Exciting world athletics championships in the offing with many doubles doable

When the timetable for the 2023 World Championships was release a few months ago, it became clear that many popular doubles would be doable in Budapest. 

Popular doubles such as the 100m/200m, 800m/1500m, 1500m/5000m, 5000m/10,000m, 20km/35km race walk, women's long jump/triple jump and women's 200m/400m have all been made possible with athletes attempting them not having to contest more than one round in any given session.

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Athletes like Yulimar Rojas, Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Fred Kerley and Sydney McLaughlin have all hinted at attempting major championship doubles in recent years, so it will be fascinating to see who enters more than one discipline in the Hungarian capital.

"Creating the timetable for an outdoor World Championships is a complex balancing act, taking into account the needs of athletes, broadcasters and the host city, as well as our other stakeholders.

I am confident that a return to a nine-day programme and evening-only finals in the stadium will be embraced by our athletes and audience in Budapest, and by those watching around the world," offered world athletics president Sebastian Coe. 

Kenyan athletes led by Olympics and world 800m champion Emmanuel Korir and his Commonwealth Games counterpart in the women's distance Mary Moraa are some of the middle distance athletes expected to double. 

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Double world and Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon had qualified for both the 800m and 1500m for this year's Oregon Games but chose her main event, the latter. 

It remains to be seen if any of the Kenyan greats will take the challenge for the double in Budapest. 

The world championship is being hosted in Central Europe for the first time and organisers are expecting huge turnouts. 

"After seeing the extraordinary crowds that descended on Birmingham for the Commonwealth Games and Munich for the European Championships in the last month, we know the appetite for our sport across Europe is as strong as ever and we're looking forward to taking our premier event to central Europe for the first time," Coe added.