Men’s 800m

Final: Saturday, 8/26, 2:30pm E.T.

The men’s 800m this year might be the most wide-open event in recent memory. For starters, Wyclife Kinyamal, owner of the fastest time of the season, is not among the four men that his country selected to race the event in Budapest. One athlete that Kenya is sending is reigning Olympic and World champion Emmanuel Korir, thanks to his bye as last year’s winner. Unfortunately, Korir has struggled in the slowest season of his professional career so far. He’s run three races at the distance without finishing higher than 8th or running faster than 1:47. If anyone is to be considered a favorite, it might be his compatriot Emmanuel Wanyonyi. The Kenyan finished just off the podium in last year’s final as a 17-year-old, and with another year of high level racing under his belt, the former World U20 champ at the distance might be ready to make a leap into the spotlight.

If you’re betting on experience, the U.S. team consists of a trio of runners who have all been here before and hope to use that to their advantage as they navigate the rounds. Clayton Murphy is making his fourth appearance on the world stage, after missing the team last year. But his best global showing was his Olympic bronze in 2016. U.S. champion Bryce Hoppel is also on a revenge tour after failing to make it out of the heats last year, and is coming in fresh off running his fastest time in three years in Monaco.

Our neighbors up north are hoping experience pays off for Canadian champ Marco Arop, the reigning bronze medalist. The list of contenders does not stop there however, and they come in pairs: Algerians Silmane Moula and Djamel Sedjati (last year’s silver medalist), the French duo of Gabriel Tual and Benjamin Robert, and Australian national record holder Joseph Deng and the man whose record he broke, Peter Bol.

UK Athletics likes their chances in this event and decided to send a full trio consisting of Max Burgin, Daniel Rowden, and Ben Pattison. With 11 men having run under 1:44 this year, and only Wanyonyi and Hoppel among them having won more races than they have lost, anyone in the final should have their eyes on a medal.

Women’s 800m

Final: Sunday, 8/27, 2:45pm E.T.

While the men’s race is wide open, the women’s is decidedly top-heavy. The matchup that everyone wants to see is the third installment of Athing Mu and Keely Hodgkinson’s heavyweight clash on the global stage, but there are a number of scenarios where the finish in Budapest looks much different than in Tokyo and Eugene.

First and foremost, Mu has to actually make the trip to Hungary, which her coach Bobby Kersee says is up in the air, as she weighs the benefits and costs of skipping the meet in preparation for next year’s Olympics. Hodgkinson has also been racing better than ever before this year. The 21-year-old Brit has run 1:55.77 – the new British record and the fastest time in the world this year by over a full second – and has only lost one race over her signature distance.

That loss was telling, however: she was tactically outdueled by 2022 bronze medalist Mary Moraa in Lausanne. Only two years older than last year's top two finishers, Moraa is undefeated over 800m outdoors this season and her 400m speed makes her a serious threat if she is in the race down the homestretch.

Others that return from last year’s final looking to break up the big 3 include American Raevyn Rogers, who always seems to deliver clutch championship performances, and Jamaican Natoya Goule-Toppin, who is never afraid to take the race out hard. Lastly, with all the attention on Hodgkinson, her British teammate Jemma Reekie has quietly put together an impressive season in her own right. After setting a massive 1500m PB of 3:58.65 in Poland in July, Reekie stepped up following Hodgkinson’s late scratch in the London Athletics Meet to secure the win in front of the home crowd in 1:57.30. It’s possible the U.K. brings home more than one medal in this one.

Men’s 1500m

Final: Wednesday, 8/23, 3:15pm E.T.

Anyone who’s watched a Diamond League 1500m this season has taken note of something subtle but important: Olympic champ Jakob Ingebrigtsen has been working on his closing speed in the home stretch. Ingebrigtsen has more 1500m wins than we can count, but his traditional method of victory is to run the legs off his competition by smoothly winding up the pace for 600 meters or more. He’s been mostly up to the same tricks this season, but it’s clear in many races that he hits the gas a little harder with 100 meters to go to leave no doubt about his victory.

After losing out on World gold in 2022 to Jake Wightman and his blistering kick, Ingebrigtsen does not want the same thing to happen again, and he’s been putting in the work. It’s his only real vulnerability in an event where he’s been the unquestioned world #1 for the last three seasons; in a fast race he’s nearly untouchable but if someone with serious top-end speed is able to unleash it, the Norwegian wunderkind is beatable. Wightman is out this year with an injury along with Commonwealth Games champ Olli Hoare, but someone like U.S. champ Yared Nuguse or British champ Neil Gourley could be this year’s surprise spoiler.

Others like Mo Katir, Josh Kerr, and Timothy Cheruiyot will be fighting for podium spots, but they’ve battled Ingebrigtsen plenty without much success so it’s hard to see them knocking him off the top spot. 2022 proved that nothing is guaranteed, but headed into this year, Ingebrigtsen seems determined not to let history repeat itself.

Women’s 1500m

Final: Tuesday, 8/22, 3:30pm E.T.

