Track and Field World Championships: Top Races to Watch

Women’s 100 meters:

The biggest question surrounding this event: How will the top three Jamaican women finish? It seems inevitable that Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shericka Jackson will sweep the medal stand. Fraser-Pryce, 35, has ruled the 100 meters this season; she is the only woman to run sub 10.70, and the only athlete to win this event four times.

Men’s 200 meters:

Lyles stuck his tongue out and pointed at Knighton in celebration as he won the 200 at the U.S. championships last month, sparking a fiery postrace interview. Lyles is the reigning world champion and won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, but his personal best time is slower than Knighton’s.

Knighton, 18, ran the 200 on April 30 in 19.49 seconds, the fourth-fastest 200 time ever, breaking Usain Bolt’s same-age record by nearly a half-second. Lyles is just behind Knighton on the all-time list with a personal-best 19.50, but how these two finish and, more important, how fast they run, will be the focus of this race.

Women’s 200 meters:

Jackson of Jamaica is the favorite in this event. She sped past Thompson-Herah, the reigning Olympic champion, and Fraser-Pryce at the Jamaican national championships to run 21.55 seconds in the 200, the third-fastest time in history. Her time is just behind Thompson-Herah’s 21.53 from last year’s Tokyo Games, and though Thompson-Herah has not looked up to her Olympic form yet this season, she typically runs fast at championship meets, so she can’t be counted out.

Middle Distance Events

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/article/track-field-world-championships-races.html