24 September 2019

Countdown to Doha: The Team GB women to watch out for at the World Athletics Championships

The World Athletics Championships kick off on Friday with Team GB hoping to better their total of six medals in London two years ago.

Back in 2017, Mo Farah, who will not be competing in Doha, was responsible for one of only two gold medals and was the only British athlete to win a medal in an individual event.

So, who should people be looking out for this time around? Here are five names who could do big things in Qatar.

Dina Asher-Smith

Dina Asher-Smith did the 100m and 200m double at the European Championships in 2018 (PA Images)

Dina Asher-Smith will be the flagbearer for Team GB heading into the world championships.

She is the fourth fastest in the 100m this year, but since June has recorded the best time of anyone, posting a 10.88 just three weeks before Doha.

Meanwhile, in the 200m she is the favourite heading to Qatar after Shaunae Miller-Uibo, who is unbeaten in two years over the distance, announced she would only be competing in the 400m.

If Asher-Smith can medal in both the 100m and 200m then she will become the first British woman to do so since the birth of the World Athletics Championships in 1983.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson

Katarina Johnson-Thompson won gold in the heptathlon at the 2018 Commonwealth Games (PA Images)

Katarina Johnson-Thompson has shown good signs over the past 18 months which hold her in good stead for Doha.

She finished second at the European Championships in August 2018 and won at the European indoors by more than 250 points in March 2019.

One of the 26-year-old's biggest rivals is compatriot Niamh Emerson, but she will not be competing due to a knee operation.

So, the biggest challenger to Johnson-Thompson is the woman who beat her to the European title and won the heptathlon back in 2016 at the Rio Olympic Games, Nafissatou Thiam.

Laura Muir

Laura Muir finished fourth in the 1500m at the 2017 World Athletics Championships (PA Images)

The expectation surrounding Laura Muir has been gradually building since she finished fourth in the 1500m and sixth in the 3000m at the 2017 World Athletics Championships.

She will compete in both events yet again in Doha and has a real chance to medal in the 1500m following the omission of Caster Semenya.

And with Muir having won at the European Championships, the European indoors and in the Diamond League meeting in Belgium, she now has the experience to go on and win a world title.

Jennifer Simpson will be Muir's toughest competition - she came second in 2017 - but the winner from two years ago Faith Kipyegon has not been selected.

Eilish McColgan

Eilish McColgan won the 5000m silver medal at the 2018 European Championships (PA Images)

Another British athlete who has a chance of winning a medal in Doha is Eilish McColgan in the 5000m.

Sifan Hassan and Hellen Obiri are likely to post very strong times themselves, but if either of them falter then McColgan could be one of those outside bets to prosper.

She will certainly make it to the final and if she can post a time slightly faster than her 14 minutes and 48 seconds which she ran in 2017 then she will be in the medal hunt.

Morgan Lake

Morgan Lake won the high jump at the 2018 Commonwealth Games (PA Images)

The 2019 World Athletics Championships might have come a little too soon for 22-year-old high jumper Morgan Lake.

She has shown her ability to compete at the very highest level at the Athletics World Cup and the Commonwealth Games, where she won silver in both.

And even if she fails to medal in this year's championships, she is certainly one to look out for in terms of progression and natural ability given she won both the heptathlon and high jump at the 2014 world junior championships.

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