As has been the case for the better part of the last decade, the gold medal in the women’s 1500m is all but spoken for. In 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2022, the lowest Faith Kipyegon has finished at a global championship is 2nd, and since her last runner-up finish in 2019, she’s only gotten better. Kipyegon has three world records and 4 of the 10 fastest 1500m times ever run, but she’s no one-trick pony. A proven championship racer and world junior champion in cross-country, she doesn’t need rabbits and pace lights to deliver. Barring some major unforeseen curveball, Kipyegon has to be considered one of the biggest favorites in any event at Worlds in a distance that’s historically much harder to predict.

And that’s not to say that her competition is lacking depth or ability. Sifan Hassan, the 2019 World champ and Laura Muir, the runner-up in Tokyo, are each generational talents in their own right but haven’t been able to take down Kipyegon in recent years. Ethiopia has four athletes entered with sub-3:56 PBs but relatively unproven in championships.

And depending on how the tactics of the race play out behind Kipyegon, there could be some interesting milestones as both Jessica Hull and Linden Hall could become the first Australian woman in history to medal in the 1500m or American Nikki Hiltz could become the first openly non-binary athlete to medal in any event.

Men’s 5000m

Final: Sunday 8/27, 2:10pm E.T.

The men’s 5000m has certainly leveled up this year, at least in terms of fast times. 12:40 is the new 12:50 and 12:50 is the new 13:00. A whopping 18 men have run under 13 minutes this year and 12:46.02 is only good for the #8 mark of 2023. But fast times only mean so much when it comes to championship racing. One man not among that list? Reigning World champ Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who made an absolute mockery of the best distance runners in the world with a dominant victory in Eugene.

If he again doubles back from the 1500m, he’ll likely be the favorites against a talented roster of Ethiopians, Kenyans, and Ugandans that include world record holder Joshua Cheptegei, world leader Berihu Aregawi, 2022 runner-up Jacob Krop, and more. If it’s a kicker’s race, someone like Spaniard Mo Katir, American Paul Chelimo, or Canadian Moh Ahmed could easily sprint his way to the podium as well. A medal for Northern Arizona alumni Luis Grijalva (representing Guatemala) and Abdihamid Nur (representing the U.S.) is likely a long shot, but not impossible. But until someone proves otherwise, Ingebrigtsen will dictate the tone, pace, and likely the outcome of this one.

Women’s 5000m

Final: Saturday 8/26, 2:50pm E.T.

The big question in this one is who runs and how fresh they are. All the big names are likely going to be coming back from either the 10,000m (Sifan Hassan, Letesenbet Gidey, Gudaf Tsegay) or the 1500m (Faith Kipyegon) with the possible exception of World XC champ Beatrice Chebet of Kenya.

If Kipyegon runs, it’s hard to argue that the world record holder in both the 5000m and the 1500m wouldn’t have the edge in a championship-style race, but she’s never doubled at a global championship before so one has to wonder if her coaches and team are concerned about her ability to stay on top of her form for her fifth race in 9 days.

In recent years, it’s been a stretch to consider even the best Americans a medal contender, but with Alicia Monson becoming the first U.S. woman to crack 14:20 in London and Elise Cranny showing serious finishing speed at USAs, they’re at least worth a mention as long shots for the podium in a slightly slower race. If recent form holds, the battle for the win will likely be some sort of combination of Kipyegon, Tsegay, Chebet, and Hassan if she opts for this double (she’s triple-entered in the 1500m, 5000m, and 10,000m – more on that below).

Men’s 10,000m

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

When he toes the line on the second night of competition at this year’s championships in Budapest, Joshua Cheptegei will look to join the elite company of Mo Farah, Kenenisa Bekele, and Haile Gebreselassie as the only athletes to win three consecutive world titles over the 10,000-meter distance. Cheptegei is yet to win a race this year, but he’s still been busy, with a medal at world cross, a runner-up finish at the NYC Half Marathon, and one of the ten fastest 5000m performances in history.

He will have stiff competition for the threepeat even without his compatriot and last year’s bronze medalist Jacob Kiplimo – who pulled out with a hamstring injury – in the field. Cheptegei will be expected to battle it out late in the race against Ethiopian stars Berihu Aregawi and Selemon Barega, the only two athletes to break 27 on the season. Kenya’s dreams of ending its 22-year gold medal drought in this event rest on Nicholas Kipkorir, the reigning Diamond League champion at 5,000m. The Kenyans often employ team tactics in championship races, so look for Kipkorir to work with Bernard Kibet and Daniel Ebenyo.

On the American side of things, Woody Kincaid and Joe Klecker are both having career years and will hope to make up for the absence of last year’s 4th placer Grant Fisher. If Kincaid especially is within striking distance on the last lap, his kick can be lethal. The other American representative is Fisher’s Bowerman Track Club teammate Sean McGorty, the only U.S. man doubling back to the 5,000m later in the meet. The Bowerman athlete that will play the biggest factor in the race, however, is Canadian Moh Ahmed, who has placed sixth in each of the last three global championships.

Women’s 10,000m

Final: Saturday 8/19, 2:55pm E.T.

