by Deji Ogeyingbo
Race Walks, Shot Put, and Relays Set the Stage in Tokyo
The opening day of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo will set a high bar for the week ahead. Three events are already stirring anticipation: the men’s and women’s 35km race walks, the men’s shot put, and the mixed 4x400m relay final.
The walks will lead off the morning. Spain’s Maria Perez arrives as the favorite for the women’s 35km. She owns the season’s fastest time, a 2:38:59 performance in Poděbrady that included a quick stop and still produced a mark no one else has matched. Perez is also the reigning champion at both 20km and 35km, and her ability to manage recovery across distances makes her a formidable presence. For her, the target is not simply another medal, but a defense of her double title. Standing in her way is Peru’s Kimberly Garcia, the athlete who accomplished the same double two years ago in Oregon. Garcia remains a shrewd competitor and is capable of capitalizing on any slip.
The men’s 35km is a more open affair. Canada’s Evan Dunfee is in a prime position for the win. He clocked 2:21:40 in March, briefly holding the world record until Stano bettered it. At 34, Dunfee brings both experience and consistency, and his confidence is clear. His closest challenger on paper is Germany’s Christopher Linke, who set a lifetime best this spring. Japan’s Masatora Kawano, racing on home soil, will have the crowd behind him. Kawano owns a past world silver and bronze and, though he has yet to race the 35km this season, his sharp 20km results show he is in form. Still, Dunfee’s times are the strongest, and he carries the look of a man prepared to seize a first world title.
In the evening session, the men’s shot put will bring heavyweight drama. Ryan Crouser, the two-time world champion and reigning Olympic champion, returns to the city where he won gold in 2021. A nagging elbow issue has kept him from competition, and questions linger about his sharpness. That could tilt the door open to challengers from his own country. Josh Awotunde won the U.S. trials with a career-best 22.47m, followed closely by Payton Otterdahl and Adrian Piperi. Joe Kovacs, a two-time world champion, missed out on selection despite strong early marks. History suggests the Americans will once again dominate the podium.
The night will close with the mixed 4x400m relay final, which has become one of track and field’s most unpredictable contests. The United States has the depth, and their 3:09.54 victory at the World Relays earlier this year underlined their control. With the option to add names such as Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone or Rai Benjamin, they can field a lineup with no visible weakness. Still, the Netherlands has proven they can unsettle the Americans, as seen at the Olympics when Femke Bol anchored them to victory. Whether Bol takes part in Tokyo remains an open question, but Dutch ambitions remain high.
Poland is another contender, holding the season’s best mark at 3:09.43. Their record-breaking run at the European Team Championships highlighted a squad in tune. Great Britain, steady medalists across the last two global finals, remain in the mix. Belgium, Italy, and Spain have all shown they can run under 3:10, which is increasingly the benchmark for a medal. Japan will hope for inspiration at home, while Jamaica and Kenya have fielded squads with pace and strength.
Prediction is always perilous in a relay, where a split-second handoff can turn a race upside down. Yet the United States carries too much quality to ignore. Their combination of depth, recent form, and competitive history points to another gold, even with rivals pressing hard.
Predictions: Perez to defend her 35km crown, Dunfee to break through for gold, Kovacs to hold firm in the shot, and the U.S. relay squad to win the 4x400m mixed event.
