Top 10 athletes to watch out for at World Athletics Championships 2022

The 10-day event at Oregon will feature a number of top athletes.

The World Athletics Championships 2022 commences at the Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on July 15. The 10-day championship will feature the creme-de-la-creme of the athletics world.

1,972 athletes will represent 192 nations in this mega event. This year's World Athletics Championship will feature the most number of athletes across any edition to date. These athletes will compete for 150 medals across 49 events. Among these athletes, there are definitely some favourites to make it to the podium. So let's take a look at the ten athletes who we need to keep an eye out for in this year's World Athletics championship:

10. Marcell Jacobs

Marcell Jacobs will be among the favourites to win gold in the 100m event. The Italian won a historic gold in the 100m and the 4x100m relay races in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

He won the gold in the last two editions of the European Indoor Championships (2021 and 2022). Marcell also won gold in the 4x100m relay in last year's World Athletics Relays. Therefore, with the success and medals driving him forward, Marcell will once again aim to be the first to reach the finish line in this event.

9. Yulimar Rojas

The 26-year-old Venezuelan will be looking to make it a hat-trick of gold medals in the triple jump event. Rojas won the gold in the triple jump in the 2017 and 2019 World Athletics Championships.

She is also a triple gold medallist in the World Indoor Championships in the triple jump discipline. Rojas' domination in the triple jump event makes her the favourite for the gold medal this time out as well.

8. Sydney McLaughlin

Sydney McLaughlin is the reigning Olympic champion in the 400m hurdles and the 4x400m relay events. Sydney is also coming off a world record time of 51.41 seconds. She set the record in the same Hayward Field where she will compete for the home nation. McLaughlin also won the gold in 4x400m relay and silver in the 400m hurdles at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha.

Therefore, having broken the world record and with a gold in the last Olympics, McLaughlin will be among the favourites to take the podium in the hurdles event this year.

7. Neeraj Chopra

The World Athletics Championships have not been kind to India in the past. In the last 17 editions that have happened, Indians have won only one medal. Therefore, there is a lot of expectation from the Indian contingent competing in the championships this year. The name on which the maximum hopes are pinned is obviously Neeraj Chopra.

Since his historic gold medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Chopra's stock has risen. The reigning Olympic, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games champion will be looking to add another gold to his illustrious medal tally. More importantly, he is the biggest hope for India to break their medal curse in the World Athletics Championship.

6. Armand "Mondo" Duplantis

The Swedish pole vaulter has been dominating the international circuit since his arrival in 2018. The Swede started his gold rush by finishing on top of the podium at the European Championships in Berlin. He then won gold in the European Indoor Championships and the Diamond League in the pole vault discipline.

His crowning moment though, came last year when he won the gold in the pole vault event at the Tokyo Olympics. Duplantis' domination of pole vault can be summarised by his world record-setting feats. Still only 22, Duplantis holds the world record for the highest indoor jump (6.2m) and outdoor jump (6.16m). Now, Duplantis will look to soar the highest in Oregon to win one of the few gold medals missing from his collection.

5. Dalilah Muhammad

While Sydney McLaughlin is the reigning champion, she is by no stretch expected to walk her way to the gold medal. The thanks can go to her US teammate Dalilah Muhammad.

The 32-year-old hurdles racer has enjoyed a decorated career. She is the reigning gold medallist in the 400m hurdles race in 2019 (where McLaughlin won silver) and also won gold in the 4x400m relay race (along with McLaughlin).

Dalilah also won gold in the 400m hurdles at the 2016 Rio Olympics and won silver in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (where McLaughlin tipped her to the gold). The hurdles racer also won gold in the 400m hurdles in the 2017 and 2018 Diamond League. Therefore, with the history behind her and an able competitor in her US teammate, it will be interesting to see who tips the other to gold this year.

4. Joshua Cheptegei

Joshua Cheptegei has made the long-distance running events his own. The 25-year-old runner from Uganda is the reigning Olympic champion in the 5,000m and also won gold in the 10,000m event at the 2019 World Championships in Doha.

Cheptegei also won gold in the 5,000m and 10,000m events at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. His medal tally also includes silver in the 10,000m event at the 2017 World Athletics Championships in London and last year's Olympics. What's more? Cheptegei also holds the world record in both 5,000 and 10,000m events. He also holds the world record in the 15km event (road race).

Therefore, when it is long-distance running, rest assured that Joshua Cheptegei's name will always be in the conversation for a top-of-the-podium finish. Historically, Cheptegei will return to Eugene where he won his first gold medal for the 10,000m event at the World Junior Championships in 2014.

3. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

When it comes to athletics and sprinting, the conversation cannot end without mentioning the Jamaicans. The island nation has produced scores of world-class sprinters. One among them competing in this year's World Athletics Championships would be 35-year-old Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

The 35-year-old is one of the most decorated female sprinters in history. Her career tally includes 27 medals with 18 among them being gold. Pryce is a three-time Olympic gold medallist. She won the gold in the 100m event in the 2012 London Olympics and the 4x100m relay in Tokyo last year.

A nine-time gold medallist at the World Athletics Championship, Pryce won the gold for both the 100m and 4x100m relay races in 2009, 2013 (also won gold in 200m), 2015 and 2019 events. Therefore, despite her age and the quality of competition within the Jamaican team, Fraser-Pryce will always be on the hunt for gold.

2. Elaine Thompson-Herah

Fraser-Pryce's Jamaican teammate Elaine Thompson-Herah will also be on the favourite's list for gold this year. The 30-year-old is on the back of a gold medal-winning run at the Tokyo Olympics. Thompson-Herah is the reigning Olympic champion in the 100 and 200m events in the 2016 and the 2020 Olympics.

Despite suffering a few injuries since Tokyo, the Jamaican will look to add her first individual gold medal in this year's World Athletics Championship (Herah won gold in the 4x100m relay in 2015 in Beijing). She will face stiff competition though from her fellow Jamaicans Shericka Jackson and the aforementioned Fraser-Pryce.

1. Allyson Felix

One of the most decorated athletes in history, Allyson Felix will look to bring the curtain down on a glorious career where she has won 30 medals in total. The United States athlete announced that she will retire later this year. Therefore, she will look to have one final hurrah before she winds down a career where she won seven Olympic gold medals and 13 gold medals in the World Athletics Championship.

Felix's tally of 13 gold medals is the highest for any athlete - male or female in the World Athletics Championship. The legendary sprinter will be a part of the 4x400m relay team along with Sydney McLaughlin and Dalilah Muhammad.

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