— Published September 23, 2025

World Athletics flexes its muscles in Tokyo

FOCUSInstitutions Focus

This time, Tokyo was able to take advantage. Four years after the Covid-mode Olympic Games, the national stadium celebrated, without constraints or ulterior motives, during the World Athletics Championships. For nine days, the stars paraded through the Japanese capital to snatch the precious medals at stake. The biggest sporting event of the year ", said Sebastian Coe, did not disappoint overall.

A popular and commercial success

While the Tokyo National Stadium was far from full for the 35-kilometer walk finale, the following days, however, showed a picture much more in line with expectations. It's a real success, especially in terms of atmosphere and attendance. ", Sebastian Coe congratulated himself last week. In total, 619.288 fans attended the World Championships, more than the 581.462 spectators present in Tokyo in 1991. In Japan, " The vast majority of evening sessions exceeded the television audience of the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games in athletics ", welcomes the FI. " This edition will go down in history, assures the president of World Athletics.  After the 2021 Olympic Games, I promised the people of Tokyo that we would bring our sport back to the National Stadium as soon as possible. I am delighted that we kept our promise, and that Tokyo kept its promise by filling the stadium with raucous fans. » World Athletics' social media channels also boomed, gaining 700.000 followers during the competition.

In sporting terms, an unprecedented number of countries reached the podium (53), far more than the previous record (46). Samoa, Saint Lucia, and Uruguay took advantage of the opportunity to bring home their first ever world medal in athletics. The signs are also positive on the commercial level. Never before has a World Championship had so many commercial partners, with 17 sponsors for World Athletics and 14 for the local organizing committee in Tokyo. ", underlines the FI. " World Athletics is now a successful and growing company, Coe explained before the opening. This is neither a vision nor a wish. It is a fact.. » The Briton already assures that " our growth will only accelerate over the next two years ", until the Beijing World Championships.

The Tests of Discord

World Athletics was expected to deliver on its genetic testing and, unlike World Boxing in Liverpool, it appears that there have been no major setbacks, although some athletes have expressed some unease about the new procedure. I am not convinced by the justification given for protecting women's sport, I don't have the impression that it has been a priority in recent years ", said the Belgian Nafissatou Thiam, while the German Malaika Mihambo described this test as " legally questionable, ethically delicate and scientifically reductive ».
For his part, Coe welcomed the positive response: of the whole sport to a principle in which we fundamentally believe: to protect, preserve and promote the female category " The World Athletics president took up this delicate subject some time ago, eager to show his leadership. Emphasizing " the very nature and clarity of the tests and processes ", he considers that this protocol marks " an important step in this commitment to women's sport ". " The World Championships are an excellent platform to better understand what the future of this type of testing might look like. " he assures. The Briton repeated Sunday in a press conference that this test was " the right thing to do if we want to promote and protect the female category "It may be controversial, but the president of World Athletics has at least managed to deliver his vision for athletics in Tokyo, both in terms of sporting spectacle and business and regulation.