronze medalist Janee’ Kassanavoid and 2019 world champion DeAnna Price are among the U.S women that expect to medal, and 2019 bronze medalist Zheng Wang of China hopes to return to the top three as well.

Speaking of medals, the greatest hammer thrower of all time is back. Four time world champion, three time Olympic champion, and world record holder Anita Włodarczyk is back at the championships for the first time since 2017 after getting injured in a freak accident last summer and can’t be counted out of the gold medal conversation.

Men’s Hammer Throw

Final: Sunday, 8/20, 11:50am E.T.

Five different men threw over 80 meters in the World Championship final in Eugene last year, yet only three men have eclipsed the barrier all year in 2023. Five-time global gold medalist and returning champion Paweł Fajdek may seem like the favorite based on his resume, but he has only the ninth farthest season’s best in the field. His Polish compatriot, 4x World medalist and reigning Olympic champion Wojciech Nowicki, will have his sights set on gold as he holds the 2023 world lead, as well as 7 of the top 11 throws of the season.

The second farthest throw of the season belongs to Rudy Winkler, who finished sixth at last year’s championships and is looking to become the first American man to win a world championships medal in the history of the event. And every time Bence Halasz steps into the ring to throw, the whole stadium will be watching as the 4th-ranked hammer thrower in the world is one of host nation Hungary’s best chances to medal over the course of the entire competition.

Women’s Javelin Throw

Final: Friday, 8/25, 2:20pm E.T.

After taking home silver on home soil last year, and winning the Diamond League final on the final throw of her career, Kara Winger retired on a career high. It was an amazing farewell, but it leaves Americans without a podium favorite in the event.

Last year’s bronze medalist Haruka Kitaguchi of Japan should walk in as the favorite. She’s coming off three straight wins and her farthest throw of the season last month. Two-time defending champion Kelsey-Lee Barber is off to a slow start this year and has not won a competition yet, but her Australian countrywoman Mackenzie Little comes into Budapest ranked second in the world amidst the best season of her career.

The second farthest throw in the world belongs to Norwegian Sigrid Borge, who’s had an up-and-down year but has medal potential if she is on her game. In the absence of Winger, Americans will have their eyes on Maggie Malone to make the final, and if she can revisit her 65-meter personal best, she’ll have a decent shot at getting the U.S. on the podium again.