British athletics name 72-strong team for doha world championships

[drobbie]

Realistic individual medal chances
DAS x2
Muir (if fit)
KJT

Outside chance
WLJ (either) is it possible for KJT to be selected still for LJ?
M200m (all within a chance)
Nick Miller
H Bradshaw

Massive outside dreamer chance
MTJ - I really think that Ben Williams could land a wonder jump, his first two phases of both the 17m jumps were massive. It's a massive outside option but who knows could comp flop at same time.
M1500 ig one of the guys get it right in a tactical race. Same for w800.
Beth Dobbin in 200m had a quiet season so far apart from the pb- maybe peaking at the right time? I think she has a 22.3 in her...would require a few athletes to have an off day though

With relays I reckon around 5-7 but hopeful of a surprise

i would add the following to outside chance

sharps the 7th quickest in the world this year and 4th quickest of the athletes who will actually be there
hughes may sneak a bronze in the 100
hawkins has a chance in the marathon

and the following to outside dreamer

nielsen in the 400

[Runner88]

It looks like Spanovic is out of the long jump, so a bronze medal is up for grabs should Mihambo and Reese get the first two spots as expected. Shara Proctor has medalled before and Irozuru is in great shape. It may only take a 6.8X something jump to get a medal.

Reports today of Justin Gatlin pulling up in the 100m in Zagreb. Divine Oduduru hasn't looked great in his last few races, so Hughes or Gemili could be in with a shout if they get to the final, along with around 5-6 other men.

The women's 800m is wide open and Lynsey Sharp will be 4th quickest going into Doha of the athletes there.

[Stew-Coach]

Hudson-Smith has to be in with a shout of at least a bronze if he executes.

The 400 been up and down all year, no one has been really that consistent

[Loop-guru]

Nearly team for the UK men at the world champs in Doha

The full team of athletes who missed out due to lack of form, injury, choice of event, decision to bypass the worlds in favour of Tokyo, declining years, poor performance at the trials etc.

Team has been chosen on the basis of the last two years performances .

It’s a mirror of the actual team where possible so if 3 picked for the worlds 3 will be picked here but I not been constrained by this dictum and have deviated from this in places.

The only caveat is that they have to be good enough or a whisker away from the A standard to gain selection so it has’nt been possible in every event. In the field I have just tried to mirror the number of field eventers that we are sending to the worlds in total so just 2 for the men.

I have noted after each athletes name their best performance for 2019 and 2018.

Men

100M –

Reece Prescod 9.97, 9.94,
C.J. Ujah 10.13, 10.06,
Nethanial Mitchell Blake 10.11, 10.08

200M –
Nethanial Mitchel Blake 20.28, 20.04,
Leon Reid NT, 20.27,
Richard Kilty 20.39, 20.67

400M –
Dwayne Cowan 45.77, 45.45,
Cameron Chalmers 45.84, 45.75

800M –
Spencer Thomas 1.46.08, 1.47.76,
Guy Learmonth 1.45.86, 1.44.73,
Jake Wightman 1.45.08, 1.44.61

1500M –
Charlie DaValle Grice – 3.30.62, 3.34.20,
James West 3.35.74, 3.36.59,
Chris O’Hare 3.36.57, 3.32.11

5000M –
Josh Kerr – 13.28.66, NT,
Alex Yee – 13.29.18, 13.34.12,
Chris Thompson – NT, 13.25.11

Marathon –
Dewi Griffiths – 2.11.46, NT
Mo Farrah – 2.05.39, 2.05.11

110M H –
David King – 13.55, 13.53

400MH –
Dai Greene – 49.49, 49.38

3000M S/C –
Phil Norman – 8.29.37, 8.35.47

2 picks for the field

Pole Vault –
Charlie Myers – 5.71, 5.60

Discus
Gregory Thompson – 65.56, 61.29

Walks –
No one close enough to warrant inclusion

Bubbling under –
100m –
Harry Akines-Aryeetey
200m –
Delano Williams
800m –
Max Burgin
1500m –
William Paulson
10,000m –
Marc Scott, Ben Connor
3000m s/c –
Jamaine Coleman
110mh –
Cameron Fillery
Long Jump –
Dan Bramble
Triple Jump –
Nathan Douglas
Shot –
Scott Lincoln

Next up the Women’s Nearly team.

