by Alfonz Juck
The World Champs begin tomorrow, Friday, July 15, 2022. From July 15-July 24, Hayward Field will be celebrating the amazing sport of track & field. EME News previews all of the events right here. EME News is the brainchild of Alfons Juck, a fine meet promoter, agent, media specialist, father, and grandfather.
Short event by event previews
MEN
100 m: US affair Kerley in shape, title defender Coleman. Surprise from Bracy. US had medal sweeps back in 1983 and 1991.
200 m: Lyles vs Knighton, or are we underestimating Kerley in this fight?
400 m: Norman and James, how much power left for NCAA stars with Van Niekerk back, but can he handle rounds?
800 m: Youngsters attacking (Wanyonyi, Burgin), also NCAA star Zahafi, but Arop looks to be in top shape.
1500 m: Jakob ready to handle this challenge. Slow or fast. Dark horses Hoare and Teare.
5000 m: Four Ethiopians is the strong force. What is the shape of Cheptegei, here we will know it will be after 10k, also Jakob wants to decide after 1500 about this.
10 000 m: Here we have Three Ethiopians headed by Oly winner Barega, Cheptegei backed by Kiplimo and home fans looking for Fisher.
Steeple: El Bakkali vs Girma, one of the top clashes of the event. First sub 8 of World Champs?
110mH: We should say Holloway vs Allen, but are hurdles easy predictable? For sure not. Parchment ready too. Up and coming Cunningham, Zhoya to be considered also.
400mH: With Warholm running he is the one. Without him Dos Santos vs Benjamin. First sub 47 in history of the champs.
Marathon: Great course and obvious clash KEN vs ETH, but Rupp has ambitions, as is Nageeye. CR 2:06:54 will go.
HJ: This could end with a surprise. But normally it should be Woo or Barshim or Tamberi. But except of Italian star not that many competitions from them.
PV: The question here not who, but how high. MR 605 is the first target for Mondo. Will be interesting clash for other medals. Nilsen and?
LJ: Olympic winner Tentoglou is in good mood, decathlete Ehammer could spoil the Sirtaki.
TJ: This is very open, but Lazaro Martinez is unbeaten this year, indoor or outdoor. Pichardo knows how to jump 18, as does Zango.
SP: Crouser for Championships record (22.91) but for sure aiming for more, should we consider Kovacs and Walsh as sure bets for other medals? Or a surprise of Romani Belgrade style?
DT: Ceh is 5:1 this year over Stahl. Speaks for itself. Dark horse young Alekna. Meet record 70.18 under threat, held by Alekna senior.
HT: Polish party is the conclusion. Nowicki this year 4:2 over Fajdek. Fight for bronze open (Bigot, Halasz, Henriksen).
JT: Peters wants to defend, Chopra wants 90 and Vadlejch with Weber also ready.
Dec: Warner vs Mayer is the clash.
20 km w: Japanese walkers in shape, Karlstrom too, but Tokyo had a surprise winner, here the weather not so dramatic as Tokyo or Doha.
35 km w: Debut of this event. Stano is ready. Tomala is the last 50 km Oly winner. And Japanese again. MR of course. WR standard 2:22.
4×100 m: US has the strongest individual speed, but we know quality of exchanges plays bigger role. That is why more teams could be in the mix (ITA, GBR, JAM, CAN).
4×400 m: US here in clear favorite position. The rest is very open. Jamaican depth, Borlee brothers, Dutch improvements, Polands relay spirit, Dominican rep dark horse.
WOMEN
100 m: Shelly-Ann vs Elaine, how fast they can be. It could be surprisingly close to Flo-Jo. Champs record 10.70 will not continue.
200 m: Here it is not only Shelly-Ann vs Elaine, as Shericka and Steiner are coming into the mix. Also here meet record 21.63 should go.
400 m: Paulino going after SMU. Bronze is open. WL should be broken (49.49).
800 m: Can Hodgkinson attack Mu? Is the 400 speed the difference here? Sub 1:57 expected.
1500 m: Repeat of the great duel Kipyegon vs Tsegay from Prefontaine.
5000 m: We will know after 10k here who will be running. For Hassan this is the priority event. Ethiopian team so strong. Champs record 14:26.72.
10 000 m: Gidey to be safe bet, but Obiri is very experienced. We are not sure about Hassan. Sub 30 will be? If so a WL.
Marathon: Defender Chepngetich on the right path. Yeshaneh leads Ethiopian team, but Israel never won a medal at Worlds in a running event (Chemtai).
Steeple: Oly winner Chemutai will have it tough as Tanui and Yavi are in better shape. Does not look good for Kenya here. Well under 9 for gold (WL is 8:56.55, MR is 8:57.84).
100mH: Jasmine should be the choice, but 10 hurdles… All 3 medalists from Doha there.
400mH: Sydney on her way to another WR? Bol for European record. Is Muhammad ready for more than so far this year? Champs record 52.16 should go at least.
HJ: Mahuchikh is the clear choice, she just needs to handle her technique in the right way. Other medals so wide open. More Ukrainians there?
PV: Morris and the rest. WL on the table (482).
LJ: Mihambo without too much pressure is more than ready. Everything else so open. TFN goes for Brume and Bekh-Romanchuk for other medals, AW for Brume and Burks.
TJ: Rojas is a mystery, but should be enough to win including WL. Any other 14.80+ will be good for medal.
SP: Gong is defender, but Song was in better shape, but even better were through the DL season Ealey and Mitton. Could be first 20+ podium since 2003.
DT: Allman vs Perkovic for gold, Pudenz vs Perez for bronze.
HT: Rogers could be the surprise, Andersen home hope, Kopron for medal too. Dark horse Fantini.
JT: Chinese stars shape is not known. US names improving. Kitaguchi won only DL clash. Barber is title defender. WL more than possible.
Hep: If Thiam in right shape, there should be no question mark. Youngsters Hall and Sulek coming. Benelux challenge (Vidts, Vetter).
20kmw: Can somebody challenge the Chinese team? Liu Hong to defend.
35kmw: Close to say the same as in 20kw. But Garcia and Morejon more than ready. First champs record in this event. 2:38 is the WR standard.
4×100 m: What a strong 100 m PB´s on Jamaican side. Thats World record team. US should be second, surprise from Switzerland.
4×400 m: US is soo strong, what will be their winning time? The fastest since 2000 is 3:16.87. They can include Mu or McLaughlin. Jamaica is the choice for second, Poland and Netherlands always there.
Mixed
4×400 m: Second time held. Format changed to man-woman-man-woman. With any names (including legend Allyson) US the favorites. Poland and Netherlands to be considered too and Dominican Republic the top team from behind. WR to be set (3:09.34).
