The World Athletics Championships are currently taking place in Tokyo, Japan, with the likes of Armand Duplantis and Faith Kipyegon already making history
Ben Crawford GAU Writer and Abbie Meehan Sports Writer U-35s
14:56, 17 Sep 2025Updated 15:00, 17 Sep 2025
Andrew Cotter isn’t happy with his Tokyo hotel(Image: Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
BBC commentator Andrew Cotter has addressed the “seedy” Tokyo location he is staying at whilst covering the World Athletics Championships in Japan.
Over 300,000 spectators have attended the Japan National Stadium during the opening four days of the major event, with many more anticipated to witness the world’s best athletes compete. Fans have already seen another triumphant world record bid from pole-vaulting sensation Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis, alongside Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon securing her fourth 1500m title.
While such elite performers presumably reside in more upmarket districts of Tokyo, BBC star Cotter has been extremely critical of his current accommodation in the city.
“I am in Japan, Tokyo, which is the capital of Japan and a very big city. I’m actually at my hotel, and it’s in a very seedy area of Tokyo,” Cotter told The Chipping Forecast podcast.
“All I’ll say is walking in in the morning, because we head in at six o’clock in the morning, the drunks are all weaving around, and they really do weave. It’s extraordinary.
“There are various places… My neck and back are totally tightened up, and I’ve wanted to get a massage to loosen them up. However, I have decided that it’s best not to go to the massage places!”
Armand Duplantis broke his own world record – again(Image: Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Japan has hosted what’s already proving to be a landmark championship. During the third day of action, thousands of supporters witnessed Sweden’s Duplantis shatter a world record in the men’s pole vault.
The 25-year-old, who was born in America to a Swedish mother, initially claimed the record in 2020 when he surpassed Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie’s 6.16m mark with a leap of 6.17m. From that moment on he has been unstoppable, and he shattered the record for the ninth occasion during the Paris Olympics.
At the major event, Duplantis pushed his world record to an incredible 6.25m. However, the Swede wasn’t finished there, and his triumphant 6.30m vault in Tokyo means he has now smashed the world record on 14 separate occasions.
Following his third world championship victory in four years, he told the crowd: “It’s better than I could have imagined.
Jake Wightman secured Great Britain’s first medal with a shock silver in the men’s 1500m(Image: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
“To give you guys this world record is amazing. For the past two weeks, I really enjoyed being in Tokyo. I feel the only way to leave Japan was to set the world record. That was my mentality. I was feeling really good the whole day. I knew I had the record in me. I am glad it all worked out.”
Meanwhile, in the women’s event, Britain’s Molly Caudery suffered devastation after sustaining an injury during an overnight session. The 2024 world indoor champion was forced to withdraw from the competition.
Whilst Caudery won’t be delivering Great Britain’s opening medal of the championships, Jake Wightman secured a surprise silver medal in the men’s 1500 final after favourite Josh Kerr pulled up injured.
Wightman led the race until the final stages, before being pipped by two hundredths of a second to the gold by Issac Nader of Portugal.
The women’s final occurred on Tuesday, with Kenya’s Kipyegon ruling supreme as anticipated, claiming another world crown to complement her three Olympic golds and world record.
AloJapan.com