[Loop-guru]

Sorry, I realised we are not quite as bad in the field as I stated so I can promote two up from my bubbling under so I will promote Dan bramble in the long jump and Scott Lincoln in the shot put. Next up is to see how my team goes in the world champs matching their best performances against the actual performances achieved. Could be in for a medal glut if the middle / long distances are tactical. I think I have just invented fantasy athletics.

[Christy93]

What I'd give to have Prescod on the team. Still, I think missing Doha will be a benefit next summer. I think he may do something special in Tokyo, should he qualify.

[philipo]

Realistic individual medal chances
DAS x2
Muir (if fit)
KJT

Outside chance
WLJ (either) is it possible for KJT to be selected still for LJ?
M200m (all within a chance)
Nick Miller
H Bradshaw

Massive outside dreamer chance
MTJ - I really think that Ben Williams could land a wonder jump, his first two phases of both the 17m jumps were massive. It's a massive outside option but who knows could comp flop at same time.
M1500 ig one of the guys get it right in a tactical race. Same for w800.
Beth Dobbin in 200m had a quiet season so far apart from the pb- maybe peaking at the right time? I think she has a 22.3 in her...would require a few athletes to have an off day though

With relays I reckon around 5-7 but hopeful of a surprise

i will be amazed if HB or Miller medals.

[SMGOtto]

Fair comment, if Miller turns up and hits a 79m throw he could be in the medals. Similarly with HB - a 4.80/85 could medal. But a prob top 8 is what they are looking at.

[philipo]

In the week leading up to the World Championships I'll set up another Prediction Contest.

Given that medals are hard to come by, Part 1 of the contest will probably be to predict which British athletes finish in the top 6. There's usually about 16 to 20 of those.

Then Part 2 will be to predict the podium in each of 12 events I've selected (they'll be the harder events to predict where there's lots of contenders!) - I'll make sure that they're spread across the different types of disciplines.

roll on the prediction contest,with our new members should b more fun.

[Loop-guru]

This year's squad comprises 72 athletes down from 78 last time round. Could be down to falling UK standards, higher world standards or the extra incentive of a home worlds last time round or a combination of all three. I shall do some digging on this. With the higher standards at the olympics we could see a further falling away next year as well.

[Afrothletics]

British Athletics accepted all IAAF invites with it being a home championships last time so that will also be a factor too (assuming you are referring to the full squad and not the initial one)

[philipo]

WHatever happens i n Doha for Muir i hope she resists the temptations next year of indoors and con centrates on achieving one peak in Tokyo.When she was doubling up earlier this year in the europeans and lapping up the deserved applause i kept reminding myself how dangerous to total fitness for two peaks this year even when separated by six months ,especiallywith an athlete who trains with such intensity.

[Runner88]

I was also wondering whether Muir, had she not suffered from that injury at the Anniversary Games, may have also tried to double up at Doha over the 800m and 1500m. She ranks pretty highly in the 800m standings and with Semenya and others absent the field is one of the more wide open on the track.

[burnley183]

Just seen that CJ has pulled out of the relay squad due to injury and they've called up Harry AA... a guy who didn't make the final at trials and just ran 10.49 into a -0.1 in Zagreb. Shown absolutely no form in recent months. Surely giving one of the young guys the chance to gain experience of going to a major champs would have been a better move?

[carterhatch]

in AW's piece about Great North CityGames: Who, what and when? they report 'Katarina Johnson-Thompson was unfortunately forced to pull out of the meeting' .... I hope that is not an injury

Can't get excited about HAA being called up ....

[Afrothletics]

According to her Facebook post it's because she's decided to compete in the Brussels DL Long Jump instead.

[carterhatch]

thanks for that insight, Afrothletics, and what a relief... although with over 3 weeks to go I reckon CJ Ujah will not be the only one to pull out...

[CAML]

Very good interview with KJT in the Telegraph magazine last Saturday. Bits on Mike Holmes, the plans to be be coached by Minichiello and her dread of high jumping in the rain.

[Christy93]

One big question now; What order? Hughes & Edoburun on the straights was my gut. Gemili leading off. Who runs the 3rd leg? I think they'll put Kilty on it. I'd like to see NMB.

[Ladyloz]

Guess also explains CJ's moderate form this year but he'll be missed for the relay as he's.made leg 1 his own in recent years.

