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World Athletics Championships 2025: When do Keely Hodgkinson, Josh Kerr race?

ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP via Getty Images

The 2025 World Athletics Championships begin in in Tokyo, Japan on Saturday, with British stars such as Keely Hodgkinson and Josh Kerr in action.

A total of 147 medals are to be won over nine days of comepetition. Team GB will be hoping to secure podiums from Paris 2024 champion Hodkinson, as well as Kerr, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Matthew Hudson-Smith and Georgia Hunter Bell.

Here's everything you need to know.


When does Hodgkinson race?

Hodgkinson was the golden girl of Team GB's track efforts at the 2024 Paris Olympics where she became just the second person to win gold in track and field since London 2012 when she reigned supreme in the 800 metres.

She will aim to defend her world title in Tokyo, although she has had an injury-hit 12 months since the Olympics. She was made to wait 376 days to race again after Paris due to persistent hamstring injury, competing in Diamond League events in Silesia and Lausanne where she earned back-to-back wins.

"I put my heart and soul into this. I've spent all my life doing it. For that to be taken away was definitely quite challenging," she told British media.

Hodgkinson will be in action on Thursday (11.58 a.m. BST) for the women's 800m heats. Should she progress, the semifinal will take place on Friday (12.43 p.m. BST) followed by the final on Saturday (11.35 a.m. BST).

When does Josh Kerr race?

One of the most memorable events at the Stade de France at the Paris Olympics was Josh Kerr's intense 1500m rivalry with Jakob Ingebrigtsen. The pair went toe-to-toe in the final, only to gas each other out and watch the United States' Cole Hocker take the gold.

Kerr won the men's 1500m world title in 2023 and he will be hoping to deliver a repeat performance in Tokyo.

His heat will take place in the early hours of Sunday morning (1 a.m. BST). His semifinal will then take place on Monday (1.30 p.m. BST), followed by the final on Wednesday (2.20 p.m. BST) should he qualify.

Who are Britain's other hopefuls?

Katarina Johnson-Thompson will again go head-to-head with reining Olympic champion Nafi Thiam. The women's heptathlon will take place across Friday and Saturday.

Matthew Hudson-Smith is still searching for his first world gold medal. It's been a long journey for him: He attempted suicide in 2021 amid struggles with his mental health that were made worse by persistent injury problems. He had missed the Olympics that year, citing medical grounds, and was pipped to gold in Paris last time out.

His 2025 season has been beset by injuries and illness, but his hunt for gold remains. He races in the men's 400m heats on Sunday (10.35 a.m. BST), followed by a semifinal on Tuesday (1.35 p.m. BST) and final on Thursday (2.10 p.m.)

Georgia Hunter Bell is another medal hopeful. She set a British record when claiming bronze in the women's 1500m final in Paris. She races in the heats on Saturday (11.50 a.m. BST). The semifinal is on Sunday (1.07 p.m. BST) with the final on Tuesday (2.05 p.m. BST).