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• Faith Kipyegon has the chance to equal Hicham El Guerrouj’s record gold-medal haul
• Her compatriot Nelly Chepchirchir will be buoyed by Diamond League Final win
• Diribe Welteji, Jessica Hull and Nikki Hiltz are among the medal contenders 

Despite having contested only three official races this year, Faith Kipyegon starts as the big gold-medal favourite at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25, especially after one of those races featured a world record.

The Kenyan star opened her campaign in late April at the Diamond League meeting in Xiamen, just missing the world 1000m record with 2:29.21 – the third-fastest time in history behind her own PB and the world record.

Two months later, she produced the fastest mile performance in history (4:06.42) in an unofficial exhibition event. Shortly after that she competed at the Diamond League meeting in Eugene and improved her own world 1500m record, which now stands at 3:48.68. 

She also attempted the world 3000m record at the Diamond League meeting in Silesia in August, but missed it by less than a second. Nevertheless, she was satisfied with the result as she became the only woman to come within five seconds of the long-standing world record of 8:06.11 set by Wang Junxia in 1993.

“It is all about Tokyo now,” she said after the race.

The 31-year-old has won three Olympic and three world 1500m titles – more than any other woman in the history of the event – and remains unbeaten over the distance for four years. If she continues this streak at the World Championships, she will equal the gold medal haul achieved by Hicham El Guerrouj – the only runner with four world 1500m titles.

Her closest pursuer Gudaf Tsegay, who ran 3:50.62 this year, is entered in the 5000m and 10,000m at WCH Tokyo 25. Since the longest track event and the 1500m heats both fall on the first competition day, Saturday 13 September, the Ethiopian has decided to skip the shorter distance. The 1500m semifinals are on 14 September, and the final is two days after that.

Kipyegon’s compatriot Beatrice Chebet – fifth on this season’s 1500m top list – made the same decision as Tsegay. However, if everything goes to plan, the trio will reunite in the final of the 5000m – an event in which Kipyegon is also the defending champion. 

In Tsegay’s absence, Ethiopia’s leading contender for a 1500m medal is Diribe Welteji, the world silver medallist two years ago. When Kipyegon set her world record in Eugene, the 22-year-old finished second in a personal best of 3:51.44, which places her eighth on the all-time list.

Three spots ahead of her on that world all-time list stands Australia’s Olympic silver medallist Jessica Hull, who narrowly lost this year’s Diamond League Final in Zurich when Kenya’s Nelly Chepchirchir beat her in a photo finish. Chepchirchir, who also won at the Diamond League meetings in Doha, Rabat, Paris and Monaco, is also among the contenders in Tokyo.

The US team will be led by national champion Nikki Hiltz, who won at the penultimate Diamond League meeting in Brussels in a season’s best of 3:55.94. 

Laura Muir has placed in the top six at the last five World Championships. She will be part of the British team again, while her compatriot Georgia Hunter Bell – who is the sixth-fastest woman in the 1500m this year and the Olympic bronze medallist – has decided to focus on the 800m. 

Lucijan Zalokar for World Athletics

• Niels Laros is undefeated over 1500m this year after wins in Brussels and Zurich
• An unprecedented season has created an unusually wide field of podium contenders
• Jakob Ingebrigtsen left racing to be ready to compete after achilles injury

The World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 will begin with no clear favourite in the men’s 1500m.

This season has been characterised by exceptionally fast racing – a record 14 men have run under 3:30 this year – and a multiplicity of winners of the big races as six different men have won Diamond League events over 1500m or a mile.

In the absence of the dominant figure in the 1500m for the last four years – Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who sustained an achilles injury early in the year and has missed almost the entire outdoor season – the event has become unpredictable, and the race for the world title shapes as the most open in years.

The closest thing to a frontrunner is probably the 20-year-old Dutch athlete Niels Laros, who won the Diamond League Final in Zurich, and also had wins in Brussels and Eugene, which boasted one of the deepest fields of the year.

What Laros lacks in experience, he makes up for with a blistering finishing kick which is likely to stand him in good stead in a championship final. He finished sixth at the Paris Olympics but has gone to a new level this year, defeating all the main contenders and lowering the Dutch record to 3:29.20.

His back-to-back wins in Brussels and Zurich means he will go into Tokyo with momentum. If he was to win, he would be the youngest champion in the history of the event.

“I am going into Tokyo with a lot of confidence,” he confirmed in Zurich. “My coach (Tom Lewandowski) and I know that there will be high expectations, we want to be realistic. But of course, I am dreaming about the podium.”

Others dreaming of the podium will include French veteran Azeddine Habz, who has the top time of the year (3:27.49) set when gaining a narrow victory over 18-year-old Kenyan prodigy Phanuel Koech (3:27.72) and Briton George Mills (3:28.36) in the extraordinarily fast race at the Paris Diamond League meeting.

Others who have broken 3:30 this year include defending world champion and Olympic silver medallist Josh Kerr (3:29.37), world indoor champion Ingebrigtsen (3:29.63 indoors in February), 2019 world champion Timothy Cheruiyot (3:29.75) and Australian teenager Cameron Myers (3:29.80), so none of them can be discounted.

