When does it begin? Sixteen morning and evening sessions are spread across 10 days, with plenty of action to get stuck into throughout. It all begins with the women’s F37 shot put on Friday morning and closes with the women’s 100m T54 final on the second Sunday night. Morning sessions will begin at 10.30am and evenings at 7pm.
How deep is the tournament’s history? This is the eighth edition of the World Para Athletics Championships, 23 years after its debut in Berlin, and the first time that it will be held in the same city and summer as the International Association of Athletics Federations equivalent, making this a historic moment for the Paralympic movement. The first four editions were quadrennial but it is held every two years now.
Has it been held in London before? No, but Birmingham was the host city for the second staging, in 1998. Not that the capital city is unfamiliar with Paralympic sport. London 2012 was a roaring success, remember, with the public flocking to Stratford in large numbers to embrace a new generation of heroes.
Everyone back to the Olympic Stadium, then! Er, strictly speaking it goes by the London Stadium these days and it’s the home of West Ham United, although the Premier League club have cleared off for the summer. Anyone who hasn’t been there since 2012 will find that the stadium isn’t quite as sprawling after its conversion into a venue suitable for football and that there are a few more claret and blue seats. It’s still pretty big, though, holding 56,000. All West Ham branding has been peeled off for now, and the retractable seating has been removed to accommodate the running track.
How are ticket sales going? Better than in Qatar two years ago, when only 15,000 tickets were sold for Doha 2015. The 250,000 tickets sold so far is the biggest outside a Paralympic Games and more than every previous world championships combined. But the sheer size of the London Stadium could mean many sessions will be less than a third full. That said, organisers hope that prices starting at £10 for adults and £5 for children, and a campaign backed by celebrities, politicians and the royal family will raise the event’s profile. A late drive could plug the gaps.
How many events are there? There are 202 medal events, more than at Rio 2016, featuring around 1,300 athletes from 100 countries, 49 of whom will be representing Great Britain. Events are split into 49 different classifications which depend on the severity of each athlete’s impairment.
Who are the stars? Great Britain’s highly engaging sprinter, Jonnie Peacock, made a brilliant defence of his T44 100m title in thrilling style in the Rio Paralympics and the former world champion will be determined to put on a show after missing Doha through injury, while Hannah Cockroft remains as dominant as ever in wheelchair racing. But let’s not get too parochial. Marlou van Rhijn, who surprisingly doesn’t mind being nicknamed “The Blade Babe” in the Netherlands, holds the world record in the T43 100m and 200m, while Abdellatif Baka, a visually impaired Algerian, broke a world record in the T13 1500m in Rio – amazingly the now 23-year-old was faster than the USA’s Matt Centrowitz, who won Olympic 1500m gold a month earlier.
What about the next generation? There are four British debutants, Zak Skinner, Martina Barber, Jack Gladman and Luke Sinnott. Look out in particular for Skinner, a T13 sprinter and jumper who has excelled this year.
Where can I watch it? Channel 4 will continue its sterling coverage of Paralympic sport, kicking off with action from this Friday’s evening session at 7.30pm. Ade Adepitan, Sophie Morgan and Lee McKenzie will lead the coverage, while Paralympic legends David Weir and Danny Crates will offer expert analysis.
What shouldn’t I miss? South Africa’s 15-year-old sensation Ntando Mahlangu, a double leg amputee, won silver in Rio and could challenge Britain’s Richard Whitehead in the T42 200m men’s final on Saturday night, while the USA’s Jarryd Wallace will look to revive his rivalry with Peacock next Sunday after disappointing in the Paralympics. Britain’s brilliant Sophie Hahn, 20, will be bidding for her third successive world title in the T38 100m women’s final on Saturday night.
