Imagine this: you’re standing before 60,000 fans roaring in excitement as your stomach folds over itself in anxious anticipation. The sight of the blazing red track only makes your heart pound stronger, but you came here with one goal in mind: to win. This was the reality of over 2,000 competitors in the 2025 World Athletics Championship in Tokyo. The event began on September 13, 2025 and finished nine days later on September 21, 2025.
World Athletics is an organization created to establish rules and hold competitions for the sport of track and field. The first championship was held in August of 1983, and have been held biennially ever since.
This year, seven championship records were either surpassed or equalled; numerous national records were beaten, and Swedish-American pole vaulter Armand (Mondo) Duplantis broke his own world record from the 2024 Paris Olympics with an impressive vault of 6.30 meters.
“It’s crazy that times continue to drop,” John Gingery, the Lincoln East head track and field coach said. “You’d think it’s something like there’s going to be a sealant, but people continue to improve and move their marks and drop times.”
Even for those who did not take home gold (or the 100,000 dollar prize that comes with breezing through a world record), there was still so much excitement and community within the sport to celebrate. On September 20, 2025, the women’s 5000 meter world record holder Beatrice Chebet went stride for stride in a race against her best friend, who just so happens to be the women’s 1500 and mile world record holder, Faith Kipyegon. Although neither of these women broke any previous records, they dove deeper into what the sport of track and field is all about.
“Congratulations to Beatrice. I knew it was not going to be easy to beat her,” Kipyegon stated. “She is a world record holder and not a joke to compete against her. She is very strong in the 5000m, and I am really happy for her.”
This kind of fellowship and determination isn’t just found in Japan’s National Stadium after 14:54 5k’s, it’s accessible closer to home. Here at East, a portion of students choosing track and field as an extracurricular select it to simply take up their time in the spring and stay fit. But for some, the sport and its influence extends far further than fourth quarter.
“Seeing the crazy times and performances push me to keep going as an athlete and push myself to the best of my ability,” junior Lainey Wilhelm said. “My track community helps me be a better athlete by always picking me up when I’m down and they always are there for me to help me keep pushing myself.”
Track and field has come a long way since its ancient Greek debut. Even today, hundreds of years later, new records–whether that be personal or worldwide–are constantly being broken. Who knows what will come next?
