World Athletics Championships 2015: Timetable, TV Schedule, Live Stream Info For Beijing Event

Back at the venue that played host to the 2008 Olympics, the final major track and field event before the sporting world descends on Rio next year will get underway in Beijing on Saturday. The 2015 World Athletics Championships will see the triple-gold-medal winning star of seven years ago Usain Bolt and the rest of the world’s top athletes compete over nine days in the Chinese Capital’s iconic Bird’s Nest.

The 100 meters is the undoubted highlight of the biennial event, with Bolt going for his third World Championship gold in the flagship event. Indeed, the only time Bolt has failed to win gold at a major championship since 2008 was when being disqualified for a false start from the World Championship final in 2011. This time, though, he promises to have his sternest test yet from the man who finished runner-up two years ago, Justin Gatlin.

The American is another big story of the championships, and largely for the wrong reasons. Gatlin has previously been banned twice for failing drugs tests and his story is an unfortunate accompaniment to the doping controversies that have engulfed the sport ahead of these championships.

Earlier this month, Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper and German broadcaster ARD reported to have seen evidence which showed that a third of medals in endurance events at the Olympics and World Championships between 2001 and 2012 were won by athletes who recorded suspicious tests. It was claimed that none of the athletes were stripped of their medals.

It is the latest scandal to bring into question the integrity of the sport, following on from allegations last year of systematic doping of Russian athletes and covering up of tests. The sport’s governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), has denied that doping is widespread, as well as allegations that they blocked the release of the most recent study. But the topic dominated this week’s IAAF’s presidential election, won by the former 1500 meter gold medalist and chairman of London 2012, Sebastian Coe.

“There is a zero tolerance to the abuse of doping in my sport,” he said, reports The New York Times. “And I will maintain that to the very highest levels of diligence.”

Coe will be hoping that the focus over the next nine days is dominated by the action on the track and in the field. As well as Bolt’s bid for glory in the 100m on Sunday, he will also return later in the Championships to attempt to win a fourth consecutive World Championships gold in the 200m. And in the women’s events, Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will be aiming to repeat her 100m gold from Moscow in 2013, although she won’t be defending her 200m crown. In the 400m, American Allyson Felix will start as favorite to claim a ninth World Championships gold, which could take her ahead of Bolt, Michael Johnson and Carl Lewis for the most ever.

Finals Schedule (all times EDT)

Friday, Aug. 21
Men’s marathon (7:35 p.m.)
Saturday, Aug. 22
Women’s shotput (8:05 a.m.)
Men’s 10,000 meters (8:50 a.m.)
Men’s 20 kilometers race walk (8:30 p.m.)

Sunday, Aug. 23
Men’s hammer throw (6:30 a.m.)
Men’s shotput (7:30 a.m.)
Women’s heptathlon final event (7:40 a.m.)
Men’s 100 meters (9:15 a.m.)

Monday, Aug. 24
Men’s pole vault (7:05 a.m.)
Women’s triple jump (7:30 a.m.)
Women’s 10,000 meters (8:35 a.m.)
Men’s 3000 meters steeplechase (9:15 a.m.)
Women’s 100 meters (9:35 a.m.)

Tuesday, Aug. 25
Women’s discus throw (7 a.m.)
Men’s long jump (7:25 a.m.)
Men’s 400 meters hurdles (8:25 a.m.)
Women’s 1500 meters (8:35 a.m.)
Men’s 800 meters (8:55 a.m.)

Wednesday, Aug, 26
Women’s pole vault (7 a.m.)
Men’s javelin throw (7:05 a.m.)
Women’s 400 meters hurdles (8:10 a.m.)
Women’s 3000 meters steeplechase (9a.m.)
Men’s 400 meters (9:25 a.m.)

Thursday, Aug. 27
Women’s Hammer throw (7 a.m.)
Men’s triple jump (7:10 a.m.)
Women’s 400 meters (8:40 a.m.)
Men’s 200 meters (8:55 a.m.)
Women’s 20 kilometers race walk (8:30 p.m.)

Friday, Aug. 28
Women’s long jump (7:50 a.m.)
Women’s 200 meters (9 a.m.)
Men’s 110 meters hurdles (9:20 a.m)
Women’s 11 meters hurdles (9:35 a.m.)
Men’s 50 kilometers race walk (7:30 p.m.)

Saturday, Aug. 29Women’s high jump (6:30 a.m.)
Women’s 800 meters (7:15 a.m.)
Men’s 5000 meters (7:30 a.m.)
Men’s discus throw (7:50 a.m.)
Men’s decathlon final event (8:10 a.m.)
Women’s 4x100 meters relay (8:50 a.m.)
Men’s 4x100 meters relay (9:10 a.m.)
Women’s marathon (7:30 p.m.)

Sunday, Aug. 30
Men’s high jump (6.30 a.m.)
Women’s javelin(6:45 a.m.)
Women’s 5000 meters (7:15 a.m.)
Men’s 1500 meters (7:45 a.m.)
Women’s 4x400 meters relay (8:05 a.m.)
Men’s 4x400 meters relay (8:25 a.m.)

TV guide: Universal Sports Network will provide live coverage of all daytime (local time) sessions from Beijing as well as the evening session during the week. NBC will have tape-delay coverage of the evening sessions on both weekends.

Live stream: UniversalSports.com will live stream all events that air on Universal Sports Network, while NBC Sports Live Extra will stream events being shown on NBC.