Fast and Furious: A Preview of Sprint Action in Budapest.

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 A new 'Sprint King' and 'Sprint Queen' will be crowned in the Hungarian capital of Budapest. An array of supremely talented athletes dominated by Jamaica and the USA will test each other's speed as the World Athletics Championship starts on Saturday August 19 in Hungary.


Since Usain Bolt joined Maurice Greene and Carl Lewis as three-time men's 100m title holders in 2015, no one has been able to retain the sprint title.

And with 2017 victor Justin Gatlin retired, individual Americans Christian Coleman (2019) and defending champion Fred Kerley (2022) can join that elite company of multiple world 100m champions.

However, it looks a completely open occasion with reigning world 200m champ, Noah Lyles, peering towards a twofold whiles Africa's Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya and South African Akani Simbine, are also showing incredible structure as they bid to give their countries first men's 100m world medals.

The quickest man on the planet this year is England's Zharnel Hughes with Bolt's former training partner storming to 9.83 seconds to break Linford Christie's 30-year-old British record.


In the 200m, Noah Lyles faces solid resistance from fellow compatriots Kenny Bednarek who is the current World and Olympic silver medallist and teen sensation Erriyon Knighton.

In any case, a greater danger could emerge out of Botswana's thrilling youngster Letsile Tebogo who was only three-hundredths behind Lyles when he clocked the fastest time of 2023 in 19.47 at last month's London Diamond League.

Olympic champion Andre De Grasse has not enjoyed the best of seasons, failing to qualify in the 100m, but showed improved form to win the Canadian trials over 200m.

Ghana is well represented in this event as as duo Joseph Paul Amoah and James Dadzie will be competing in the country's only singles track event.


The women's 100m is quite clearly one of the most anticipated track events in Budapest with Jamaica's Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce taking on comrade Shericka Jackson, USA's Sha'Carri Richardson and Ivorian veteran Marie Josee-Ta Lou who is possibly in the form of her life.


Jackson is a strong favourite to retain her 200m title with Richardson and Olympic bronze medallist Gabrielle Thomas - the fastest woman in the world this year thanks to her 21.60 at the USA trials - among her main rivals along with Britain's 2019 world champion Dina Asher-Smith.

Likewise, special attention should be paid to 2018 Youth Olympic Silverado medallist Julien Alfred from Saint Lucia who has shown great structure in her last two runs the season.


Missing from both individual runs is Elaine Thompson-Herah who just goes as a feature of Jamaica's relay group having failed to make the top three in either event at the Jamaican preliminaries.

Joshua Afari|afarijosh99@gmail.com.

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