The 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships began on March 21 in Nanjing, China. The events that set off the track action in the morning session were the men's 400m heats, the women's and men's 800m heats, and the men's 60m heats. There were no major surprises in these qualifying rounds.
World Indoors, despite being the "highest level" of senior competition, doesn't typically attract the best talent. Some athletes choose to skip indoor competition to prepare for outdoor campaigns. This year is especially questionable because the new track league, Grand Slam Track, begins in early April, and the Outdoor World Championships will be held in Tokyo in September. Adding to the difficulty is that the competition is being held in Nanjing, China, about 300km inland from Shanghai.
Although many athletes who are qualified haven't entered the championship, several prominent Americans made the trek to Nanjing. The highlight of Friday morning was Josh Hoey — now second on the all-time list — in the 800m.
Men's 400m
The men's 400m heats, missing many of the event's stars, served as an introduction to the track competition. The three Americans entered, Christopher Bailey, Jacory Patterson, and Brian Faust, all qualified easily. Faust, who runs for Garden State Track Club, won USA Indoors in 2024. Bailey won in 2025 and he's considered the man to beat in this field.
Matheus Lima from Brazil ran a 45.79 South American record to win his heat. Christopher Morales-Williams, who ran under the world indoor record but whose performance was not ratified due to an issue with the starting blocks, ran 48.85 to qualify. Two Hungarians, Patrik Enyingi and Attila Molnár, looked very good.
Molnár is a medal threat and there's a decent chance that all three Americans advance to the final. Nobody from the podium from Glasgow in 2024 has returned.
Women's 800m
Short of outright drama, the first round of the women's half-mile did see two prominent competitors fail to advance. Noélle Yarigo, who earned bronze last year in Glasgow, jogged home for a 2:07.88 while Halimah Nakaayi lagged at the line and found that a 2:04.57 wasn't sufficient.
Americans Nia Akins and Valery Tobias both looked good in qualifying. Shafiqua Maloney managed to hold on after fading badly after a strong opening 600m.
Men's 60m
The eight heats of the men's 60 meter dash went off without any surprises. This event pulls qualifiers from unique countries, similar to the special selection procedure seen in the first round of the 100m at the Olympic Games. This means that the early heats might have some unexpected performances.
The class of the field is Ronnie Baker from the United States. He'll be challenged by Akani Simbine, Lachlan Kennedy, Jeremiah Azu, and a smattering of other short sprint specialists and 100m men moving down. The field won't be particularly clear until the final is set.
No podium finisher from Glasgow has returned to defend their medal.
Men's 800m
Though American Brandon Miller ran significantly faster in his heat, his countryman Josh Hoey ran the most controlling race, leading from the gun and dictating the progression of the contest. Hoey has demanded respect on the circuit this year with his infallible front running. Him and Miller are poised to make a deep run at these championships.
In notable exits, Moroccans Moah Zahafi (1:43.69 PB) and Abdelati El Guesse (1:44.84 PB) both ran disappointing races and failed to qualify.
Belgium's Eliott Crestan, who placed 3rd in Glasgow in 2024, qualified easily.
The afternoon session
Looking ahead, the races to watch in the afternoon (in Nanjing local time) will be the men's 1500m heats (featuring Jakob Ingebrigtsen) and the men's 60m final. The action begins at 6:30 a.m. EST with the men's high jump.