In 1983, the World Championships in Athletics were held for the first time ever. Now, 40 years later, it’s time for some of the world’s best athletes to settle for the medals in Budapest.
– You don’t really understand how it was possible to keep going before. It is incredibly important to have a global championship more often than every four years. It means a lot for the globalization of athletics and I really enjoy seeing the whole world come together, explains A Lennart Julin.
When TV4 Nyheterna reaches Julin, he has just landed in Budapest to comment on another major championship. But even though there have been countless finishes and medal ceremonies, the same enthusiasm remains for the sport.
– A WC in athletics is the world’s most global competition, not only in name, but also in reality. You can count on around 40 countries sharing the medals and no one will be surprised if a nation like Burkina Faso, Botswana or St. Lucia reaches a podium place, notes Julin.
The Swedish Cup
One of the nations that will participate and fight for the medals is Sweden, and Julin has the analysis of what will be required for a medal ready for the competitions.
– You have a pretty good idea of what will be required for a medal. You can say that there are three people who are at that level that they get a medal if they perform at a good level and that is of course Duplantis and then there is Daniel Ståhl and (Perseus) Karlström in action. Karlström also has a double medal chance in that he is competing in both 20 kilometers and 35 kilometers, says Julin and continues:
In addition to the big medal hopes, there is also plenty of confidence for the future. Earlier in the summer, JEM was decided in Jerusalem. A championship that resulted in a total of seven medals for Sweden, a historic record.
Swedish athletics on the rise
Although it is a long way to go from junior to senior, Julin believes that it is of great importance to participate and measure oneself at the ultimate level already as a junior.
– It is of course very positive that it has gone so well. If you look back historically, you see that most of the Swedes who grow into world stars have been good at youth championships. There is, of course, Duplantis, who has won everything there is to win, says Julin and continues:
– Then there is Ståhl, for whom things certainly went that way, but it is very important to be involved and measure yourself early. Then it’s a big jump to senior, where you’re up against maybe 15 cohorts instead of one or two.
The big stars
In addition to the Swedish confidence and medal hope, there are of course several big stars to keep an eye on during the course of the championship.
– There are of course established giants that you have to keep an eye on. I think the men’s 400m hurdles will be a highlight with Norwegian Karsten Warholm in a presumed leading role, he was half-injured last year and didn’t win then, but now he has shown good form and he has convinced this year, says Julin and continues:
– Jakob Ingebrigtsen is also a big name and he is testing the combination of 1,500 meters and 5,000 meters. Both have shown good form and will be big attractions.
The Athletics World Cup begins on Saturday and runs between August 19-27. The competitions will be decided at the Atlétaki Központ-Stadion in Budapest. The entire championship can be followed on TV4 Play.