MEN
100m:
Harry Aikines
Aryeetey; a
repeat of his trials race will get him into the semi.
Dwain
Chambers; should
get to the semi.
James
Dasaolu; hard
to predict as we do not know if his body can take more than one race; a
fabulous "one off" time, but talk of a medal is fatuous; 9.96"
should make the final, but can his body do it in - one thing in his favour is
the semi is the day after his heat.
200m:
James
Ellington; difficult
to know where he is going - his fastest time (and PB), with a max. legal wind,
was nearly 2 months ago; has only progressed 0.10" in the last 3
seasons.
Adam Gemili; loss to Talbot at
Euro U/23 was probably down to the racing load, so his selection is justified;
has the ability to be close to 20.0" and that would make the final.
Delano
Williams; looks to be a long way from
20.27", and was very lucky to be selected; will need to be
faster than his last couple of races to get through one round.
400m:
Nigel Levine; ran year's best at the
right time, though still a little off his PB - will probably need a
PB to make the final.
800m:
Andrew
Osagie; hasn't
reached the form of last year - hard to see him making the final.
Michael
Rimmer; his best time this year was
at the beginning of May and he has run slower every race since; may get
through one round.
1500m:
Chris O’Hare; performed well in the
Millrose Games, but has done little of note since despite being in some top class
races; may get through to semi.
5000m:
Mo Farah; Great Britain expects...
10,000m:
Farah; ... and here also.
110mH:
William
Sharman; his
PB last week definitely make the final a possibility; has shown that he can
respond to the big occasion (Berlin 2009)
400mH:
Dai
Greene; arguably
won his WC in a "down year"; has struggled to be within a second of
his PB, and low to mid 48.0" (and the final) looks beyond him - though if
he is in a race with RW ....
Sebastian
Rodger; showed
good championship temperament at Euro U/23; getting under 49.0" which
is certainly possible, probably will not make the final.
Rhys
Williams; 3
PBs this season suggest he is finally settled in his coaching setup, but
would need another big improvement (to under 48.5") to make the final;
bottled his one race against Greene this year??
3000mSC:
James
Wilkinson; this
selection is way beyond my understanding!
Long
Jump:
Greg
Rutherford; at
the Olympics he was the best athlete on the day, unfortunately those days don't
happen very often for him; could just as easily be under 8m. and not qualify
for the final.
High
Jump:
Robbie
Grabarz; his season probably
was on the down-slope at the Olympics (he seemed overly pleased with
his Bronze), and this season his slide has continued; it will not be a great
shock if he does not reach the final.
Pole
Vault:
Steve
Lewis; lucky
to be selected - Cutts definitely more deserving - seems stuck at 5.70 which
may not get him to the final.
Discus
Throw:
Brett
Morse; although
he has had more consistency over 60m. this season he has usually under
performed at big meets; unlikely to make final.
Decathlon:
Ashley
Bryant; 2
good decathlons this season; at Euro U/23 he was a couple of events from 8200+
and an 'A' standard - a score that should see him in the top 8
20K Walk:
Alex
Wright; ranked
91st, but there are 20 Chinese, 12 Russians and 11 Japanese ahead of him;
typically 35-45 athletes finish and a performance close to his best may see him
in the middle.
4x100m: we now have a squad capable
of breaking the British record and which could challenge for the silver medal,
but ...
4x400m: a down year for
USA!USA!USA! (apologies to the Fiver!), but probably too many teams going under
3'01.0" for us to medal.
WOMEN
100m:
Asha
Philip; has
finally overcome a horrible knee injury and enjoyed the kind of break through
her talent had indicated 7 years ago; a final place is probably a
little beyond her.
200m:
Anyika
Onuora; a
wonderful breakthrough year at all 3 sprint distances; a place in the final a
definite possibility.
Jodie
Williams; looks
to have put the disappointment of last year behind her; should get to the semi
and another run under 23.0" will do wonders for her confidence.
400m:
Christine
Ohuruogu; after
her performance at last week's meeting expectation must be high; generally has
been a different/better racer this year.
800m:
Jessica
Judd; hopefully
the break from competition has let her re-charge; I think she has another PB in
her, and is our best bet to make the final.
Laura
Muir; most
would agree that the 1500 is really her event; will run close to her
best if her heat is a fast one, but still may not make the semi.
Marilyn Okoro; based on her racing style
she is with a coach that is going to little to temper that; by and large it has
been a good season though the last race was disappointing; if she lets a fast
semi come to her, rather than control it from the front she could make the
final.
1500m:
Hannah
England; along
with Simpson in Dague, a great example of "it's better to be lucky that
good" - they arguably ran as bad a tactical race that ever won medals; one
of them is clearly a different runner, but the other has made little progress -
a frustrating waste of talent; could as easily win a medal as exit the first
round.
Laura Weightman; not had quite the year that
was expected after last year's breakthrough;
getting through the first round may be tough.
100mH:
Tiffany
Porter; a
definite finalist but after that who knows - has shown a tendency to fade after
hurdle 8.
400mH:
Meghan
Beesley; good
to see her perseverance rewarded; a PB in the semi would justify her
selection
Eilidh
Child; an
excellent season; another couple of tenths off her best could see her in the
final.
Perri
Shakes-Drayton; beginning to show some
consistency in her hurdling; will need to attack as she has done in her last
two races to be in the mix, though I think a medal is a little
optimistic.
3000mSC:
Eilish
McColgan; hasn't
had a good year and fortunate to be selected
Long
Jump:
Shara Proctor; her first 7m. jump
cannot be far away, but it may not win a medal! - this is quite
possibility the toughest of all the events, with potential of having
the final 8 all over 7m.
Lorraine Ugen; a very erratic performer
who has had long US collegiate indoor and outdoor seasons; at her best should
make the final.
Hammer
Throw:
Sophie
Hitchon; the overall standard has
improved each of the last 4 Championships, and a new British record will be
needed to make the top 6.
Heptathlon:
Katarina
Johnson-Thompson; though
her preparation was a little behind, only a couple of weak events at the
Euro U/23 prevented a significant improvement in her PB; in a weakened field a
score of 6400 should be in the medal hunt.
Marathon (Selected in
April):
Susan
Partridge; a good run close to her PB
saw her finish 24th in Daegu; a run close to her new PB should see her in the
top 20.
Sonia
Samuels; her
PB is similar to Partridge though she doesn't have the same experience at this
level.
4x100m: we have gone from not
qualifying for the Olympics to a group of confident and competent young ladies
that could threaten the long standing British record - if they do that they
will be in the mix for the Bronze
4x400m: the improvement of
C.O., Cox, Anuora and our two 400m. hurdlers gives us a squad of 5 that very
few countries can match; yet another relay team that could
threaten a British record, and if they run close to 3'20.0" that should
earn them a medal.
Whereas I was very
optimistic before 2011 WC and 2012 OG, I am very pessimistic about Moscow.
There is a distinct possibility that the only individual finalist we may have
(track or field) on the men's is Mo.
The women's side is a
little brighter with 5-7 individual finalists realistic.
However I think beyond Mo,
Christine, Proctor, M400R and W1600R, medals will be scarce, and may not meet
our "paymaster's" target - if fortune shines on Porter, KJT, and PSD
the picture may be very different
As ever I hope all my
"good" predictions are accurate, and all my "bad" ones
woefully wrong!
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