WORLDS DAILY: It's Finally Here! (Day 1)

Pinch me, because it feels like I’m dreaming!

The first-ever World Athletics Championship to be held on U.S. soil kicks off in a few short hours and I could not be more excited. The next 10 days will feature the best that track and field has to offer – from world record holders to upstart underdogs, veterans who’ve competed for decades and rookies representing their country for the first time. Every single day, medals will be handed out and dreams will be fulfilled - or crushed. The beauty and drama of the sport we all love so much will play out in front of a crowd of some of the most well-informed fans in the sport: the Hayward Faithful and the track and field junkies from all around the world who traveled to Eugene to see their favorite stars up close.

The big event to watch of the day will be Allyson Felix’s farewell tour of Hayward Field as she looks to add an 18th World championships medal to her record-setting collection in the mixed 4x400m relay, the final event of the evening session and the first set of global medals to be sorted out on the Hayward oval.

As a former steeplechaser, I’m particularly pumped to watch the heats of the men’s steeplechase. While we don’t usually get a ton of information from the early rounds of an event, let’s keep an eye on Evan Jager to see how comfortable he looks navigating international competition. Is he comfortably snagging an auto-qualifier from the front? Or is he sprinting hard just to snag the last spot? How he looks in this round should help us assess if he’s got a realistic shot at another global medal or if he’s just happy to be on the start line.

We’ll also get a peek at stars like Faith Kipyegon, the 2-time Olympic champion, in the early rounds of the women’s 1500m and world record holder Ryan Crouser in the men’s shot put. We’ll also get to see if a long journey has a happy ending for Ferdinand Omanyala, Kenya’s breakout 100m whose visa issues mean he’ll land in Eugene less than 3 hours before his race. And you thought having to make your connecting flight through Seattle was hard!

Make sure to tune into CITIUS MAG Live on YouTube today at 5:30 pm EST/2:30 pm PST for your first look at Chris Chavez, ESPN’s John Anderson and the rest of the CITIUS Mag gang as they get you hyped for the first day of competition. It’s rumored that they’ll also bring you an exclusive interview with one of my favorite runners, Hellen Obiri of Kenya, the two-time world champion in the 5,000m who made headlines earlier this year by becoming On Running’s first Kenyan athlete. Obiri is all-in on the 10,000m this year (she races tomorrow at 3:20 pm EST) and she’ll be a contender for the gold.

SCHEDULE AND TV DETAILS FOR DAY 1 (all times EST):

12:05 pm Men’s Hammer Throw Qualification1:10 pm Men’s High Jump Qualification2:45 pm Mixed 4x400m Relay Heats3:05 pm Women’s Hammer Throw Qualification3:30 pm Men’s 100m Preliminary Round4:10 pm Women’s 20km Race Walk Final6:10 pm Men’s 20km Race Walk Final

8:05 pm Women’s Shot Put Qualification8:15 pm Men’s 3000m Steeplechase Heats8:20 pm Women’s Pole Vault Qualification9:00 pm Men’s Long Jump Qualification9:10p, Women’s 1500m Heats9:50 pm Men’s 100m Heats9:55 pm Men’s Shot Put Qualification10:50 pm Mixed 4x400m Relay Final

The evening session (8-11 pm EST) will be broadcast live on the USA Network. In addition, world-feed coverage of all competition sessions will stream live on Peacock.

Full timetable and live results | Full streaming details

MUST-WATCH EVENT OF THE DAY: MIXED 4x400 RELAY (Presented by Hayward Magic)

Allyson Felix is already the most decorated athlete in World Championships history, male or female, with 17 global medals (12 of them gold). With her 6th-place finish in the 400m final at the U.S. champs, she landed in the Team USA relay pool at the age of 36 for a shot at her 18th medal as part of the mixed-gender 4x400m relay. The mixed 4x400m is a recent addition to the World Athletics Championships, first contested in 2019 (where Felix was part of the gold-medal team). Two men and two women each run one lap of the track, the only event in track and field where multiple genders are on the start line together.

The U.S. had to settle for bronze in this event in Tokyo behind Poland and the Dominican Republic, so a victory is far from guaranteed. Whereas Team USA and its large stable of sprinters like to stack the men’s and women’s 4x400ms and consider the mixed race something of an afterthought, teams without quite as much depth may choose to put their top two stars on each side into the mixed-gender to get a better shot at picking up one medal. We don’t yet know the exact combination of legs that each team will run in the final, but given the U.S.’s historic depth at 400 meters, they should have a good shot at gold.

What to watch for: Does Allyson Felix add to her enormous medal tally?

What to tell your friends: One of the GOATs of women’s sprints is running her final World championships and what may be her last-ever race to cap off a pro career that began in 2003.

What’s the X-factor: If Femke Bol is on the start line for the Netherlands, look to see how fast she splits. It could be an indication of some truly special times to come in her primary event, the 400-meter hurdles.

