Credit: FLA

On Monday 1 September 2025, the Luxembourg Athletics Federation (Fédération Luxembourgeoise d'Athlétisme - FLA) announced the list of athletes who will represent the Grand Duchy at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, taking place from Saturday 13 to Sunday 21 September 2025.

Luxembourg will be represented by four athletes. Patrizia Van der Weken will compete in the women’s 100m, having qualified with a time of 11.05 seconds achieved at the Diamond League in Doha (Qatar) in mid-May.

Ruben Querinjean will line up in Tokyo in the 3000m steeplechase. This year he claimed the FISU World University Championship title in the discipline and, just over a week ago, the 23-year-old set a new national record of 8:09.47 at the Diamond League in Brussels.

Luxembourg will also have representatives in both the men’s and women’s 1500m. Vera Bertemes-Hoffmann qualified through the world ranking (38th on the “Road to Tokyo” list for 56 qualifiers). Earlier in July in Poznan, she confirmed her form with a time of 4:05.58, setting a new national record.

Charel Grethen’s qualification was confirmed through his world ranking (1,212 points). An Olympic finalist in 2021 and a semi-finalist at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships, he told Chronicle.lu: “I returned yesterday [Sunday 31 August 2025] from a three-week training camp in St Moritz, Switzerland. The training went very well and tomorrow [Tuesday 2 September 2025] I will run another 1500m in Trier to test my form. I leave for Japan on Thursday, then will train until 11 September in Yokohama to adapt to the time difference before heading to Tokyo.”

Jean-Baptiste Souche, National Technical Director of the Luxembourg Athletics Federation (FLA), told Chronicle.lu that the federation was “proud to have, as in 2023, four athletes qualified for the World Championships, even though several of our elite athletes retired at the end of 2024.” He added that this continuity “proves the great expertise of all our coaches and multidisciplinary staff” and represents “a great showcase” for Luxembourg athletics.

Regarding 23-year-old middle-distance runner Fanny Arendt (400m / 800m), Mr Souche noted that her qualification “seemed possible”, but that “in consultation with her coach and the federation, Fanny decided several months ago not to extend an already extremely demanding season and to stop after the national championships at the beginning of August.”

Looking ahead to Tokyo, he said: “We know we can hope for several semi-final or final appearances, despite the significant increase in the depth of talent at the global level. Every race will matter, and the FLA will be there to support them at every level.”

Schedule (Tokyo local time, +7 hours compared to Luxembourg):

  • Patrizia Van der Weken (100m): Heats on Saturday 13 September at 18:55; semi-finals and final on Sunday 14 September at 20:20 and 22:13.
  • Ruben Querinjean (3000m steeplechase): Heats on Saturday 13 September at 18:05; final on Monday 15 September at 21:55.
  • Vera Bertemes-Hoffmann (1500m): Heats on Saturday 13 September at 19:50; semi-finals on Sunday 14 September at 21:05; final on Tuesday 16 September at 22:05.
  • Charel Grethen (1500m): Heats on Sunday 14 September at 09:35; semi-finals on Monday 15 September at 21:30; final on Wednesday 17 September at 22:20.