The World Athletics Championships 2023 will be held in Budapest from August 19 to 27.
The 2019 and 2022 World Championship winner and the reigning Olympics champion Malaika Mihambo of Germany has withdrawn from the event due to injury. This makes the event easier for other athletes to shine and claim gold. The following are the top three contenders for the gold medal.
Ackelia Smith (Jamaica)
Jamaica’s Ackelia Smith won the NCAA competition with a world-leading jump of 7.08m and in the absence of Mihambo, she is a very strong contender for gold in Budapest.
If the 21-year-old ends with a podium finish, she’ll become the first Jamaican woman in World Championships history to win a medal in this event.
PB - 7.08m (+1.9) John Jacobs Track Complex, Norman, OK (USA) May 2023
SB - 7.08m (+1.9) John Jacobs Track Complex, Norman, OK (USA) May 2023
Tara Davis-Woodhall (USA)
FILE PHOTO: Tara Davis-Woodhall of the United States. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
World no. 4, Tara Davis-Woodhall from the USA is also a prime medal prospect in the event.
Woodhall registered an impressive jump of 7.11m albeit in a wind-assisted leap at the USATF Bermuda Grand Prix. Her season-best of 7.07m puts her just below Smith on the world-leading list.
PB - 7.14m (+1.9) John McDonnell Field, Fayetteville, AR (USA) May 5, 2023
SB - 7.07m (+1.0) Mike A. Myers Stadium, Austin, TX (USA) March 26, 2021
Jasmine Moore (USA)
FILE PHOTO: Jasmine Moore of the United States. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
Jasmine Moore is the first American woman to qualify for the World Athletics Championships in both the long jump and the triple jump.
With a personal best of 7.03m jump in indoor and 6.98m (wind-assisted) in outdoor puts her in the medal race.
The 20-year-old will need to achieve and better her personal best in order to contest for gold in Budapest.
PB - 7.03m - Convention Center, Albuquerque - March 10, 2023
SB - 7.03m - Convention Center, Albuquerque - March 10, 2023
Jazmin Sawyers (Great Britain) - Dark Horse
FILE PHOTO: Jazmin Sawyers of Great Britain. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
Great Britain’s Jazmin Sawyers will be making her fourth appearance at the World Championships.
Sawyer, after a Commonwealth silver, and two top-eight finishes at the Olympics, will seek to end her quest for gold in Budapest.
The 29-year-old has crossed the 7.00m mark in indoor jumps and if she manages to get close to her indoor PB, that would increase her podium changes by many folds.
PB - 7m - Ataköy Arena, Istanbul - March 5, 2023
SB - 7m - Ataköy Arena, Istanbul - March 5, 2023
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