BEIJING, May 13  -- Track and field legends Mike Powell, Colin Jackson and Michael Johnson arrived here on Wednesday to promote the coming Beijing 2015 IAAF World Championships.

"We are here to have a good time and promote the sport," said Powell. "We wanna show people that this is something to be valued. Come and see the event, come and see what's going on. That's what we have to do."

The retired athletics legends have a tight schedule this week: they will attend the 100-day countdown to the world championships on Thursday at the National Stadium, talk to students and teachers in Beijing University, Tsinghua University and high schools, and meet Chinese national athletics team members.

"My coach, Randy Huntington, is coaching now here in China, he coached the long jumpers," Powell said. "So I've been watching what they have been doing, Randy told me that they did very well, so I wanna see what they'll do in the championships, and next year in Rio, too."

Beijing 2015 IAAF World Championships will be held from August 22 to 30at the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium.