The World Championships in Athletics begin this Friday (6:05 p.m. CEST) in Eugene, USA. On the first day of competition in the state of Oregon on the US west coast, the Potsdam walker Christopher Linke is one of the medal candidates over 20 kilometers. Due to the nine-hour time difference to German time, the competition will take place on Saturday night (12:10 a.m. CEST).
The highlights of the first day of the World Championships are the 100-meter heats with Italy’s Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs and the final of the 4×400-meter mixed relay with Allyson Felix (Saturday 4:50 a.m. CEST). The US record medalist could claim her 14th World Championship gold. The 36-year-old ends her great career this season.
Around 1900 athletes from 192 countries will compete for the medals until July 24th. The German Athletics Association has nominated 80 athletes. At the 2019 World Cup in Doha, the DLV aces won six medals. Decathlete Niklas Kaul and long jumper Malaika Mihambo are defending champions at the Hayward Field stadium.
But the World Cup also offers the stage for special athletes who don’t just shine with performances at the limit. We present ten of them in the photo series.