A record field of 2,101 athletes from 202 countries is entered provisionally for the upcoming 12th World Athletics Championships in Berlin, the ruling body International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said Sunday.
The IAAF said that 1,154 men and 947 women will compete for 47 gold medals at the Aug. 15-23 championships in the Olympic Stadium.
The current record is 1,821 athletes from 202 countries competing at the 1999 worlds in Seville, Spain.
The official start lists for Berlin are released Thursday.
The official IAAF statistics are based on the number of athletes who did participate.
Highest demand is in the shortest and longest men's running event. Superstar Usain Bolt and title holder Tyson Gay lead 100 entries for the 100m, and the marathon race has even attracted 101 entries.