Hundreds of the world’s best athletes will head to China in March for the World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 25.
More than 500 athletes from some 120 nations are expected to compete for medals across 26 events during the three days of action from 21-23 March.
It is the first time that the World Indoor Championships has ever been held in China, with competition taking place at Nanjing’s Cube, part of the Nanjing Sports Training Centre in the Jiangbei New District.
Which disciplines are contested at the World Athletics Indoor Championships?
There are 26 disciplines on the programme for the World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 25, meaning 78 medals will be awarded across the three action-packed days of competition.
There are an equal number of disciplines for women and men – 13 each.
The disciplines are:
• 60m – women and men
• 400m – women and men
• 800m – women and men
• 1500m – women and men
• 3000m – women and men
• 60m hurdles – women and men
• pentathlon – women
• heptathlon – men
• high jump – women and men
• pole vault – women and men
• long jump – women and men
• triple jump – women and men
• shot put – women and men
• 4x400m relay – women and men
Learn more about the various disciplines on our dedicated disciplines page.
Do athletes compete in the same disciplines indoors as they do outdoors?
Some athletes will compete in different disciplines in indoor – or short track – competition. For example, sprinters may specialise in the 100m outdoors, but they will race the 60m indoors. There is no 100m or 200m at the World Indoor Championships and the combined events disciplines are the pentathlon for women and the heptathlon for men (compared to the heptathlon for women and the decathlon for men outdoors).
The indoor pentathlon for women comprises five events undertaken on one day: 60m hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump, 800m.
The indoor heptathlon for men comprises seven events undertaken across two days: 60m, long jump, shot put, high jump, 60m hurdles, pole vault, 1000m.
While there is a mixed 4x400m relay at the outdoor World Athletics Championships, at the World Indoor Championships athletes currently contest either the women’s 4x400m or the men’s 4x400m. The mixed 4x400m will make its debut at the 2026 World Indoor Championships in Torun.
How do athletes qualify and gain selection for the World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 25?
The qualification system for the World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 25 is based on a dual pathway, with 50% of athletes qualifying through entry standards and the remaining 50% qualifying through top lists. Qualifying performances must be achieved within the qualifying window, 1 September 2024 to 9 March 2025.
The ‘Road to Nanjing 25’ online tool is designed to help athletes, media and fans track the qualification process. Searchable by discipline, country and qualification status, the tool provides a real-time view of each discipline over the course of the WIC Nanjing 25 qualification period.
The tool does not, and will not, indicate which athletes have been selected for entry by their member federation. Final entries will be published nearer to the time of the World Indoor Championships.
Will athletes win prize money?
Individual athletes and teams will win prize money at theWorld Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 25.
Individuals
1st US$40,000
2nd US$20,000
3rd US$10,000
4th US$8000
5th US$6000
6th US$4000
Teams
1st US$40,000
2nd US$20,000
3rd US$10,000
4th US$8000
5th US$6000
6th US$4000
Which stars will be competing?
Many of the world’s best athletes – including champions from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games – will be targeting the World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 25.
The names of the athletes who will be there will not be certain until the qualifying window closes and nations select their teams, but many athletes are already honing their preparations by competing in meetings such as those in the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold series.
Champions from the last edition of the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow in 2024 include:
• Sweden’s world pole vault record-holder Mondo Duplantis
• Saint Lucia’s Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred
• USA’s world 60m hurdles record-holder Grant Holloway
• Dutch Olympic and world medallist Femke Bol
• Great Britain’s world 1500m champion Josh Kerr
• USA’s Olympic long jump champion Tara Davis-Woodhall
• Greek two-time Olympic long jump champion Miltiadis Tentoglou
• Bahamian world 60m hurdles record-holder Devynne Charlton
How can I watch the World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 25?
The World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 25 will be streamed live in a number of territories on the World Athletics website, as well as via broadcasters around the world.
Keep an eye on the dedicated World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 25 website where TV information will be available ahead of the championships.
There will be coverage of each of the six sessions, starting with the morning session on day one (Friday 21 March) through to the evening session on day three (Sunday 23 March).
Fans will also be able to follow the action via the World Athletics live results platform, which will offer an enhanced experience. Sign up for free and log in to access even more data including live leaderboards, detailed results, race splits, live attempts and other real-time updates.
Register for now so you are ready to follow as soon as the competition starts.
How do I buy tickets?
Tickets for the World Athletics Indoor Championships are now on sale.
What time will the World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 25 take place each day?
The time zone in China is ChinaStandard Time (CST), which is 8 hours ahead of UTC.
When fans view the World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 25 timetable via the World Athletics website, the times will be displayed in local Nanjing time as well as the time in the fan’s current location.
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