The World Athletics Championships takes place in Doha and keen follower Nick Munday was on hand to lend us his best bets (@NM_Sport) for the event.
World Athletics Championships | 27th September – 6th October 2019 | BBC
With less than a year until the next Olympic Games in Tokyo, athletics fans will have their eyes glued to the IAAF World Championships which take place in Doha over 10 days.
Here are five ways to profit from the tournament, which starts on Friday afternoon.
All times listed below are in BST.
Women 200m – Dina Asher-Smith (4/5 Betfair)
One of Great Britain’s leading lights, the likeable 23-year-old has become a star after her coming out party at the 2018 European Games. The Jamaicans and Americans weren’t competing, but she won the 100m and 200m double with world class times last August, proving she can hold her nerve in high-pressure situations.
Elaine Thompson, the second favourite (2/1), is the reigning Olympic champion and a serious threat. But injury issues over the past two seasons have hindered her progress over the half lap.
Asher-Smith is also competing in the 100m – where she’s this year’s Diamond League winner – but a gold medal there will prove more difficult with Thompson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce holding better chances. It’s the 200m where she’s the woman to beat.
Heats: 15:05, Monday 30th September
Semi-Finals: 19:35, Tuesday 1st October
Final: 20:35, Wednesday 2nd October
Women 100m – Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (7/4 William Hill)
Asher-Smith (11/4) has her work cut out in the 100m with the Jamaican duo standing in her way to setup a mouth-watering race. Fraser-Pryce won Olympic gold in 2008 and 2012, while Thompson (2/1) won the 100m & 200m double at Rio 2016. This year they share the fastest time of 10.73s.
Fraser-Pryce returned to the sport last year following the birth of her son. She’s a crowd favourite and would probably have earned more recognition had a certain Mr. Bolt not been around at the same time as her success.
The experienced 32-year-old became the first woman to win three World golds between 2009-2015. While Thompson still seeks her first individual World gold, Fraser-Pryce can edge her rival and make more history in Doha.
Heats: 14:30, Saturday 28th September
Semi-Finals: 19:20, Sunday 29th September
Final: 21:20, Sunday 29th September
Pole Vault Men – Armand Duplantis (6/4 William Hill)
Five of the entrants have career bests at 6.00m or better in the field, with America's Sam Kendricks (10/11) earning favouritism. He's the defending champion from 2017 and has jumped the highest this year (6.06m). However only one person has managed to retain their crown in this event before and a Swedish teenager could steal the show.
Duplantis had a phenomenal 2018, clearing 6.05m to go number two all-time in Pole Vault outdoors, and was named Rising Star at the Athletics Awards. He holds all the junior age group world records and the 19-year-old phenom looks destined for the top.
Qualification: 15:30, Saturday 28th September
Final: 17:05, Tuesday 1st October
Pole Vault Women – Ekaterini Stefanidi (2/1 Bet365)
Stefanidi has commanded the Pole Vault in recent years, winning everything available to her. Since 2016, the 29-year-old Greek has lifted Olympic gold in Brazil, European gold (2016 and 2018) and World gold in London two years ago.
Three women have jumped higher than her 4.83m in 2019 though, led by ‘authorised neutral athlete’ Anzhelika Sidorova, who jumped 4.91m indoors and 4.86m outdoors. This, coupled with a slight head-to-head advantage, makes the Russian marginal favourite (7/4). Sandi Morris (9/2) has reached 4.85m but has only managed one win on the Diamond League circuit.
Considering Stefanidi has won six of her 13 outdoor competitions this year – and Sidorova is yet to win a global outdoors medal – the value is with the reigning champ.
Qualification: 14:30, Friday 27th Sepember
Final: 17:40, Sunday 29th September
Triple Jump Men – Christian Taylor (11/10 William Hill)
Finally, the Men’s Triple Jump looks to be a tremendous two-horse race between American rivals Taylor and Will Claye (6/4). They’ve been duelling for over 10 years, going back to their U20 days as teammates at the University of Florida.
Taylor has the better championship record with three World golds and two Olympic golds, but Claye travels to Qatar as the 2019 leader having jumped 18.14m to Taylor’s 17.82m. He also edged his countryman in the Paris Diamond League in August.
Nonetheless, it’s Taylor who holds the superior record and sits second on the world all-time list with 18.21m. It’ll be close, but he’s proven he can consistently pull the big jumps out the bag when it matters.
Final: 18:45, Sunday 29th September
Best Bets
World Athletics Championships – Dina Asher-Smith to win the Women 200m (4/5 Betfair)
World Athletics Championships – Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to win the Women 100m (7/4 William Hill)
World Athletics Championships – Armand Duplantis to win the Pole Vault Men (6/4 William Hill)
World Athletics Championships – Ekaterini Stefanidi to win the Pole Vault Women (2/1 Bet365)
World Athletics Championships – Christian Taylor to win the Triple Jump Men (11/10 William Hill)
