This isn't controversial in the same way as the 2022 World Cup (also in Qatar). Rather, it's the timing and the challenges it'll present. The reason these Championships weren't held in August is because the daytime temperatures in Doha during the summer are around 120! It's not much cooler in early Fall, though. As a result, there are no afternoon sessions. Everything's taking place during the evening, with the long-distance events starting after midnight local time. And the temperature for the women's marathon, the first medal event of the Championships, at midnight Friday/Saturday, will still be in the high 80s/low 90s!
Don't worry, those inside the stadium will be comfortable. They've developed some sort of outdoor air conditioning system similar to the one they'll be using at the World Cup that will keep temperatures inside the stadium reasonable. Which will be great for those athletes and the fans. At least whatever fans are actually there.
It's been reported that they've only sold 50,000 tickets total for the 10-day meet (compared to 700,000 two years ago in London), and the top tier of the 40,000-seat stadium has been covered. I can't really say I'm surprised that people don't want to travel to Doha at this time of the year (when everyone's summer vacation just ended). But an empty stadium won't be a good look for the IAAF. Especially since the whole point of going to Doha was to open up the World Championships to a new region. But at least it'll be a 40,000-seat empty stadium instead of the 80,000-seat empty stadium six years ago in Moscow.
Speaking of Moscow, Russia's suspension continues, so the Russians will be competing as "ANA" for the second straight World Championships. They're the redshirt freshmen competing unattached to maintain their eligibility. And they'll have a good-sized team. There are 29 Russians entered, making ANA the 15th-largest team at these World Championships. I get why they keep extending the suspension, but that doesn't mean it isn't getting tiresome! (I'm really just over that dumb "ANA" designation. Everyone knows they're Russian!)
Anyway, this is ordinarily the time in my World Championships post where I start making predictions, but I'm not going to do that this time. Mainly because the timing of Worlds makes that task incredibly difficult. The Diamond League finals were almost a month ago. The season should be over. Athletes should be in their down period, especially with the Olympics in less than a year, instead of trying to peak right now.
During the Pan Am Games, Dwight Stones suggested that the late World Championships would probably be more appropriate in the post-Olympic year, and he might be right. It actually would've made a lot more sense to have the extended championship break after the Tokyo Olympics instead of having the two major competitions within 10 months of each other (with a World Indoors in between).
And that timing, I think, is going to give us a lot of surprise winners. There are, of course, some overwhelming favorites (Noah Lyles, Maria Lasitskene) who are expected to dominate their events, some world records that will be threatened, and some duels (men's pole vault, women's 400 hurdles) that will be worth the price of admission and then some.
On the women's side, the 400 hurdles might be the event I'm looking forward to the most. Dalilah Muhammad is the Olympic champion who set the world record at U.S. Nationals. And she isn't even the most heralded American! That's Sydney McLaughlin.
Meanwhile, the 800 is wide open with Caster Semenya unable to defend her title due to the IAAF's testosterone restrictions. Which has thrust Ajee Wilson into the favorite role. If she wins, she'll become the first American ever to win the World Championship in the event.
I'm expecting a great battle in both pole vaults. There are about seven different women I can see on the medals stand. Most people figure the gold will come down to Russia's Anzhelika Sidorova and defending champion Ekaterina Stefanidi of Greece, but it really is wide open.
The men's pole vault, meanwhile, might be the deepest event of all. American Sam Kendricks is the defending champion. Sweden's Mondo Duplantis (who's from Louisiana) is the European champion. They've exchanged head-to-head victories all season. But don't count out Poland's Piotr Lisek or world record-holder Renaud Lavillenie of France, who, incredibly, has never won a World Championship!
For the last two years, track & field has been desperate to find that star to replace Usain Bolt as the face of the sport. Can I suggest Noah Lyles? He's not just expected to win the 200. He's expected to do it in style, and even potentially challenge Bolt's world record. Lyles is only running the 200 in Doha, but he's also the Diamond League champion in the 100 and could easily double in Tokyo. With Lyles not running the 100, Christian Coleman could easily upgrade his London silver to Doha gold. That is if Justin Gatlin doesn't defend his title.
Lyles isn't the only one who could threaten a world record in Doha. Kevin Young's mark in the 400 hurdles has stood since the 1992 Olympics, but many experts think it might not last much longer. Either Norway's Karsten Warholm or American Rai Benjamin might be the one to break it. Norway's also got the sensational Ingebrigtsen brothers in the distance races. I can easily see one of them on the podium. I'm just not sure which one (partially because I can't tell them apart, but mainly because they're all capable).
With less than a year until the Tokyo Games, the Americans can really make a statement here, too. It's easy to envision one of the deepest and strongest American teams in recent memory topping its 2017 totals of 30 medals and 10 golds. And it's not just the traditional events, either (although Americans are favored in all three men's sprints). Deanna Price and Gwen Berry could both medal in the women's hammer throw, and the women's distance team has emerged as the best in the world outside of Kenya and Ethiopia.
So, I'm not making World Championships picks this year. Partially because I'm expecting some upsets, but also because I don't want to be disappointed. I want to sit there and enjoy great competition between the world's best athletes. The track & field world has been waiting all year for this. Let's hope Doha doesn't disappoint!
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