The women’s 10,000m is likely Sifan Hassan’s best shot at victory. The Dutch superstar is already the 2019 and 2021 World/Olympic champ in the event and came off her marathon debut exceedingly well. It’s unheard of that the London Marathon champion would be able to produce a 3:58 1500m six weeks after the race, but Hassan is built different. She could be considered the favorite – but then again, she only got fourth last year.

Reigning world champ Letesenbet Gidey could repeat, but the world record holder isn’t known for her top-end speed and has only raced one track race this year (although it was a 14:07.94 5000m on Faith Kipyegon’s heels in Paris).

Four Ethiopian athletes, led by middle-distance specialist Gudaf Tsegay, have broken 30 minutes this year, but the Kenyan team is a trio of relative unknowns. 24-year-old Irine Jepchumba Kimais won the Kenyan trials, but despite a fairly prolific half marathon career (including a 64:37 PB), she’s rarely raced on the track outside Kenya. Brit Eilish McColgan and Americans Alicia Monson and Elise Cranny have run fast enough to be considered podium contenders, but if anyone with 29-low credentials wants to make this a hammerfest, they could be left picking up the pieces and trying to land on the podium with a late close. So although there are a number of big names entered, how this race will shape up is one of the more intriguing mysteries of the distance events in Budapest.

Men’s 3000m Steeplechase

Final: Tuesday, 8/22, 3:42pm E.T.

Since 2019, two men have landed on the podium in all three global steeplechase championships. Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco has a bronze and two golds in that span, and Ethiopian Lamecha Girma has had three runner-up finishes. In recent years, head-to-head battles between the duo have led to El Bakkali, with his messy racing and blistering kick, coming out on top. Since Girma took silver in 2019, El Bakkali is 5-0 in their head-to-head races. But it was Girma, not his Moroccan rival, who knocked out a world record performance earlier this year with his 7:52.11 performance in Paris, 4+ seconds clear of El Bakkali’s personal best.

In all likelihood, gold and silver will once again come down to another epic clash between this duo, as world #3 right now is 20-year-old Kenyan Simon Koech at 8:04.19. But even without pacers, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that a good battle between the two means Girma’s world record is already on borrowed time.

Women’s 3000m Steeplechase

Final: Sunday, 8/27, 3:10pm E.T.

When the reigning world champion is not showing up to defend her title it means two things: something has gone wrong with one of the sport’s big stars, and the gold medal is up for grabs in a fairly open competition for the rest of the field. While 2022 champ Norah Jeruto serves a suspension for an Athlete Biological Passport violation, there are a number of women looking to take her place.

Former gold medalists Emma Coburn and Beatrice Chepkoech are both looking to bounce back after missing the final in Eugene last year. Coburn, the 2017 champ, is still rounding into form this year but ran her fastest time of the season at USAs despite not winning the national title for the first time since 2013. World record holder and 2019 winner Chepkoech missed Worlds last year with an injury but has been running consistently fast times so far this season.

Two more women that missed the final last year, 19-year-old Jackline Chepkoech of Kenya and 18-year-old Sembo Almayew of Ethiopia, have the two fastest times in the world this year by far and will present a stiff challenge to their more experienced rivals. Last year’s 4th place finisher, Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi, has also put together an impressive season, but no single woman has emerged as a dominant force in the event this year. It’s a field ripe for surprises.

Men’s Marathon

Final: Sunday, 8/27, 1am E.T.

The road to marathon victory in Budapest likely goes through Ethiopia and Kenya, which have combined to take home at least the top two spots in each of the last three world championships marathons. Reigning champ Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia leads a squad of four men with sub-2:05 personal bests, including 2023 Tokyo Marathon champ and 3rd-placer Chalu Deso and Tsegaye Getachew, along with 2022 London runner-up Leul Gebresilase. Tola is the fastest man in the field, and if anyone should be considered a favorite in this fairly open race, it's him.

The Kenyan team announced in June was full of big names, but soon after, Kelvin Kiptum, the second fastest man in history, and two-time NYC Marathon champ Geoffrey Kamworor had dropped out. The remaining Kenyan team is led by Timothy Kiplagat, the fastest in the field by 2023 season’s best. Joining him are Titus Kipruto, who finished fourth in this year’s Tokyo Marathon, and Joshua Belet who made an impressive marathon debut (2:04:33) in Hamburg earlier this year. Championship creds often hold more weight than past times in races like Worlds, but the flat Budapest course may favor those with serious speed.

Outside of Ethiopia and Kenya, two other athletes with sub-2:05 bests to keep an eye on are Olympic silver medalist in Tokyo Abdi Nageeye, and Ugandan national record holder Stephen Kissa. The 34-year-old Kissa leads an otherwise inexperienced Ugandan team, which includes Victor Kiplangat, the 22-year-old reigning Commonwealth Games champion. On the other side of the experience spectrum, Elkhanah Kibet will be making his fourth world championship appearance for the U.S. but hasn’t placed better than 16th in London six years ago. He or Canadian Rory Linkletter may be the best bets for top North American finisher, where a good day could result in a top-10 finish.