Will this Be Usain Bolt's Last Hurrah? Watch Him In Beijing at the IAAF World Championships

The fastest man on the planet returns to the National Stadium (the Bird's Nest) August 22-30. His race will last fewer than 10 seconds, but if there is one sports event you need to go to this year, the IAAF World Championships should be it. Besides, everything else is closed this weekend.

Usain Bolt, who set a world record at 100 meters on his way to winning the gold in 2008, is the fastest man on the planet. But this world championship could see him challenged by American Justin Gatlin. The fastest man in China is Su Bingtian, who took third place in the Men’s 100 Meters at the 2015 IAAF World Challenge last week with an excellent 10.06 seconds. Olympic Gold Medalist Chen Ding will be the biggest favorite in Men’s 20K Race Walk, which, well, isn't as exciting but won't be over in a flash. See him in the morning session on August 22.

There are three categories of tickets. Category-A tickets are the most expensive ones but they will get you as close as possible to the track. Category-B tickets are less expensive and they cover the middle tiers, while Category-C tickets are the cheapest and cover the upper stands. We strongly recommend Category A or B tickets because you won’t be able to see much of what’s going on while sitting in the highest seats of a stadium with a capacity of 80,000 (unless you're equipped with binoculars).  

Each day will be divided into a morning session and an afternoon session, which you can buy tickets for separately or go all in for a day package. Tickets for non-finals run RMB 50, 80, and 100 each, with finals available for RMB 150, 300, and 450. Packages are also available. See the full schedule here.

Events highlights

If you have to attend one session we'd strongly recommend the evening of August 23 (Sun), which will feature the Men’s 100 Meters Finals. Get yourself a Category-A ticket now and watch Usain Bolt for only RMB 300! Second best would be August 24 (Mon), which has Women’s 100 Meters Finals and August 29 (Sat), which includes the Men's and Women’s 4x100 Relay Finals. Get tickets from the English site here, registration is required before purchase.

August 22, Friday
Morning
Men’s Marathon Finals
Men’s 100 Meters Preliminaries

Afternoon
Men’s 100 Meter Heats; Mens 10,000 Meters Final

August 23, Saturday
Afternoon
Men’s 100 Meters Final; Men's Shot Put Final

August 24, Monday
Afternoon
Men’s Pole Vault Final; Men's 3,000 Meters Steeplechase Final
Women’s 100 Meters Final; Women's 10,000 Meters Final; Women's Triple Jump Final

August 25, Tuesday
Afternoon
Men’s 400 Meters Hurdles Final; Men's 800 Meters Final; Men's Long Jump Final
Women’s 1,500 Meters Final; Women's Discus Throw Final

August 26, Wednesday
Afternoon
Men’s Javelin Throw Final; Men's 400 Meters Final
Women’s 400 Meters Hurdles Final; Women's 3,000 Meters Steeplechase Final; Women's Pole Vault Final

August 27, Thursday
Afternoon
Men’s 200 Meters Final; Men's Triple Jump Final
Women’s 400 Meters; Women's Hammer Throw Final

August 28, Friday
Afternoon
Men’s 110 Meters Hurdles Final
Women’s 200 Meters Final; Women's 100 Meters Hurdles Final

August 29, Saturday
Afternoon
Men’s 5,000 Meters Final; Men's Discus Throw Final; Men's 4x100 Meters Relay Final
Women’s High Jump Final; Women's 800 Meters Final; Women's 4x100 Meters Relay Final

August 30, Sunday
Morning
Women’s Marathon Final

Afternoon
Men’s High Jump Final; Men's 1,500 Meters Final; Men's 4x400 Meters Relay Final
Women’s Javelin Throw Final; Women's 5,000 Meters Final; Women's 4x400 Meters Relay Final

Photo: Biography