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Humidity and Gout Gout: what to look for at the world championships
The Guardian
|September 12, 2025
The action kicks off at 11.30pm BST tonight (7.30am Saturday local time) with the men's and women's 35km race walk.
How are the Britons expected to do? Four years ago in Budapest, Great Britain won a record-equalling 10 medals, including golds for Josh Kerr in the 1500m and Katarina Johnson-Thompson in the heptathlon. That success was also fuelled by relay medals and UK Athletics are hoping for a repeat in Japan. The big favourite is Hodgkinson in the women's 800m and the Olympic champion could be joined on the podium by her room-mate and training partner, Georgia Hunter-Bell. Kerr, in the 1500m, and Matthew Hudson-Smith in the men's 400m also believe they can win gold.
What is the weather in Tokyo like? Brutally hot and humid. At the Olympics in 2021, World Athletics moved the marathons from Tokyo to Sapporo due to heat concerns. This time around the unseasonably hot weather has forced them to push back by 30 minutes the start time for the women's race on Sunday and the men's on Monday to 7.30am local time. But with temperatures about 35C (95F), expect slow times and plenty of runners to pull out. Britain's Emile Cairess, who was fourth in Paris, could sneak a medal.
This story is from the September 12, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
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