Athletics is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross-country running, and racewalking.
The World Athletics Championships are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics. Alongside the Olympic Games, they represent the highest level championships of senior international outdoor athletics competition for track and field athletics globally, including marathon running and race walking. Separate World Championships are held by World Athletics for certain other outdoor events, including cross-country running and half-marathon, as well as indoor and age-group championships.
The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and race in separate lanes for the entire course. In many countries, athletes previously competed in the 440-yard dash (402.336 m)—which is a quarter of a mile and was referred to as the 'quarter-mile'—instead of the 400 m (437.445 yards), though this distance is now obsolete.
The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland, the site of the first IAAF World Championships in 1983. One theme of the 2005 championships was paralympic events, some of which were included as exhibition events. Much of the event was played in extremely heavy rainfall.
Thomas Schönlebe is a retired East German track and field athlete who competed in the 400 metres. He won the gold medal at the 1987 World Championships. In that race, he set a European record of 44.33 seconds which still stands.
The World Athletics Half Marathon Championships is a biennial international half marathon competition organised by World Athletics. The competition was launched as the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 1992 and held annually until 2010. It was renamed the IAAF World Road Running Championships in 2006 and reduced in distance to a 20K run, but reverted to the half marathon distance the following year and to the original competition name the year after that. The competition was renamed to its current title in 2020 after the governing body rebranded itself moving away from the long-standing International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) moniker.
Tonga competed at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics in Moscow, Russia, from 10–18 August 2013. A team of one athlete was announced to represent the country in the event.
The 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships was the seventeenth edition of the biennial, global athletics competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), since renamed World Athletics. It was held between 27 September and 6 October 2019 in Doha, Qatar, at the renovated multi-purpose Khalifa International Stadium, but reduced to 21,000 available seats. 1,772 athletes from 206 teams competed in 49 athletics events over the ten-day competition, comprising 24 events each for men and women, plus a mixed relay. There were 43 track and field events, 4 racewalking events, and 2 marathon road running events. The racewalking and marathon events were held in Doha Corniche.
The Balkan Athletics Indoor Championships, also known as the Balkan Indoor Games, is an annual international regional indoor track and field competition between athletes from the Balkans. Following a test event in 1991, it was officially launched in 1994. Organised by the Association of the Balkan Athletics Federations (ABAF), it is typically held in February. The competition complemented the long-running annual outdoor track and field tournament: the Balkan Games.
The 2018 World U20 Championships in Athletics, also known as the World Junior Championships, was an international athletics competition for athletes qualifying as juniors which was held at Tampere Stadium in Tampere, Finland on 10–15 July 2018. The championships were originally awarded to Tampere by the IAAF in March, 2016.
Norway competed at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, from 27 September to 6 October 2019.
Vanuatu has competed at every edition of the IAAF World Athletics Championships since its inception in 1983. Its competing country code is VAN. The country has not won any medals at the competition and as of 2017 no Vanuatuan athlete has progressed beyond the first round of an event.
The Netherlands Antilles competed at the IAAF World Athletics Championships on twelve occasions between 1983 and 2009. Its competing country code was AHO. Upon the dissolution of the state, the international eligibility of the nation's athletes automatically transferred to the Netherlands. The country did not win any medals at the competition. Its best performance was by Churandy Martina, who finished fifth the 100 m and 200 m finals at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics. The men's 4 × 100 metres relay featuring Geronimo Goeloe, Charlton Rafaela, Jairo Duzant, and Martina was also sixth place in the 4 × 100 metres relay final at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics.
Anguilla has competed at the IAAF World Athletics Championships on seventeen occasions, attending every edition since the 1983 World Championships in Athletics. Its competing country code is AIA. The territory has not won any medals at the competition. Its best performance is by Shara Proctor, who placed fifth in the women's long jump at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. Proctor later won a World Championships silver medal while competing for Great Britain.
Algeria has competed at the IAAF World Athletics Championships on eighteen occasions, sending a delegation to every event since the 1983 edition. Its competing country code is ALG. The country has won six gold medals, two silver medals and three bronze medals at the competition. All eleven of its medals come from six athletes in distance track events. Noureddine Morceli won the men's 1500 metres titles in 1991, 1993 and 1995, while his female counterpart Hassiba Boulmerka won two golds and one bronze. Azzedine Brahmi won 1991 bronze in the men's 3000 metres steeplechase. Djabir Saïd-Guerni won the men's 800 metres bronze in 1999 before winning a gold medal in that event in 2003. In 2019, Taoufik Makhloufi won the silver in the men's 1500 metres, and in the subsequent edition, Djamel Sedjati won the silver in the men's 800 meters.
Aruba has competed at the World Athletics Championships on eleven occasions. It did not send a delegation for the 1983 championships or the editions from 2001 to 2009. Its competing country code is ARU. The country has not won any medals at the competition and as of 2019 no Aruban athlete has reached the top eight of an event. Its best performance is by Cornelia Melis, who placed 21st in the 1991 women's marathon.
Tonga competed at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, from 27 September–6 October 2019. Tonga had entered 1 athlete.
Philippines competed at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki, Finland, from August 7 to 14, 1983. The championships were the first to feature both men and women's events and a full complement of events. The Philippines entered 2 athletes who competed in 3 events.
