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Budapest by numbers

The 9 lane Mondo track in the newly built 35,000 seater National Athletics Centre in Budapest has been completed and is poised to host the World Athletics Championships later this year between 19-27 August. Over 400,000 people will witness the events in the stadium and approximately 1 billion people will follow 2,500 athletes from 203 countries on television.

The first Mondo track in Hungary has now been laid (image courtesy of World Athletics).

The stadium also has a covered 6 lane running track with a 168 metres long pedestrian bridge providing a connection to the training ground. The press box will accommodate 500 people and the media conference room will have space for 110 people, with the press centre able to accommodate 400 people.

Legacy? Ádám Schmidt, State Secretary for Sport and Government Commissioner responsible for the 2023 World Championships, said that a 10.5 hectare sports will be created next to the stadium after the world championships to serve a healthier lifestyle.

Ticket sales started in December 2022 and over 160,000 have already been sold for the 9 evening and 5 morning sessions. Tickets being bought from more than 70 countries. There is only 1 official hospitality provider for these championships, DAIMANI.

As the exclusive and official sales agent DAIMANI provides VIP experiences through its CADENCE CLUB. With the best seats available in the stadium, on the home straight and finish line. CADENCE CLUB packages are all inclusive food & drink experiences and available at all 9 evening sessions (see below for more details).

The CADENCE CLUB experience at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon, USA.

The stage is set therefore to welcome the very best track & field athletes from across the globe. But who can expect to see from your CADENCE CLUB seats? We have selected a few to look out for on each of the 9 evening sessions.

Day 1, the Women's 10,000 metres final. This will see Ethiopian born Dutch middle and long distance champion Siffan Hassan installed as an early favourite. She completed an unprecedented triple at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo winning gold in both the 5000m & 10,000m as well as a bronze in the 1500m.

Day 2, the Men's 100m final. This is always eagerly anticipated. It was a 1-2-3 for the USA in Oregon with Fred Kerley taking gold. He will need to be at his very best to fend of his compatriots again as well as the Jamaicans who are bound to return stronger.  

Day 3, two finals. The Women's 100m and the Men's 110m Hurdles. For the women in the 100m sprint it is expected that the Jamaicans will come with a strong team to follow up on their glory in Oregon with another trifecta.  Shelly-Anne Fraser-Pryce took gold in a championship record last time, her 10th gold medal at a world championships. Watch out for recent Wanda Diamond League winner in Doha (5 May 2023), Sha'Carri Richardson from the USA. Grant Holloway of the USA took high hurdles gold in 2022 and will face stiff competition again to hold on to his crown in the Hungarian capital.  

Day 4, the Women's 1500m and the Men's 3000m Steeplechase finals. It's time for the Africans to shine and they are favourites to take gold in both events. African men dominated the steeplechase last time filling the top five slots. In the women's blue riband event Great Britain & Northern Ireland's Laura Muir took bronze in 2022 behind winner Faith Kipyegon of Kenya and silver medallist Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia. Kipyegon was a Diamond League winner in Doha this month with a world leading 1500m time of 3.58.57, reminding all she is the one to beat if you want that world championship gold this year.  

CADENCE CLUB Special guest. On day 4 of the championships, CADENCE CLUB guests will have the chance to meet Wendy Sly MBE, a British athlete who won silver in the 3000m at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. As Managing Director of Athletics Weekly, Wendy will look ahead to the events scheduled that evening and will also reflect on being a finalist 3 times at the World Athletics Championships.

A group of women running on a track

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Wendy Sly in action in the 1984 Olympic Games. Don't miss her at the CADENCE CLUB on Day 4.

Day 5, the Men's 1500m, Women's 400m and the Men's 400m Hurdles finals. It's time for another men's blue riband event, the 1500m. An event dominated by Europe in Oregon with Scotland's Jake Weightman needing a world leading time to beat the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion, Norway's Jakob Ingebrigsten.

2020 Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas took gold in 2022 in the 400m and will face a competitive field again if she looks to win her 5th medal at a world championship. Whilst in the Men's hurdles race expect a strong USA to team to try and dethrone Brazilian Alison Dos Santos as champion.  

2022 world champion Alison Dos Santos (left) at the CADENCE CLUB in Oregon22

Day 6, the Women's 100m Hurdles, Men's 400m and Women's 400m Hurdles finals. Former Olympic, world & Commonwealth champion Kirani James took silver last time behind Michael Norman of the USA and will have his sights on taking the 400m gold back to Grenada again.

In the Women's 100m hurdles an explosive race awaits with Nigeria's Tobi Amusan set to defend her title and keep her USA, Jamaican and European rivals at bay. Expect stiff competition from the 2019 World Champion, Nia Ali (below). She was 3rd in the recent Diamond League 100m hurdles race in Doha with Puerto Rico's Jasmine Camacho-Quinn and Alaysha Johnson of the USA running seasonal bests to take 1st & 2nd respectively.  

USA hurdler and 2019 world champion Nia Ali (left) and Greece's 2016 Olympic gold medallist and 2017 world pole vault champion Katerina Stefanidi visit the CADENCE CLUB in Oregon.

Day 7, Women's Javelin and both 200m finals. Australia's Kelsey Lee-Barber took gold last year with a world leading throw and went on to win the Commonwealth Games gold in Birmingham.  She will be looking for a third straight world championship gold medal alongside the banks of the Danube river.

In the 200m finals the USA will look to build on their dominance in the men's race in Oregon where they took home all three medals. Fred Kerley of the USA won the 200m in the Diamond League in Doha (5 May 2023) in a season's best of 19.92 seconds to send out a message to rivals. You can expect the Jamaicans to boss the women's race with reigning champion Shericka Jackson expected to re-new her rivalry with the great Shelly-Anne Fraser-Pryce, the former pushing the latter (who ran a season's best) into silver last time out.

Day 8, Men's 800m and 4 x 100 Relay finals. On the day the Men's Decathlon concludes and the Women's 5000m champion is crowned the penultimate evening in Budapest is wrapped up by speed merchants in the 100m relays. The men's Pole Vault could see Sweden's Olympic champion Arman 'Mondo' Duplantis beat the world record he set in Oregon to become world champion, whilst the USA's Chase Ealey will look to wear gold again in the Shot Put.

Expect the stars of the individual races to play a hand in determining the medals with reigning men's champions Canada expecting a big push from the USA, Jamaica and Great Britain & Northern Ireland. The Jamaican ladies will be very difficult to beat with the USA requiring a world leading time last time to edge the gold. The Men's 800m final is in the middle of the evening session and will see a big African challenge for the podium.              

The USA's Chase Ealey (centre). Shot put gold medallist at Oregon22. See her in action in Budapest on Day 8.

Day 9, Men's 5000m and 4 x 400m Relay finals. The final night sees 7 finals with the Women's High Jump and Men's Javelin in the field. Will India's Olympic champion Neraaj Chopra take gold in the latter? On the track the women take on the steeplechase and the 800m (watch out for the Keely Hodgkinson from Great Britain & Northern Ireland). Eyes are expected to be on Jakob Ingebrigsten as he looks to hold off a very strong African challenge to retain his 5000m title.

Finally, there is no better way to end a world championships than the 400m relays. Can someone break up the USA and Jamaican dominance as athletes head to the medal podium for the final time? Witness the tight finishes from your CADENCE CLUB seats.

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John has worked in international and domestic sport for over thirty five years, including holding director level roles with Manchester United and the Commonwealth Games Federation.
Stockport, UK Website
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