Edoburun said on the Backstraight Boys podcast that he took himself off funding at the end of last year to focus on individual racing and hasn't been involved in squad practice etc. I doubt he'll be involved now.

I would probably have Kilty on leg 1, he's best starter of remaining squad. Zharnel leg 2, Adam on 3 and NMB on anchor.

[burnley183]

Depends on the state of Kilty's hamstring as well. Guess we'll find out at the City Games this weekend

[Stew-Coach]

Id go, Gemili into Miguel into Zharnel into Blake

[Loop-guru]

Been digging on why 72 athletes this time versus 78 last time and it looks like it's rising standards at the world level is primarily the root cause. If we had applied the 2017 World A standards then this time round Lily partridge, marathon, Jessie Knight 400M H, Amelia Stickler Shot Put, Phil Norman 3000M S/C and Nathan Douglas Triple Jump would have all got in taking us up to 77. The final difference of 1 is accounted for by the fact we selected 4 for the 1500m because we had a diamond league winner in Laura Muir. In addition Guy Learmonth would have made the team probably at the expense of Kyle Langford. This is likely to fall further next year as the olympics standards are tougher again so probably likely we will shed a few more. I think France selected 52 and Canada 54 this time round so we are still punching above our weight at the moment.

[Sovietvest]

Thank for this Loop-guru - I was going to look this up but you saved e a job. I think it is worth noting that , in making qualifying standards harder, World Athletics aren't necessarily trying to reduce the numbers of competitors. My understanding is they are desperate for their World Rankings to become ore important and increase the numbers of athletes who get invites from them based upon their ranking. That's what makes the UKA position on invited athletes so unfair (they must have 2020 medal potential.
Has anyone paid any attention to the World Rankings up to now? In one interview Coe said that he wanted commentators to be introducing athletes with their world ranking and letting the audience know what they needed to do in that race to move up the ranking list. I know that's part of the narrative in tennis and golf but I haven't heard any commentator in a stadium or on TV pick up on it. Golf and tennis are year round sports with different surfaces / courses that suit different players. I can see how the world ranking is of interest in those circumstances. But in athletics fan, the global champs are such a huge determinant of who we consider the word's best the ranking seems fairly meaningless.

[Loop-guru]

Event by event stronger, weaker or the same as last time round. First up the 100m
Last time round
Reece Prescod 7th in Final - 10.17 after running 10.03 in the heats for a new pb at the time which still would have only got him 6th in the final.
C J Ujah - 10.12 in 4th place in the semi
James Dasalou - 10.22 in 5th place in the semi

There combined fastest times of the year came out 10.03, 9.97 and 10.06 for a combined total of 30.06

This year round thus far but with still time to improve we have 9.95, 10.04 and 10.08 for a combined total of 30.07

On paper there is not much difference time wise but I see this trio as being slightly stronger competitors and having garnered more championship experience.

I predict we can get 2 in the final with an outside chance of a medal.

I would say we are about the same as last time round but I am hopeful we can do better than 2017

[Ursus]

The selectors seem to have placed a very high importance in the trials, which is fair enough in that it does take out some subjectivity. Greg Thompson and Charlie Myers paying the price for sub par performances.

While bitterly bemoaning the state of throwing, I do support the selectors in not taking Thompson. You say sub par, well yes it was, but his par’s probably slightly below 60, his 65 which just scraped the standard in early season was a complete outlier.

It’s down to Greg to make a more convincing case in future. Hopefully he can.

[philipo]

Event by event stronger, weaker or the same as last time round. First up the 100m
Last time round
Reece Prescod 7th in Final - 10.17 after running 10.03 in the heats for a new pb at the time which still would have only got him 6th in the final.
C J Ujah - 10.12 in 4th place in the semi
James Dasalou - 10.22 in 5th place in the semi

There combined fastest times of the year came out 10.03, 9.97 and 10.06 for a combined total of 30.06

This year round thus far but with still time to improve we have 9.95, 10.04 and 10.08 for a combined total of 30.07

On paper there is not much difference time wise but I see this trio as being slightly stronger competitors and having garnered more championship experience.

I predict we can get 2 in the final with an outside chance of a medal.

I would say we are about the same as last time round but I am hopeful we can do better than 2017

are you predicting we will get two in the final as opposed to "can" get.

[Loop-guru]

I think Zharnel and Adam can make the final, Ojie for the semis.