The 2022 World Athletics Championships brings the world’s brightest starts in track and field to Eugene. From the 100m sprint to a 50km walking race, the fastest and most talented athletes will compete for the top spot in their respective domains. With a 270 million dollar upgrade, Hayward Field hosts the largest stage in track and field for the first time on American soil.

100m Men

The top contenders to win the 100-meter dash have to be Fred Kerley and Trayvon Bromell. While Bromell won the 2022 USATF Outdoor Championships, at 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, Kerley has been a force in the sprinting community since 2017 when he won the 400m at the USATF Championships. Taking silver in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Worlds will be an opportunity for Kerley to defeat Italian Lamont Marcell Jacobs, the gold medalist at the Olympics in Tokyo. 

100m Women

On the women’s side, Jamaica will dominate the 100m. Elaine Thompson-Herah, the fastest woman in the world who won both the 100 and 200m in Rio in 2016 and holds the second fastest 100m time ever at 10.54 set in Eugene in 2021, is poised to defend her title. The proclaimed second-fastest woman in the world Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce also hails from Jamaica. The 35-year-old won gold in the 100m at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and is the only person to win four titles in the 100m, which she did at the World Athletics Championships in 2009, 2013, 2015 and 2019. 

200m Men

American Kenny Bednarek headlines the 200m event. After taking silver in Tokyo, Bednarek ran the most sub-20 performances over 200 meters with 12 total, 10 being wind legal. He will compete against reigning gold medalist Andre De Grasse from Canada alongside Kerley, who is always a threat. 

200m Women 

Christine Mboma, BBC African Sports Personality of the Year award recipient, is the favorite to win the 200m after winning the event in the Diamond League race in Brussels. Mboma will contend with Jamaican Shericka Jackson who won the Diamond League’s most recent 200m in Rome on June 9 as well as Thompson-Herah, who won the gold in Tokyo.

400m Men

Grenadian sprinter Kirani James is the favorite to win the men’s 400m dash. Since holding the fastest 400 times ever recorded by a 14 and 15-year-old, James has competed on the biggest stages in international track. After winning gold in London in the 400 in 2012, James took silver in the last two Olympics in the event. Americans Michael Cherry, Michael Norman and Vernon Norwood will all contend with James.

400m Women

With her illustrious career waning, Allyson Felix will compete in the Women’s 400m, an event she has become more invested in with age. The favorites in the event are Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic and Shaunae Miller-Uibo from the Bahamas who took gold and silver in the event in Tokyo. 

800m Men

Kenyans Emmanuel Kipkurui Korir and Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich headline the field here. The two took gold and silver with Kipkurui Korir in first at Tokyo and Cheruiyot Rotich winning at BAUHAUS-galan in Stockholm. Canadian Marco Arop who took 1st place at the Diamond League Meeting in late May could emerge as a challenger to the two Kenyans whose main competition is each other.

800m Women

At 20 years old, British Keely Hodgkinson is favored to take the women’s 800m. After taking silver in Tokyo in the event she has since claimed the throne in the 800m, winning 1st place at the Diamond League meet, making the young phenom the person to beat entering the World Games. American Athing Mu, who won gold in Tokyo and did not compete at the Diamond League event took first at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene in 2021 making her a strong contender to challenge Hodgkinson.

1500m Men

Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen has won his last three 1500m competitions including a gold medal in Tokyo, a first place finish at the Bislett games in Oslo in 2021, and another win at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene in 2021. The man who took second in Tokyo and third at the Prefontaine is marquee challenger Kenyan Timothy Cheruiyot. Oregon star Cooper Teare who won the event during USA qualifying will also compete.

1500m Women

Kenyan superstar Faith Kipyegon is still the favorite to win the women’s 1500, an event she has dominated for almost 12 years. Kipyegon won gold at the 2016 Olympics, then had a baby in 2019 and took silver at the World Athletics Championships in the same year. Since then she took gold again at Tokyo in 2021 and won the Prefontaine Classic in the same year.