Olympic high jump champion Hamish Kerr is keen to add a world title to his resume, but first he'll have to break his duck at the event.
Kerr will compete in his fourth world championships starting in Tokyo this weekend; he is one of 14 New Zealand athletes taking part in the global event.
The 29-year-old is an Olympic champion, world indoor champion and Diamond League champion, however, he has never qualified for a final at his three previous World Championship appearances.
"First and foremost qualifying for the final will be the main thing and then once I'm in the final then there is everything to play for and I'd love to win it," Kerr told RNZ
Making a final is the aim for the majority of the New Zealanders taking part.
Sprinter Zoe Hobbs has had another stellar season.
She broke her 100m national record in the Czech Republic in June in what has been a busy year which featured an appearance in the Diamond League Final in Zurich in late August.
Hobbs has made the final of the last two World Indoor Championships over 60m and making the 100m final in Tokyo will be her aim this weekend.
George Beamish shocked the athletics world with his World Indoor 1500m title in 2024, but it's over the steeples that he will again try to make his mark in Tokyo.
He finished fifth in the 3000m steeplechase at the last world championships in 2023 but failed to make the final at last year's Olympics.
Shot-putter Tom Walsh will be hoping to end his run of fourth place finishes at the world champs.
Walsh won the title in 2017 and finished third in 2019, but he's just missed the podium at the last two events.
The 33-year-old has been throwing well below his best this season but told RNZ that his training is indicating that something big isn't far away.
Despite having a best of 21.89 this year Walsh feels he can be a contender.
"You can't rule yourself out.... as soon as you rule yourself out then you've got no hope in hell.
"I definitely believe I've got enough in me to throw mid 22 right now, I've just got to trust it rather than chase it."
Five members of the New Zealand team will be returning to the Tokyo stadium where they competed in the Olympics in 2021 during Covid times.
Kerr, Walsh, Maddi Wesche, hammer thrower Lauren Bruce and middle distance runner Sam Tanner will this time compete with a full crowd at the Olympic stadium.
"It's going to be very different this time around not just because there will be a crowd but also personally," Kerr said.
"That was one of his first major events and what I've been able to achieve in the four years since and the type of athlete I am now, it is going to feel like a full circle moment.