Budapest Welcomes the World

After two consecutive major global championships that were delayed a year, track & field has gotten back on schedule.  And, for the first time ever, we have World Championships in back-to-back years.  Last year, they were in Oregon.  World Athletics President Seb Coe lamented the choice of Oregon earlier this week, saying that the time zone affected their TV ratings in Europe (the evening sessions started at 5 pm Pacific, which is midnight in London and the middle of the night elsewhere in Europe...so, it was basically the same problem Americans have when events are in Asia or Australia).

Anyway, they'll have no such issues this time, as the World Championships return to the European heart of the sport for the first time since 2017.  Budapest is the site, as the city will once again showcase itself as an Olympic-host-in-waiting.  It's the first time Hungary is hosting the World Championships, and they built a brand-new national stadium for the occasion.  

I'm actually surprised Lord Coe's biggest complaint about last year was the European TV ratings, which were unsurprisingly lower.  I figured his regret about the location would be because of the attendance.  Eugene's not the easiest place to get to if you're coming from elsewhere in the U.S., let alone overseas.  And that "30,000-seat" Hayward Field that actually sat probably no more than 15,000 definitely had a lot of empty seats for a number of sessions.

Of course, empty seats at the World Championships weren't exclusive to Eugene.  Moscow held Worlds in the 80,000-seat Luzhniki Stadium, which looked emptier than it was because of its size.  And the only time they drew a crowd in Doha was on the two nights Mutaz Barshim was competing.  I don't think attendance will be an issue this year, though.  For one, it's a smaller stadium.  More importantly, it's a centrally located national capital, so it'll be easy for fans from all over Europe to get there.  I'm expecting to see a packed stadium for most of the nine days.

Unfortunately, Hungary won't have anywhere near the same type of showing the United States did as host country last year.  You can count the number of Hungarian medal contenders on one hand.  They'll have one right away with Xenia Krizsan in the heptathlon, but I think their only realistic shot at a medal is Anita Marton in the women's shot put.

Don't expect a repeat of that incredible performance the Americans put on in Eugene, either.  The U.S. should once again easily win the team trophy, but the medal count should come down a little bit without the home field advantage.  Nevertheless, I still expect plenty of Americans to leave Budapest with hardware.  And it should set the U.S. team up well for next year's Olympics in Paris.

Eight of the 10 Americans who won individual gold in Eugene are back to defend, and I expect half of those eight to do just that.  Noah Lyles has set an ambitious goal of breaking the world record in the 200 and medaling in the 100.  While I'm not sure he gets that, the gold in the 200 is his to lose.  Same thing with Ryan Crouser in the shot put.  He does something spectacular every time he steps in the ring it seems.  And I want to see what Grant Holloway can do for an encore after what he did last year!

The fourth American I have defending is Athing Mu, although that one won't be anywhere near as easy as I think it will for the three men.  And that's because of Great Britain's Keely Hodgkinson.  The silver medalist behind Mu at both the Tokyo Olympics and last year's Worlds, she's having a tremendous season and has a very realistic chance of standing on the top step of the podium for the first time.

There are three other American women I envision taking gold.  When Nafi Thiam withdrew, Anna Hall became the gold medal favorite in the heptathlon.  As crazy as that sounds.  Maggie Ewen didn't make the team in the shot put last year, then went on to win the Diamond League title.  This year, she has the best mark in the world, and I wouldn't be shocked if she wins gold.  I also think/hope this is finally the time Sandi Morris moves up a step and doesn't add another silver to her collection.  Defending champion Katie Moon has been great all year, though, so Sandi winning would actually be an upset.  I also have Tokyo Olympic champ Valarie Allman turning her bronze last year in the discus to gold.

On the men's side, is this finally the year Rai Benjamin breaks through?  He won silver behind Karsten Warholm's world record at the Olympics, then took silver again last year behind Alison Dos Santos.  All three come in healthy, so the men's 400 hurdles should be quite the showdown.

Sydney McLaughlin hasn't raced the women's 400 hurdles all year, and she won't even be at Worlds, where she was only planning on running the open 400 anyway.  Which is great news for Femke Bol, who stands to win her first World title.  With McLaughlin now also out of the 400 (where she was a medal threat), Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic becomes an even more overwhelming favorite. 

Don't be surprised to see Marie-Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast finally grab her first World title in the 100, either.  Of all the women's 100-meter sprinters, she's been the most consistent this year.  Of course, Sha'Carri Richardson might have something to say (probably obnoxiously) about that.  And so will Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who looks to make history with her sixth gold medal in the same event at the World Championships.
 
Faith Kipyegon has set a world record seemingly every time she's stepped on the track this season.  She'll go for 1500-5000 double gold in Budapest.  What makes that interesting is the fact that she'll be doing it against Sifan Hassan, who's repeating her Tokyo triple.  She won medals in all three events at the Olympics (gold in the 5000 and 10,000, bronze in the 1500), then left Eugene without a medal last year.  I'm really looking forward to that showdown.

One of the biggest upsets in Eugene came in the men's 1500, where Norway's Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen was outkicked and settled for silver.  He came back to win the 5000, but you know he wants to get that first World title in his signature event.  It wouldn't shock me if he takes double gold, either.  

And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the utterly amazing Mondo Duplantis and Yulimar Rojas.  While nobody is guaranteed a gold medal, they're two of the biggest favorites at the meet.  Duplantis electrified the Hayward Field crowd last year with his gold medal in the pole vault concluding the entire meet.  Rojas is nearly as dominant in the women's triple jump.  Might we see a world record from her?

Those are just some of the names and events to look out for over the next nine days.  The pre-Olympic Worlds often set the stage heading into the Olympic year.  Track & field has always been one of the marquee sports of the Olympics, especially when they're held in Europe.  So, some of the faces you see winning medals in Budapest will be headliners next year in Paris.  Where they'll look to do it all again.