In less than ten days, the World Championships of Athletics will begin in Eugene, Oregon. As usual, the competition will be keen and unlike in previous years where the men’s events got all the attention, specifically in the Bolt area, this year will be different, as the women’s sprint event should take center stage and will garner lots of views based on the level of competitiveness in each event. This begins our first preview, and we will start with the women’s 400m event. The chief protagonist in this event is the ever-impressive Bahamian Shaunae Miller-Uibo. Interestingly, despite having won two Olympic gold medals, back-to-back, 2016 and 2020, she has never won World Championships gold in the 400m. In the 2015 edition, she won a silver medal, 2017 she won bronze and 2019 she won another silver medal. Could this be the year when she strikes gold in her pet event? Despite her domination in the event, she has some major competition again in the form of the fast-rising Paulino who finished second behind Miller-Uibo in the Tokyo Olympics. She is hoping to spring a surprise and to give the Dominican people that elusive gold medal. She is the world leader with the fastest time in the event this year of 49.49 seconds. She created a major upset when she won the women’s 400m during the Diamond League meet in Doha, defeating Miller-Uibo with an official time of 51.20. This race should be a mouthwatering event since both women are from the Caribbean and could come down to who’s hungry for the gold medal and who’s able to keep their composure in the final and run this race with strategy. Currently, the 2022 Top 10 List for this event shows three Caribbean women with Paulina leading the way with 49.49, followed by Miller-Uibo 49.87 and Cherokee Young of Jamaica 49.91. Could this event become a Caribbean Affair with all the medals going to that region? Not too fast, because we have a trio of ladies from the United States led by Talitha Diggs, Quanera Hayes (400m Diamond League Champion 2021) and Kendal Ellis, who occupies the number 10 position on the list with 50.35 seconds. Let’s not forget about the European ladies, specifically, the Polish athletes, who tend to “bring it” in the finals. With the number 6 and 8 times are Natalia Kaczmarek with 50.16 and her compatriot Anna Kielbasinska with 50.28. Notable mentions in this race are the experienced Stephenie Ann McPherson from Jamaica who was a finalist and fourth placer at the Tokyo Olympics, her teammate Candice McCleod occupying the number 9 slot, Justyna Swiety-Ersetic number 11 in the world this year. Look out for the dark horse Lynna Irby World Junior Champion silver medalist in 2016, 2020 4x 4 relay gold medalist and bronze medalist in the mixed relays in the Tokyo Olympics. This race should keep everyone on their toes with the Unites States ladies having home advantage and crowd support. However, could this be the year when they will be shut out of the medal placings or will settle for the minor placings? This event is scheduled to begin on Day 3, July 17 with the heats followed by the semi-final; on Day 6, July 20 and the final Day 8, July 22. Sport fans please zero-in and let’s hear your predictions of the medal placings.
Written by Viccarrio Gibbs
