With a strong team of 151 athletes, he wants to regain lost ground at the Tokyo Games, where he failed in the speed tests
With a year delay due to the effects of the pandemic that has changed the calendar of major athletic events, Eugene is finally celebrating his World Cup from this Friday through Sunday the 24th. In this strange post-Olympic year in which European athletics will also celebrate its championship a month later (from August 15 to 21 in Munich), the big stars are getting ready to reconfirm what was achieved at the Tokyo Games a year ago, or for revenge for what happened in the great Japanese event. As always there will be absences due to injury or poor form, but Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, is the vast majority of athletic stars predicting a good show in these nine days of the World Cup.
The United States are playing at home and it shows. It presents a powerful roster -151 athletes- ready to shine in all areas, but especially in speed. The blur of the Tokyo Olympics was very painful and the US Navy looks poised to gain ground in Oregon, especially in the men’s category, as Jamaica is once again the women’s favorite in the shorter distances. Middle distance runner Athing Mu, shot putter Ryan Crouser, four hurdler Sydney McLaughlin, pole vaulter Katie Nageotte and discus thrower Valarie Allman, all Olympic champions, to which we have to add a list of contenders for everything and only a notable absence, the sprinter’s Sha’Carri Richardson, who was unable to win the place in the trials.
Fred Kerley, Christian Coleman, Trayvon Bromell, the very young Erriyon Knighton or the 400-year-old Michael Norman are chosen in the men’s category to dominate from 100 to 400. The first three strive to forget Tokyo’s failure when they were overtaken by the surprising Lamont Jacobs. The Italian has had a difficult year due to injuries and is not arriving at his best in Oregon. Knighton, for his part, has wowed his 18-year-old with those 19.49 which places him as the fourth best scorer of all time and arguably one of the thrills of the World Cup, while only the best Kirani James can break in the 400 meters American dominance, especially because Steven Gardiner. Olympic champion, misses appointment due to injury.
In the middle and long distance, equality is the trend of the season in terms of brands. Jakob Ingebrigtsen will face each other again with the African military, but also in two appointments. The Norwegian has decided to double the 1,500-5,000 metres, something he hasn’t done since 2019, and he is confident of his potential as the calendar gives him air for the challenge.
In billboards there are several proper names. One, hands down Devon Allen (110m hurdles), who arrives with the fourth best mark of all time (12.84), is a clear favorite for gold and who could play his last game as he will try it later with the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL. In the 400 hurdles, it seems hard to see a final as incredible as the one at the Tokyo Games, especially since world record holder Karsten Warholm suffered an injury a month ago in Rabat and arrives in Oregon very precisely. It could be Alison Dos Santos’ big break, with Rai Benjamin’s approval. Armand Duplantis in pole vault, Korean Woo in height, Tentoglou and Lazaro Martínez in length and triple, Peters in javelin and Warner in decathlon are other favorite stars, while the weight final could again be spectacular, with four very over 22 meters.
Participating in the women’s category will keep Allyson Felix in the mixed 4×400 relay from the start, looking to set a record with thirteen golds at outdoor world championships and seven golds at Games before being fired. She’s the big lady of Oregon athletics, but there are other big stars on the track predicting duels like the 100 and 200 meters, in a clear re-imagining of what happened in Tokyo a year ago. In Japan, Elaine Thomson-Herah was the winner with her double and her big marks. Once again at the big event he comes behind his rivals, but the best is expected from his competitiveness. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Prize leads the 100, but watch out for Shericka Jackson’s performance this season. What is clear is that Jamaica’s dominance remains clear.
The 400m hurdles are once again presented as one of the most outstanding tests of the program. Olympic champion Sydney McLaughlin, who broke her own world record in the 400m hurdles at the national championships in June, will star in one of the biggest duels on the track at Hayward Field with her compatriot and reigning world champion Dalilah Muhammad.
Other big names on the track include Shauane Miller at 400 meters and Athing Mu at 800, while doubts arise at the higher distances. And Sifan Hassan? The Dutch faced the impossible challenge of running 1,500-5,000 and 10,000 in Tokyo, finishing with two golds and one bronze, an effort that took its toll and forced her to rest. And in her preparation for Eugene, she had an injury that forced her to stop, so she arrives without competition but re-registered in the three distances. We’ll have to wait and see what decision he makes. Among the participants is the dominance of Faith Kipyegon, Ejgayehu Taye and the surprising Scottish Liz McColgan in the ten kilometers. And two more names. Caster Semenya will be in the 5,000 and Francine Niyonsaba will be out due to injury.
It remains to mention the duel that takes place in the 100-meter hurdles between Kendra Harrison and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, the favoritism of Sandi Morris (pole), Malaika Mihambo (height) and Valarie Allman (discus), and that Yulimar Rojas, despite the temptation to double down will focus on fighting the triple jump world record.
Source: La Verdad
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