Olympic champion Cole Hocker has yet to find his best form this year, squeezing into the US team for Tokyo by virtue of a third place at his national championships in August. Olympic bronze medallist Yared Nuguse, currently ranked No.1 in the world, will not compete in Tokyo after he was caught out in that hotly-contested US final.

Jonah Koech was the winner of that race, and also of the 1500m in Rabat early in the season. His Kenyan namesake Phanuel Koech won in London in July, defeating Kerr, while Portugal’s Isaac Nader won the Dream Mile in Oslo in June and has featured highly in many of the big races this year. All of these athletes have podium potential in Tokyo.

And what of Ingebrigtsen? The Norwegian admitted last week he was still fighting to be fit to compete.

“I’m definitely racing against the clock to make the world championships, but if I’m on the start line, of course, I’m going to try to win and believe that I can win,” he said.

An irresistible frontrunner, Ingebrigtsen’s presence or absence is likely to make a material difference to the early pace of the final, and which other contenders that might suit. Both athletes and fans will need to be ready for anything.

Nicole Jeffery for World Athletics

RIGA (Latvia) – How do you feel when you shock the world and eliminate the top favorite for the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 title?

Asking Finland that question after upsetting Serbia, the Susijengi players offered a mix of bewilderment at the achievement, firm belief that it would happen and confidence in knowing their journey is not done.

Finland busted everyone’s EuroBasket bracket with a 92-86 victory over the Serbs – their first over the powerhouse since 2009 – to reach back-to-back Quarter-Finals for the first time.

When asked to rate this victory in Finland’s basketball annuls, superstar Lauri Markkanen said after his 29-point outing: “It’s up there… We had a few difficult days, but this shows the spirit of the team and that we can overcome these.”

Finland head coach Lassi Tuovi was hesitant to compare this victory to others in Finland’s past.

“We are very proud to knock out one of the favorites for the title who play great basketball. But I don’t think it’s even fair to compare this to the others which is bigger. But this is a big one for us and for Finnish basketball,” he said.

Sasu Salin has been part of Finland’s rise in the last six EuroBaskets from the country’s first continental appearance in 16 years in 2011 to now upsetting one of the giants in the game.

“I only realized it in the last 5-10 seconds when I said it out loud,” the 34-year-old sniper said about beating Serbia. “It’s a mental thing that you just have to believe. We were David against Goliath today and we really did a great job.”

Miro Little stepped up with a 13-8-6 statline, while Elias Valtonen finished off the game for Finland with some massive shots; ending with 13 points after averaging just 4.8 points in the group stage.

“It was an amazing night. We just believed in each other. We were relaxed. Being underdogs was good for us,” said the TCL Player of the Game.

Edon Maxhuni has been with the Susijengi for four years and this win is way way up there.

“For me it’s pretty big. Of course we don’t compare other teams. But Serbia is a great team with a lot of potential with great players in Europe and the NBA. I like this victory to be honest,” he said.

Read about the Finns’ shocking win

Stunner: Susijengi shock Serbia in Round of 16

As surprising the result was for the rest of those in Riga and around the world, the Finnish team never doubted themselves.

“People don’t appreciate that being in the top 16 here for a small country, or being in the (FIBA Basketball) World Cup, it’s not just a walk in the park. We’ve been working on this. Then you will need to meet and knock out the big countries to achieve the next round. That’s how the road should be. Nothing is ever easy,” Tuovi said.

“We expected that but nobody else did,” said Salin.

And Maxhuni added: “You gotta dream big and be a little crazy. Nobody, not even Finnish media expected us to win this game. We knew we were going to win this game and that’s how you become a little bit delusional.”

The victory was definitely hailed back home in Suomi.

The sports media outlet Ruutu Urheilu headlined its coverage with “SENSAATIO” while the Helsinki weekly newspaper Kansan Uutiset wrote: “Riga sensation: “The Wolfpack has captured Serbia!”

“

“You gotta dream big and be a little crazy.”

The Tampere daily ‘Aamulehti’ headlined its report: “The Susijengi pulled off an all-time miracle – one man rose from the shadows to become a superhero. A lot can change in one flight from Tampere to Riga.”

The latter part referring to Valtonen and his disappointing offensive performance in the group stage.

And Helsinki tabloid ‘Iltalehti’ offered: “Finland humiliated the giants”.

Back in Riga, the Finns emphasized their journey is not complete with a Quarter-Finals showdown up-coming against the winner of the France versus Georgia game.

“We’re not done yet. But we’re gonna enjoy this. That is a heck of a team over there that we just beat. So now we move forward,” Markkanen said.

“We’ve always been talking about taking the next steps. Even last EuroBasket we made it to the top eight. We lost to a great team in Spain. And we will face a great team in the top eight again. Who knows, maybe we win that and we go to the medal games. That’s the next idea,” Salin said.

Tuovi, meanwhile, said it best.

“We are humble about the next one because we know it’s a tough road. But underdogs should dream big.”

FIBA