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.”
Jamaica's 4x400m women, T&T's men book tickets to Paris
Jamaica’s 4x400m women have also booked their place at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer by winning the second round heat at the World Relays in the Bahamas on Sunday. The same four women lined up for the heat with the difference being that Roneisha McGregor running the lead off leg, Charokee Young on the second leg, Ashley Williams on the third leg and Junelle Bromfield on anchor.
The changes proved effective as the Jamaicans ran away with the heat winning impressively in 3:38.54.
India is also on their way to Paris after they finished in second place in a time of 3:29.35.
The Netherlands (3:27.45) and Switzerland (3:28.30) are also through along with Belgium (3:26.79) and Spain (3:27.30), a national record.
Meanwhile, Jamaica’s men will have to find another route to Paris after finished fifth in their heat and failed to qualify.
Trinidad and Tobago, though, produced a brave performance to secure a place in Paris. The quartet of Asa Guevara, Jereem Richards, Che Lara and Shakeem McKay battled hard to hold off France and seal the the final qualifying spot. Brazil won the heat in 3:01.86 with the brave Trinidadians finishing in 3:02.39.
Jamaica and Trinidad women shine to book 4x100m relay spots in Paris
Jamaica continued their resurgence from a disappointing first day at the World Relays in the Bahamas when they won their heat in round two of the 4x100m relays to advance to book their tickets to Paris this summer.
Using the same foursome – Jodean Smith, Tia Clayton, Alana Reid and Remona Burchell - that ran on Saturday, changed their running order with Burchell and Reid – switching positions on the third and fourth legs.
The change worked like a charm as they sped to victory in 42.74 seconds to advance to the final and onto Paris.
Jamaica’s Caribbean neighbours, Trinidad and Tobago will also be in Paris this summer. The quartet of Taejha Badal, Reese Webster, Reyare Thomas and Leah Bertrand finished second in 43.54 to advance as automatic qualifiers to the Olympic Games.
Italy, who won the first heat in 42.60 and second-place finishers Côte d'Ivoire (42.63) as well as Nigeria (42.71), winners of heat three and Switzerland (42.75) are also off to the Olympic Games.
The Bahamas and Jamaica book 4x400m Mixed Relay spots in Paris
The Bahamas and Jamaica rebounded at the World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas, securing their places at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris this summer during round two of the 4x400m mixed relay heats on Sunday.
After a disappointing performance on Saturday, the Bahamas bounced back with a spectacular showing on Sunday, setting a world-leading time of 3:12.81 in the first heat. The Bahamian quartet of Steven Gardiner, Alonzo Russell, Shania Adderley, and Shaunae Miller-Uibo delivered a stellar performance, fending off tough competition from Jamaica, Japan and South Africa, to clinch victory and set a new national record in the process.
Jamaica also sealed their Olympic berth by finishing second in the heat with a time of 3:14.49, showcasing their strength in relay events with the quartet of Zandrian Barnes, Roshawn Clarke, Leah Anderson, and Janieve Russell.
In the subsequent heats, Germany emerged victorious in the second heat with a time of 3:13.85, securing their place in Paris. Switzerland also booked their Olympic spot by finishing closely behind Germany in a national record time of 3:14.12.
Great Britain and Northern Ireland secured their tickets to Paris by winning the third heat with a time of 3:12.99, followed closely by Ukraine in 3:14.49, earning the second qualifying spot from that heat.
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