WITH the World Athletics Championships moving to an autumn schedule this year, several global track stars say they have to manage their bodies extra carefully this season.

The Worlds will be staged in Tokyo, Japan, from September 13 to 21 this year.

It means some athletes may be involved in more competitions than others, especially with a number of them taking part in Grand Slam Track (GST) which launched in Kingston on April 4 and will continue with three other legs in Miami, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles, ending in June. Some athletes will also be competitive on World Athletics’ Diamond League circuit and then focus on their respective national championships, which serve as each country’s trials to select a team for the trip to Tokyo.

Reigning 100m hurdles World Champion Danielle Williams says while she does not have her full schedule already determined for the season, she is aware of the challenge.

“Well, I’m only in this one Grand Slam, so far. I don’t really know the schedule after this,” she said after winning her 100m sprint at GST last Sunday. “I have a couple of Diamond League races but it’s the same approach. You use every race as development. You work on some things in training and see how it translates to the race, then we go back and tweak what we need to tweak. It’s the same thing going every season.”

Her compatriot Kemba Nelson, who competes in the 100m sprint, is also aware that this season is busier, however she wants to have more 200m races this year to get her in peak shape. But she has a plan to make sure her body does not fail her.

“It will take recovery and sleep,” she told the Sunday Observer. “Recovery is the number one thing. Once you do that, you should be fine. Your body will hold up and — barring injuries — coming Trials, it’s a next ball game.”

United States sprint hurdler Dylan Beard says his priority is getting to Tokyo, but it does not mean he will give up opportunities to compete as much as he can along the way.

“The World Champs is always important,” he told the Observer. “Any big meet — Olympics, World Champs, World Indoors — I try to make that team as well. It’s always on the table but for me, I’m not wasting opportunities to run just to save up for that. It’s in September. Anything can happen between now and September so I’m taking every opportunity right now to put myself out there. If my body’s able to run, I’m going to run. I don’t care about trying to peak; I want to run, I want to compete. Last year I wasn’t able to compete as much as I wanted to, now I’m here to compete.”

Frenchman Sasha Zhoya, another sprint hurdler, says the schedule has forced him to start preparations earlier.

“It’s a long season and now we’re starting early,” he told the Observer during GST on Friday, April 4. “Normally, I start my season a little later but I think it’s a good idea to have these Slams here now, early in the season. Get the legs moving, get the experience that you need to get, and it’s the best preparation for the World Championships. The Slams are going to finish in June, and you’ve got two months to prepare for the World Championships — and it’s even more smoke that’s going to come.”

This is the first time the World Champs, held every other year, has been staged in September, instead of its usual July or August setting, since 2019 in Doha, Qatar.

From left: Jamaica’s Kemba Nelson finishes fourth behind runner-up Jenna Prandini of the United States and fellow American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, during the women’s 200m sprint at Grand Slam Track at the National Stadium in Kingston on Sunday, April 6. (AFP)

USA’s Dylan Beard celebrates after winning the men’s 110 metre hurdles event during Grand Slam Track at the National Stadium on Saturday, April 5. (AFP)

France’s Sasha Zhoya does sprinting drills at the National Stadium on Thursday, April 3, ahead of the start of Grand Slam Track. (Garfield Robinson)

WILLIAMS…I have a couple of Diamond League races but it’s the same approach (Photo: Naphtali Junior)