World Para Athletics Championships: Who, what and when?

A guide to the action in Dubai, including ones to watch, schedule and TV info

More than 1400 athletes from 120 nations are set to compete at the World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai from November 7 to 15.

A qualification event for the Paralympics, the championships will prove a great test ahead of the Tokyo games, which starts on August 25 next year.

A number of reigning champions from London 2017 feature in the GB squad, which can be found listed in full here. They include 10-time world champion wheelchair racer Hannah Cockroft, grand slam champions Hollie Arnold and Sophie Hahn and two- time Paralympic gold medallists Aled Davies and Richard Whitehead.

Two years ago the GB team placed third on the medals table behind China and the United States.

Ones to watch

» Hannah Cockroft: the five-time Paralympic champion has already won 10 world titles and the British wheelchair racer will be aiming to add more gold medals to her impressive tally as she races the T34 100m and 800m.

» Jason Smyth: an Irish athletics legend, the visually-impaired sprinter is known as the world’s fastest Paralympian (with bests
of 10.22 and 20.94 for 100/200m) and took his seventh world title in London two years ago.

» Marcel Hug: the Swiss ‘silver bullet’ is one of the world’s top wheelchair racers and has dominated the T54 endurance races since Rio 2016.

» Markus Rehm: the German T64 long jumper is one of the star names in para-athletics and the amputee athlete has a best of 8.48m.

» Zak Skinner: the GB European T13 long jump silver medallist will aim to make an impact on the world stage and also forms part of the universal relay squad.

» Deja Young: the American defends her world 100m and 200m T47 titles. Coached by 1984 Olympic 800m champion Joaquim Cruz, she has an impaired range of motion in her shoulder, which limits her arm movement, and she is one of a number of London 2017 winners in Dubai.

» Diana Dadzite: competes in the F55 women’s discus and F56 javelin after winning three golds at London 2017 for Latvia. Dadzite was born with spina bifida but did not realise it until a car accident aged 16 exacerbated the problem.

» Marlene van Gansewinkel: the Dutch blade runner is going for T64 gold, fresh from a world record earlier this year.

» Martina Caironi: Italian defends her T63 world 100m and long jump titles but she will face German-born Australian Vanessa Low in the latter event. Caironi’s left leg was amputated above the knee in 2007 after a motorbike accident, whereas Low is a double-leg amputee after being hit by a train aged 15.

» Raoua Tlili: an athlete of short stature, she won the F41 shot and discus at the 2015 and 2017 World Championships and is going for the double again in Dubai.

» Kadeena Cox: excelling at both athletics and cycling, Britain’s double Paralympic champion in the two different sports will be searching for another world athletics gold as she races the T38 200m and 400m.

» Abdellatif Baka: at the Rio Paralympics the visually-impaired runner won the T13 1500m in a faster time than Matt Centrowitz in his tactical Olympic 1500m final. Now the Algerian is moving up to 5000m, though, due to the 800m not being included on the Tokyo programme next year.

» Akeem Stewart: the in-form, all-round thrower from Trinidad & Tobago set a world record in the men’s F64 discus recently and took two titles at London 2017 and gold in Rio 2016.

» Ananias Shikongo: the visually-impaired sprinter won Namibia’s first gold at the Paralympics or Olympics in Rio three years ago when he took the T11 200m.

» Mohamed Alhammadi: sure to get big support as the host nation’s best medal hope. He races in the T34 events but the wheelchair racer will face tough opposition from Tunisia’s Walid Ktila.

» Libby Clegg: Britain’s double Paralympic champion makes a return to global competition after the birth of her son, Edward, in April and will be guided in the T11 200m by Thomas Somers.

» Hongzhuan Zhou: one of the most dominant athletes of recent years, the T53 wheelchair racer has won six Paralympic and seven world titles.

» Leilia Adzhametova: another winner of three titles in London two years ago, the Ukrainian visually-impaired sprinter who competes in the T13 category is tipped to win the gold again in Dubai in coming days.

» Ntando Mahlangu: the South African won T42 200m silver behind Britain’s Richard Whitehead in London 2017 but
was only 15 at the time and now competes in the T61 category.

» Nathan Maguire: it is set to be a busy championships for the British wheelchair racer as he is entered for the T54 100m, 400m, 800m and universal 4x100m relay.

Classification

Running and jumping (20 classes)

T11-13 (vision impairment), T20 (intellectual impairment), T35-38 (co-ordination impairments (hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis)),  T40-41 (short stature), T42-44 (lower limb competing without prosthesis affected by limb deficiency, leg length difference, impaired muscle power or impaired passive range of movement), T45-47 (upper limb/s affected by limb deficiency, impaired muscle power or impaired passive range of movement), T61-64 (lower limb/s competing with prosthesis affected by limb deficiency and leg length difference).

Wheelchair racing (7 classes)

T32-34 (co-ordination impairments (hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis)), T51-54 (limb deficiency, leg length difference, impaired muscle power or impaired passive range of movement).

Standing throws (19 classes)

F11-13 (vision impairment), F20 (intellectual impairment), F35-38 (co-ordination impairments (hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis)), F40-41 (short stature), F42-44 (lower limb competing without prosthesis affected by limb deficiency, leg length difference, impaired muscle power or impaired passive range of movement), F45-46 (upper limb/s affected by limb deficiency, impaired muscle power or impaired passive range of movement), F61-64 (lower limb/s competing with prosthesis affected by limb deficiency and leg length difference).

Seated throws (11 classes)

F31-34 (co-ordination impairments (hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis)), F51-57 (Limb deficiency, leg length difference, impaired muscle power or impaired range of movement).

More detailed information on classification can be found at paralympic.org/athletics/classification

Sessions schedule

A full event-by-event timetable and live results can be found at paralympic.org/dubai-2019

Times stated are local (UK time in brackets)

Thursday November 7
Morning 9:30-12:00 (5:30-8:00)
Evening 19:00-22:30 (15:00-18:30)

Friday November 8
Morning 10:00-11:30 (6:00-7:30)
Evening 18:00-21:30 (14:00-17:30)

Saturday November 9
Morning 9:00-12:00 (5:00-8:00)
Evening 18:00-21:00 (14:00-17:00)

Sunday November 10
Morning 8:55-12:30 (4:55-8:30)
Evening 18:00-21:10 (14:00-17:10)

Monday November 11
Morning 9:00-12:10 (5:00-8:10)
Evening 18:00-21:30 (14:00-17:30)

Tuesday November 12
Morning 9:00-12:30 (5:00-8:30)
Evening 18:00-21:20 (14:00-17:20)

Wednesday November 13
Morning 9:00-11:40 (5:00-7:40)
Evening 18:00-21:00 (14:00-17:00)

Thursday November 14
Morning 9:00-12:20 (5:00-8:20)
Evening 18:00-21:20 (14:00-17:20)

Friday November 15
Evening 18:00-20:00 (14:00-16:00)

TV guide

A total of 24 broadcasters from all continents will receive coverage of the championships, reaching 88 countries.

In countries with no geo-block restrictions, sessions will be streamed via the Dubai 2019 official website and the World Para Athletics Facebook and Twitter pages.

Channel 4 has the rights for the UK and is set to show coverage at paralympics.channel4.com

» See our social media channels and website for updates, while the November 14 and 21 editions of AW will feature coverage of the action in Dubai

» For more on the latest athletics news, athletics events coverage and athletics updates, check out the AW homepage and our social media channels on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram