Race walkers take off for the men’s 20-kilometer event held across the city, Sunday.

By Yi Whan-woo

The 13th IAAF World Championships in Daegu kicked off what is expected to be a top-class competition in track and field.

But as some 1,945 athletes from 202 countries compete in 47 events, the world’s top track and field will be all about “dream, passion, challenge.”

That’s what the spectators visiting the Daegu Stadium, be it either heats or finals, will experience.

And the southeastern city, about 300 kilometers from Seoul, will play host to the arduous races and interaction between athletes, between man and nature and between people and limitations.