Dina Asher-Smith leads Britain’s medal hopes at the World Athletics Championships, which get underway at Doha on Friday.
More than 70 British athletes are set to compete with sprint star Asher-Smith, throughout the World Championships and heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson two of those names in action, together with long-distance runner Laura Muir.
Adam Gemili – that won a World Championship gold trophy in London 2017 after a sensational performance from the 4 x 100m race, which can be set to feature for Team GB.
Of what claims to be an enthralling 10 days ahead, we’ve picked.
It’s the first World Championships without Usain Bolt because 2005, however – at Warholm – we have an athlete with ability and more than enough personality to plug the gap. Karsten runs faster each and every time that the starter’s pistol sounds.
The former decathlete dedicated to the 400 hurdles in 2015, and has since become World, European, and Diamond League winner – the latter courtesy of this second-fastest clocking of all time in Zurich last month: 46.92.
Secondly with the third-quickest period in history , in that race has been NCAA Champion Rai Benjamin. It’s unfathomable that the American did come off with the win, and dipped below 47 moments.
Throw a few of those four guys, and home favourite Abderrahman Samba to the mixture to have broken that obstacle could be lining up at the next week.
Warholm is the man for the event, and edging which scintillating Diamond League final – even though stuttering to the barrier – will be a real boost ahead of the showdown.
What is certain is the fact that it is going to have something really particular to win the men’s 400m hurdles in Doha – perhaps a fracture at Kevin Young’s 1992 world record of 46.78.
Warholm burst on the scene with his Munch-esque incredulity at his own world-beating performance in London in 2017 (hunt’Karsten Warholm the scream‘, if you have missed the meme); all eyes will be on the Allied showman over the next few days, since he seems to craft a second classic.
Echevarria seems to have only respect for gravity, along with talent coming out of the ears. Until this year he’s not always seemed in control of his abilities and has cut off at a frustratingly unpredictable figure.
His 7.86m in London in the last World Championships was enough for just 15th spot in the long leap, and there were meetings once you believed he was just as prone to foul 3 times as he had been to clean the pit entirely.
Clearing the sand entirely might seem absurd, however, the Cuban jumped a wind-assisted 8.92m Havana back in March, also in just 21, there’s a lot of room for improvement. In between an inaugural global name is dominating Commonwealth Champion Luvo Manyonga and World.
The South African hasn’t replicated his 2018 form yet this year – we had grown used to the Olympic silver medallist soaring over 8.50m but he still poses a true danger, and contains much more big-meet expertise compared to the Cuban challenger.
Nevertheless, such is Echevarria’s ability that the outcome is from Manyonga’s hands. He will leave a gold medal at the long jump to Doha In the event the kid gets it right. It is that easy.
Whisper it, but there is a British sprinter gunning to get and might actually attain, the treble at a World Championships.
In Berlin she has backed that up on the stage in this year’s Diamond League and produced a magnificent leg in the 4x100m and donned both national records.
Four clockings within the sport’s blue-riband space on the circuit culminated at a seriously remarkable run at the closing in Brussels, where she beat Shelly-Ann and also clinched her Diamond League name.
The women’s sprints are saturated at present, along with the two Jamaicans (Fraser-Pryce and dual Olympic Champion Elaine Thompson) are both faster on newspaper over 100m, however Dina has beaten both of them this year, and her composure, consistency, and aggressive instincts make her the odds-on preferred with this title.
Over 200m one woman looks to get the beating of Asher-Smith, and that is the peerless Shaunae Miller-Uibo, that – due to scheduling that is awkward – is not able to try a double .
From the Bahamian’s absence, Dina looks perfectly-placed into dethrone Dafne Schippers, who is looked decidedly off the pace so far. From the penultimate day of the Championships, Dina gets the chance to cement her superstardom status.
Great Britain won silver in this event in London, and with Asher-Smith, Asha Philip, along with Daryll Neita from this quartet all in excellent shape – plus Kristal Awuah, Ashleigh Nelson, along with Sky Scholar Imani-Lara Lansiquot creating a solid sprint relay squad) – there’s a really real likelihood of a third medal.
Asher-Smith is becoming the head of British Athletics – a teenager she’s borne with the two articulacy and appeal – and Doha is her opportunity to truly make history. Not because Kathy Cook in 1983 has since Britain had an individual medal at the 100m or 200m of the women, and there sounds a chance in the two.
The girls 800m is without any of the three Rio medallists – Caster Semenya, Francine Niyonsaba, and Margaret Wambui – most of whom were affected by the IAAF’s changes to eligibility rules for athletes who have differences in sexual growth.
In their absence, the USA’s Ajee Wilson is the most popular favourite: fastest in the world this year, Diamond League champion, and undefeated within the space in 2019 in each race without Semenya.
The may be favourite for gold, but there might well be a place of the most underrated athletes of Great Britain in the podium for one. Shelayna Oskan-Clarke is an canny and assured racer, dominating European Indoor Champion, and a world medallist.
She finished in Beijing at the 2015 Worlds, and doesn’t compete far on the Diamond League circuit, however runs astutely and vigorously. Championship races that are middle-distance can be cagey events, and also Oskan-Clarke is a safe pair of hands.
Do not be surprised to find that this highly effective runner if she can navigate the heats and semi-finals with no episode.
Keep a look out for compatriots Lynsey Sharp, who’s at a rich vein of form, and Championships debutant Alex Bell, who also displayed admirable composure to finish fifth in the Commonwealths last year, and recently won the 800m for Team Europe at The Match.
The Olympic champion does not run, she glides. The Bahamian stands at 6ft 1in and is still among the most effortless opponents. When she sets up with the likewise balletic Steven Gardiner in the mixed 4×400 relay, then it will be a decorative pleasure of a race, along with a terrifyingly quick one at that.
She’s a sub-49 next quarter-miler, conducted a national listing of 21.74 over 200 metres in the Diamond League final in Zurich last month, also is undefeated across the board as the start of this 2018 year old.
That said, it is not all been smooth sailing ; her golden at Rio came later she controversially threw himself around the line to beat Allyson Felix; she strangely seized up in the final metres of the 400m at the 2017 Worlds, fading to fourth; plus she seemed well shy of her best in the 200m at that identical event, in which she finished third.
Since, however, she has been scrupulous, and it is a real shame that she’s unable to attempt the 200-400m double. There have been six runs this season, and three of them were by Miller-Uibo.
The single athlete that would challenge her is Salwa Eid Naser, the Bahraini record-holder and Diamond League Champion.
The pair haven’t yet met this season, and there will surely be fireworks if they dowe have not seen two women violate the 49-second barrier in precisely exactly the identical race since 1996, however, that could well change in Doha.
Naser will operate quickly, however Miller-Uibo will run. She’s the Champion elect, and so much yet to come. This should be her first, but in no manner her title that is global.
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