World Athletics Championships in Budapest off to a Wet Start

Jas Gripen fighter jets perform a flyover at the National Athletic Center during the opening ceremony

After a two-hour postponement due to a storm, the men’s 20-kilometre race walk kicked off the World Athletics Championships on Budapest’s Heroes Square. The tournament will last until next Sunday.

The starting gun for the men’s race was scheduled to go off at 8.50am on Saturday morning, but due to lightning and rain, the organisers decided to delay the start of the race by two hours.

 

 

“We are pleased to report that we have overcome the weather difficulties, the World Championships are underway, the first event has started, the athletes are passing by and we wish them an excellent race and are looking forward to the final results”, said the State Secretary for Sport, Ádám Schmidt, the Government Commissioner for the World Championships.

The fifty-strong men’s field will also race around Heroes’ Square on Andrássy Avenue, completing the one-kilometer lap twenty times. The first Hungarian runner to take part in Hungary’s biggest sporting event to date, Máté Helebrandt, finished fifth at the 2017 London World Championships. The competition will take place both alongside public roads in Budapest, as well as at the National Athletics Centre until next Sunday.

The timetable we’ve all been waiting for #WorldAthleticsChamps pic.twitter.com/BjbyZ054CG

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) August 18, 2023

Featured Image: MTI/Czeglédi Zsolt