Much like the recently held World Aquatics Championships, the World Athletics Championships – which start tomorrow at the storied Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon – have had something of a troubled history due to the ever present threat that has been the COVID pandemic.
Originally planned for last summer, the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics meant they were shifted to this year and added into what was already a somewhat crowded summer schedule. When you add in the inevitable retirements that follow at the end of each Olympic cycle, the banning of Russian and Belarussian athletes, and the equally inevitable injuries that are the constant bane of the life of professional sportsmen and women and these championships could be somewhat unpredictable.
What is going to be very predictable, however, is the likely dominance of the United States. Always one of the dominant forces in world athletics, expect them to be extra motivated to perform well in front of a home audience.
This is especially true in the men’s events, where the US could feasibly sweep the sprint events, as well as the relays. One story to look for is in the 400m hurdles, where Olympic champion and world record holder Karston Warholm of Norway will be looking to defend his world title but will do so with questionable fitness, having pulled up in his only race this season. He will hope to gain extra inspiration from his countryman Jakob Ingebrigtsen who could potentially win the double of 1500m and 5000m.
In the field, expect some familar names to dominate. Mutaz Barshim of Qatar (pole vault) and Anderson Peters of Grenada (javelin) will be hoping to repeat their triumph from Doha 2019. And in the discus Kristjan Ceh (Slovenia) and Daniel Stahl (Sweden) will continue their storied rivalry.
On the women’s side, expect the Jamaican sprinters to be as strong as ever. Dina Asher Smith will be looking to replicate her 200m crown from 2019 but has not been on top form this season. The same could be said of Sifan Hassan (Netherlands) who is the defending champion in both the 1500m and 10000m but has competed in only one race this season – a (by her standards) fairly pedestrian 5000m.
Two of the potential stars of the Championships will be home favourites – Sydney McLaughlin is a strong favourite to win the 400m hurdles crown and Valerie Allman similarly favoured to win the Discus.
Finally, we have one mixed event to look forward to, the 4x400m. Unfortunately the scheduling of this event is disappointing this year. Both the heats and the final will take place tomorrow, the first day of the championships. This favours the stronger teams (such as the US or Jamaica) greatly, as they could potentially run 2 entirely different teams, a luxury that smaller nations will lack.
Enjoy the Championships! Next up, we have the Commonwealth Games!
Ian's World Of Sports 