World Athletics president Lord Sebastian Coe believes “real deal” Keely Hodgkinson and sprint star Zharnel Hughes are Great Britain’s best bets for World Championship glory.
Hodgkinson missed out on the world 800 metres title by just 0.08 seconds to American Athing Mu last year and also finished second behind the same athlete at the Toyko Olympics in 2021.
The 21-year-old has been in excellent form this season, setting a world best indoors over 600m in January and defending her European indoor title before beginning her outdoor season by lowering her British record in Paris.
Hughes has enjoyed arguably even better preparation for Budapest, the Anguilla-born star breaking the 30-year-old British records of Linford Christie and John Regis over 100 and 200m respectively in the space of a month.
His 100m time of 9.83 seconds, recorded in New York in June, remains the fastest in the world this year.
Asked if Hughes’s performances had earned the respect of the top sprinting nations and could lead to gold in Budapest, Coe said: “Yes and yes.
“I can give you the feedback from the cradle of sprinting and the NACAC congress in Costa Rica last month.
“People whose judgement I really value, both in Jamaican sprinting and US sprinting, think he can win in Budapest simply because it may not be that fast a race anyway. Their judgement is that he is absolutely a contender.
“The more people coming on the scene and fighting their way into the upper echelons of the sport is terrific and for British sprinting it’s not just a good thing, it’s an important thing.
“And those were good records; John Regis’s 200m record was one for the ages when he set it.”
Hodgkinson has tasted just one defeat over 800m so far in 2023, finishing second behind Kenya’s Mary Moraa, the Commonwealth champion, in Lausanne.
“I think she’s the real deal, I’ve thought that for some time,” added Coe, who also feels Dina Asher-Smith and Katarina Johnson-Thompson will challenge for medals in Budapest.
“At the age of 19 winning a silver in a world championships, similar type of performance at an Olympic Games, she’s outstanding. She’s coached well, she’s grounded and she’s talented.
“She is at this moment in great shape and this is where we’re beginning to see some strength in depth with Jemma Reekie running 1:57 in London. We’ve got depth now and genuine quality and this is encouraging.”
Coe reiterated that no Russian or Belarusian athletes would be competing in Budapest following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a stance that World Athletics is set to maintain for next year’s Olympic Games.
“We’ve taken the view they won’t be in Paris,” Coe said. “We made the decision that we felt was in the best interests of the sport.
“Decisions we’ve made in the past have been tough ones, whether it’s around preserving the female category, transfers of allegiance, the initial suspension of Russia back in 2015 – we’ve done it because it’s been the right thing to do.
“If it has given other sports permission or comfort to feel that they can do the same then that’s a good thing but it’s entirely up to them – we didn’t do it for that reason.
“The nature of these decisions is that the world does change. We are also creating working groups to monitor the situation so we aren’t closing the door forever.
“We’re not the ‘computer says no’ federation and we’ve always, if we could, found the navigable route through.”
Ricketts opens season with 14.50m to win triple jump at Jamaica Athletics Invitational
Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts provided her home fans with a solid performance to win the women’s triple jump at the inaugural Jamaica Athletics Invitational at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.
The two-time World Championships silver medallist produced a best jump of 14.50m on her first attempt that proved to be enough to win in the end.
American Jasmine Moore had a best jump of 14.28m for second while Dominican World Indoor Champion Thea Lafond jumped 14.22m in the sixth and final round to clinch third.
“I feel exceptional. I usually get started with my season much earlier but this year we decided to get a few things corrected before coming into competition,” Ricketts said following the competition.
“Competing with world class athletes who have been doing well indoors as well really pushed me and gave me a good implication of where I’m at this season,” she added.
The 2022 Commonwealth Champion also spoke on competing in Jamaica.
“It’s always a pleasure to compete in Kingston. Usually, I try to do a meet here before going overseas to compete in the Diamond League. The crowd has warmed up to the jumps because of how well I’ve been doing overseas over the years. I’m always grateful for the support,” she said.
Great Britain’s Hughes, Asher-Smith get 200m victories at Jamaica Athletics Invitational
Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes and Dina Asher-Smith took victories in the men’s and women’s 200m events at the inaugural Jamaica Athletics Invitational at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.
Hughes, a bronze medallist in the 100m at last year’s World Championships in Budapest, produced a season’s best 19.96 to win ahead of American Fred Kerley (20.17) and France’s Pablo Mateo (20.20).
“I feel really good. I think this is my second 200m race of the season. When I opened up I wasn’t ready so tonight I was just testing out the waters. We’re starting to sharpen up but not as much because it’s a long season,” Hughes said after the race.
“To run 19.96 now, I’m very happy. I just need to stay healthy and continue to execute my races accordingly and everything will be okay,” he added.
2019 World Champion Asher-Smith narrowly won the women’s event in 22.51 ahead of the Ivory Coast’s Jessika Gbai (22.53) with Jamaica’s Lanae-Tava Thomas running 22.84 for third.
Asher-Smith says she was hoping for a quicker time and has some things to work on.
“I’m in really good shape so I was hoping to get a quicker time today. Clearly, I’ve got some stuff that I’ve got to work on so I’m going to go back to Austin and work on them but I’m happy to have won here in Jamaica,” she said.
USA’s Holmes, Great Britain’s Hudson-Smith win 400m races at Jamaica Athletics Invitational
American Alexis Holmes and great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith emerged as the winners of the women’s and men’s 400m races at the inaugural Jamaica Athletics Invitational at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.
Holmes, a member of the USA’s gold medal-winning mixed relay team at the World Championships in Budapest last year and the World Relays this year in Nassau, ran 50.31 to lead an American 1-2-3 with Brittany Brown running 51.21 in second and Naasha Robinson running 51.81 in third.
“I had a lot of fun. The energy was great,” Holmes said after the race.
“I was expecting a smooth race and just trying to get the win. I just try to stay relaxed and poised because I know I have a strong finish,” she added.
The men’s race saw World Championship silver medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith produce 44.69 to take the win ahead of American Matthew Boling (44.98) and Jamaica’s Zandrion Barnes (45.41).
“I’m a lot more healthier this year. I’ve got the best team in the world. My coach Gary Evans is a man with a plan and this year it’s all about being healthy when it matters,” he said after the race.
“It was a good executed race. We just wanted to come home strong and be composed. I’ve got Oslo, Europeans, Monaco and London so I’ve got a lot more races and training,” he added.
The Brit also gave props to World Champion Antonio Watson who ran 45.61 for fifth.
“Listen, he’s the reigning World Champion so I’ve got to give him respect. He came out here in front of his people and raced. He delivered when it mattered,” he said.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
