1.95 PB for Carolina Kluft in Osaka(Getty Images)

Osaka, Japan - On Sunday, the race walkers have to get up early but the women of the Heptathlon can sleep late.

The men’s 20km Race Walk starts the day’s action at 8:00, and, as we warned about Saturday’s men’s Marathon, the ability to handle Osaka’s heat and humidity are as much a test as sheer race-walking speed and technique.

Perez chasing third title...

Jefferson Perez of Ecuador set the World Record of 1:17:21 winning the 2003 World Championships race in Paris, and he won again in Helsinki in 2005. Nobody has won three in a row, but if anyone can it’s Perez. His chief challengers appears to be Spain’s Francisco Fernandez, who finished second to Perez in Paris and Helsinki, and 2004 Olympic champion Ivano Brugnetti of Italy. 

But the day’s two ‘big’ events are the final of the men’s 100 meters and the conclusion of the women’s Heptathlon.

...as Powell and Gay chase their first

After the first two rounds of the men’s 100m, World record holder Asafa Powell of Jamaica (at 9.77 seconds) still looks like the one to beat. In his quarter-final on Saturday Powell ran hard for 60 metres and then eased to a jog to win in... 10.01! There won’t be much easing off in the semi-finals and final. When you watch the semifinals, watch Powell and Tyson Gay - who has run a wind-aided 9.76 - as they drive out of the blocks and accelerate. You’ll notice they keep their heads low and their bodies leaning forward for longer than the other runners. And when it's 10:20 and the finalists get into their starting blocks, you'll hear one of the great sounds of the Championships -- silence.

Kluft chasing 7000 point barrier

The second day of the women’s Heptathlon starts with the Long Jump at 5:15 in the afternoon, and you'll see Sweden’s Carolina Kluft in top form. She comes into the Long Jump – probably her best event – with a 148-point lead over the field. Only 24, she has won 18 straight heptathlons, and is going for her third straight World championship. Now we will watch to see if she can break the meet record of 7001 points she set winning her first World title in Paris four years ago.

Women's Shot Put crown on the line

The day’s other final is the women’s Shot Put. Like the men’s event, the women must qualify in the morning and come back in the evening for the final. The only three throwers who have done better than 20 metres this year are Nadzeya Ostapchuk of Belarus (20.34), Petra Lammert of Germany (20.04), and Valerie Vili of New Zealand (20.03). But you can’t overlook Yumileidi Cumba of Cuba, who knows how to rise to the occasion, as she did winning the 2004 Olympic gold medal.

The semis-finals of the women’s 800 will be well worth watching. Just making the final will be an accomplishment; it took 2:00.61 to get into the semis, and it should take under 2:00 – maybe under 1:59 – to make the final. The men’s 400m Hurdles, too, will offer semifinals almost as exciting as the final.

And don’t forget the women’s 100 metres; the first two rounds are set for Sunday!