World Athletics announced on Sunday that a nearly 620,000 people attended nine days of competition during world championships in Tokyo in an action-packed close to long season on the track.
According to the governing body, the attendance figures released on Sunday reflect a massive widespread interest in the sport and support from within Japan was critical to the steady crowds inside Japan National Stadium.
There were five days that included morning and evening sessions and four days of just an evening session.
The attendance figures are a stark contrast to the initial intent of using the stadium as a $1.4 billion, 60,000-seat grand showpiece for the 2020 Olympics that were later delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, the Tokyo Games were held in empty venue as Japan was one of the more stricter nations when it came to rules about public gatherings and events at National Stadium felt ominous with no cheering fans.
But last week’s world championships were a redeeming point for the country and the announced 619,288 spectators over nine days showed that the venue could live up to its original purpose of hosting two weeks of international-level comptition.
Day 1
Morning session
32,739
Evening session
56,819
Day 2
Morning session
30,080
Evening session
57,528
Day 3
Morning session
33,144
Evening session
53,124
Day 4
Evening session
37,463
Day 5
Evening session
35,975
Day 6
Evening session
57,327
Day 7
Evening session
58,643
Day 8
Morning session
25,818
Evening session
58,221
Day 9
Morning session
23,575
Evening session
58,723
