World Athletics Championships Preview - and where to view it

There's no doubt about which event will be the highlight of the 12th World Athletics Championships, which gets under way in Berlin on Saturday.

Ever since the Beijing Olympics, when Tyson Gay missed the sprint finals due to injury, track and field fans around the globe have looked forward to seeing how he fares against the all-conquering Usain Bolt, who appears to be transcending his sport to the same extent that Roger Federer and Tiger Woods currently are as far as their respective sports are concerned; and the likes of Pele and Michael Jordan did theirs in the past.

On one hand, you have the effervescent, party-loving Jamaican - it must be stressed, though, that when Bolt goes partying, he spends his time dancing rather than drinking - and on the other, the polite, mild-mannered American. Whilst other contenders like Asafa Powell appear to be psyched out by Bolt's confident strut on the start line, Gay's calm temperament is likely to keep him focused on nothing but the lane in front of him.

Let's hope we get an injury-free 100m contest this time. The athletics world deserves it! For what it's worth, I can see Gay leading until Bolt swoops 40m out. It's worth noting, though, that Gay has recorded the fastest time this year: 9.77s.

Gay would appear to have a slightly better chance of upsetting Bolt in the 200m. The American won their last contest over the distance although that was back in 2007. He is also the defending world champion at the distance.

The women's sprints should be a much more open affair. Seven ladies have gone under 11s in the 100m this year. Kerron Stewart, another Jamaican, is the bookies' favourite although countrywoman Shelly-Ann Fraser, the Olympic champion, is in with as good a chance as any. Veronica Campbell-Brown could make it a Jamaican one-two-three. Campbell-Brown and American Allyson Felix will probably fight out the 200m finish.

The Americans should dominate the men's 400m, given the current form of LaShawn Merritt and Jeremy Wariner. On the women's front, will Sanya Richards finally break through and win a major title? Her biggest challenger could be young Russian Antonina Krivoshapka.

20-year-old Sudanese sensation Abubaker Kaki and compatriot Ismail Ahmed Ismail should fight it out for the men's 800m gold. The women's 800m could be one of the most open events of the championships with the Russians having a fairly strong group. Mariya Savinova has been the most consistent performer in 2009.

The middle and long-distance events will almost certainly be dominated by the Africans again. Kenyans Augustine Kiprono Choge and Haron Keitany are the men's 1500m favourites. Can anyone challenge Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele in the 5000m? His countryman Adebe Dinkesa has the fastest 10,000m time for the year while Sileshi Sihine, another Ehtiopian, is a strong chance too. The biggest question is whether or not Bekele will back up and run the 10,000m in addition to the 5000m. Another question: will Brimin Kipruto continue the Kenyan domination of the 3,000m steeplechase in recent years?

The women's 1500m could see Bahrain's Maryam Jamal successfully defending her title, although Ethiopia's Gelete Burka may have a say in that. Kenyan and Ethiopian ladies should fight out the 5000m with Tirunesh Dibaba, Meseret Defar and Meselech Melkamu being the names to watch. Expect Ethiopia to continue their domination of the 10,000m too, thanks to Dibaba and Defar.

I'm not even going to try to predict what might happen in the two marathon events, where unpredictability is the name of the game!

A few key dates and times (Australian Eastern Time) for the major finals:
Men's 100m: 05:35 am on Monday, Aug 17
Women's 100m: 05:35 am on Tuesday, Aug 18
Men's 200m: 04:35 am on Friday, Aug 21
Women's 200m: 05:00 am on Saturday, Aug 22
Men's 1500m: 04:25 am on Thursday, Aug 20
Women's 1500m: 03:00 am on Monday, Aug 24
Men's 5000m: 00:25 am on Monday, Aug 24
Women's 5000m: 03:35 am on Sunday, Aug 23
Men's 10,000m: 04:50 am on Tuesday, Aug 18
Women's 10,000m: 03:25 am on Sunday, Aug 16
Men's Marathon: 7:45 pm on Saturday, Aug 22
Women's Marathon: 7:15 pm on Sunday, Aug 23


One of the (very, very few) disadvantages of living in Oz is the obsession the local media has with a minor sport such as swimming, compared to the global world of athletics. Swimming! Pah!! Synchronised swimming can engage my interest for a while - at least there's a bit of art involved there - but watching people trawling up and down water lanes is much more ennui-inducing than observing snails trying to out-race each other!

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Thankfully for track and field fans in Oz, SBS has come to the rescue again. SBS TWO (Channel 648 on Foxtel) will have extensive coverage from Berlin. Check the Foxtel EPG for details.

If you find swimming fascinating, give the World Athletics Championships a go. You'll soon realise why the rest of the world views it one of the biggest events on the sporting calendar.