World Athletics Championships start in Tokyo
The World Athletics Championships kicked off at the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo on Saturday, marking the first time the biennial competition has been held in the Japanese capital in 34 years since 1991.
It is the third time Japan has hosted the World Athletics Championships, following the 2007 championships in Osaka, western Japan.
More than 2,000 athletes from some 200 countries and regions are expected to compete in the 2025 championships, which comprise 49 events over nine days through Sept. 21.
In the men's 35-kilometre race walk on Saturday, Japan's Hayato Katsuki won the bronze medal with a time of 2 hours, 29 minutes and 16 seconds. This was the first medal obtained by a Japanese athlete in the ongoing championships. The race was won by Canadian athlete Evan Dunfee.
Japan's Air Self-Defence Force's Blue Impulse aerobatic team had planned to perform a demonstration flight over the Japan National Stadium in the afternoon of the championships' opening day. Still, the flight was cancelled due to bad weather conditions. There are no plans to reschedule the event at the moment.