MUST-WATCH ATHLETE OF THE DAY: FRED KERLEY (Presented by Hayward Magic)

After putting on an astonishing show at the U.S. championships, winning the 100m and finishing 3rd in the 200m, all eyes will be on Fred Kerley as he competes in the first round of the men’s 100m this evening. The Tokyo silver medalist put the world on notice by laying down a series of blazing-fast times in every round of USAs, clocking a 9.83, 9.76, and 9.77 in three rounds of competition. His 9.76 from the semi-final is the fastest time in the world this year and ties him for No. 6 on the all-time 100-meter list (with U.S. teammate Trayvon Bromell). With Olympic champ Marcell Jacobs of Italy battling injury issues all season, the door is wide open for Kerley to pick up his first global gold to go with his relay title from the 4x400m in 2019.

What to watch for: Most top 100-meter sprinters cruise through the first rounds with times around 10.0 or even 10.1. If Kerley wants to put the world on notice from the first step, he may try to lay down something way faster.

What to tell your friends: Over the next few days, we’re going to find out if we have a new World’s Fastest Man.

Where the magic happens: On Fred’s highly-entertaining and often-cryptic Twitter account.

TWEET OF THE DAY: WARHOLM TO THE DOUBTERS

World record holder, Olympic champion, and reigning world champion Karsten Warholm raised some concerns when he pulled up injured in the 400-meter hurdles at the Rabat Diamond League earlier this spring, but he remains confident in his ability to both defend his crown and put on a show for the crowd in Eugene.

PHOTO OF THE DAY: TRUE LOVE ON TEAM USA

All year, Athing Mu and Brandon Miller have been the epitome of #trackcouplegoals. The Texas A&M Aggies are both representing Team USA in the 800m at Worlds this year. It’s Miller’s debut on the global stage, but Mu’s been here before: she’s the reigning Olympic champ.

FOLLOW ALONG WITH CITIUS MAG:

CITIUS MAG LIVE AT WORLDS: Every day of the World Championships, we will invite athletes, coaches and fellow media members to kick back for fun interviews with Chris Chavez, Kyle Merber, and ESPN SportsCenter host John Anderson. Today’s show will air from 5:30 pm ET to 7 pm ET.

CHAMPS CHATS ON THE CITIUS MAG PODCAST DAILY: The CITIUS MAG team of Chris Chavez, Kyle Merber, Dana Giordano, Jasmine Todd, and Katelyn Hutchison unpack all of the day’s biggest surprises and offer up their insights and analysis from being at Hayward Field and interviewing athletes each day.

DAILY MORNING RUNS: If you’re in Eugene, catch some miles with The CITIUS MAG team in partnership with Garmin and Tracksmith Running. We’ll have giveaways, coffee and treats for people in town. On most days, we will meet in front of the CITIUS MAG House at 1981 Moss Street and go for some easy miles along Pre’s Trail, the Amazon Trail. We’ll also have a special day at Dorris Ranch. We’ll plan to start these runs at 8:30 am each day.

– Tracksmith is a presenting sponsor of CITIUS MAG’s coverage of the World Championships. CITIUS MAG Newsletter readers get a special offer only during the World Championships. Visit Tracksmith.com and use code WORLDS at checkout for 20% off. That’s for all listeners whether you’re new to Tracksmith or if you’re like me and already have a lot of Tracksmith in your closet. For new customers who spend $150 or more, you can receive a free Van Cortlandt Singlet in Navy. Go to Tracksmith.com/vcpromo to add your singlet to your cart. When your total cart from other items has reached or exceeded $150, the price will reduce to $0 in cart.

In addition to our content, Tracksmith partnered with Puma to produce a six-episode podcast series with Pushkin Industries as best-selling author and Revisionist History podcast host Malcolm Gladwell explores the story of the 1960s San Jose State Track and Field team that excelled on the track but also led the protest at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. “Legacy of Speed” features conversations with athletes, journalists, coaches, and documentarians who made it happen. I’ve listened to it and it’s fantastic. Listen to Legacy of Speed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your shows. Get tickets to his live show in Eugene here.

– Hayward Magic has a lot slated for the World Championships with Demitra Carter returning with her mini mic for Tiny Talks on the track; Real Talks interviews with Tiara Williams; some fun content planned with the 2 Black Runners Podcast + a few other surprises throughout the week. Tap into Hayward Magic's coverage of the action in Eugene. Follow them on Instagram: @HaywardMagic.

– Music. Training. Data. The Garmin Forerunner 245 Music is my favorite running partner. You do the running. This GPS-running smartwatch does the thinking. It even gets to know you and your body better, mile after mile and song after song. Get one for yourself here >> https://bit.ly/3Pcu0qo

Thanks for reading! If you liked WORLDS DAILY, don’t forget to tell a friend or two to subscribe. Let’s share in the excitement of the World Athletics Championships.

You can follow David Melly on Twitter and Instagram, and be sure to follow CITIUS MAG on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to make sure you don’t miss one minute of the action!