The Japan Times - World indoor athletics championships: five stand-out events

AFP Sport looks at five stand-out events from the March 20-22 champs:

- Women's 800m -

All eyes will be on Keely Hodgkinson after the Briton smashed the indoor 800m world record last month.

Untimely injuries have prevented the 24-year-old from taking part in the past three editions of the world indoors.

But the Briton, who earned Tokyo Olympic silver and Paris Olympic gold and who has two world outdoor silver medals and a bronze, now appears to be in perfect shape.

With Hodgkinson's training partner Georgia Hunter Bell focusing on the 1500m in Poland, her main challenger looks likely to be Switzerland's Audrey Werro and Ethiopia’s Olympic silver medallist Tsige Duguma.

- Men's pole vault -

A fourth world indoor title -- to match Sergey Bubka -- beckons for Sweden's Armand Duplantis, fresh from setting a 15th world record, of 6.31m, last week.

The 26-year-old, who set his first ever world record in Torun in 2020, has won the past three world indoor titles with the three highest vaults in world indoor history: 6.20m in 2022, 6.05m in 2024 and 6.15m in 2025.

But there is hope he will have some serious competition in the form of Greece's Emmanouil Karalis.

Karalis, who took silver behind Duplantis at the world indoors and outdoors in 2025, recently cleared 6.17m at the Greek indoor champs to move to second on the world all-time list.

- Women's high jump -

World record-holder and Olympic champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh will be aiming to regain the world indoor title she last won in Belgrade in 2022.

Standing in her way is defending champion Nicola Olyslagers, the Australian seeking a third consecutive gold -- a record held by Stefka Kostadinova, the previous long-time world record holder.

The entries include eight women who have cleared 2.00m at some point during their careers.

- Men's 60m -

Defending champion Jeremiah Azu finds himself in the middle of a potential US-Jamaica sandwich when it comes to the 60m sprint.

The Briton is up against a strong trio of Jamaicans led by Kishane Thompson, the world and Olympic 100m silver medallist seeking to end a Jamaican gold drought in the event.

The US team have never had a problem picking up golds, with the likes of Maurice Greene, Justin Gatlin, Christian Coleman and Trayvon Bromell all previously winning on the world indoor stage.

Bromell, who won back in 2016 and was part of the world gold medal-winning 4x100m relay team last year in Tokyo, runs alongside US newcomer Jordan Anthony, world leader at 6.43sec.

That is the joint ninth on the world indoor all-time list, and Azu will have his work cut out to keep pace with both Anthony and Thompson.

- Men's 3000m -

The men's 3,000m promises to be one of the most anticipated races of the three-day competition.

It brings together the podium from the 1500m at the Paris Olympics: US gold medallist Cole Hocker, Britain's Josh Kerr and American Yared Nuguse.

Worthy of an outside bet is world steeplechase champion Geordie Beamish of New Zealand, who unleashed a huge kick to win the world indoor 1500m title two years ago.

The 15-strong field, which will run a straight final without heats, is loaded with quality, the French duo of Azeddine Habz and Yann Schrub also present should someone be elbowed off their path in what promises to be a thrilling race.

K.Abe--JT