AW Magazine

10 August 2023

The August issue of AW provides an in-depth preview guide to the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest. This 116-page issue has every angle covered, from Steve Smythe’s detailed event-by-event previews through to interviews with big-name athletes such as Olympic and world 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon, British sprint stars Zharnel Hughes and Bianca Williams, plus South Africa’s 400m world record-holder Wayde van Niekerk. We also look behind the scenes of how the team behind the TV coverage of the championships are planning to bring viewers closer to the action. There’s a step back in time, too. This is the 40th anniversary of the first ever World Championships, which took place in Helsinki in 1983, and Ben Bloom tells the story of how what really was a revolutionary event came into being. As the inaugural men’s 1500m world champion, legendary British middle distance athlete Steve Cram was right at the centre of those championships and he relives that golden moment, as well as assessing how the event is changing. We also select some of the major World Championships highlights from the past four decades. Away from the championships, as ever AW is packed with opinion on the biggest issues – from the future of the Commonwealth Games to the controversy around the UK Athletics selection policy and how para athletics can rebuild momentum. When it comes to the performance section, our panel of experts answers questions on how to improve plus Paul Freary puts the latest footwear to the test.