{"id":655,"date":"2015-08-23T08:20:42","date_gmt":"2015-08-23T08:20:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/OU-Sport\/?p=655"},"modified":"2015-08-23T08:20:42","modified_gmt":"2015-08-23T08:20:42","slug":"records-to-beat-and-battles-to-watch-at-the-world-athletics-championships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/OU-Sport\/?p=655","title":{"rendered":"Records to beat and battles to watch at the World Athletics Championships"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Candice Lingam-Willgoss<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

This year\u2019s World Athletics Championships kicking off in Beijing couldn\u2019t come at a better time for many athletes. It is a chance for athletic performance to take centre stage, a change in focus from the recent doping controversy that has shrouded the sport.<\/p>\n

While we know that three medals will be awarded for each event, what is less known is which records may fall. So far this year, 11 world records have been broken in indoor and outdoor events<\/a>. But some athletics records have stood for decades, and will take some beating.<\/p>\n

So which are the events with the most giant-slaying potential? Here\u2019s a quick guide.<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s events<\/h2>\n

Many of the women\u2019s events have long-standing records. The women\u2019s 100m record of 10.49 seconds, set by Florence Griffith-Joyner<\/a>, remains unbeaten since 1988. In men\u2019s events, Michael Johnson\u2019s 400m world record of 43:18 set in 1999 still stands today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nPoland\u2019s Anita Wlodarczyk is the hammer to beat.<\/span>
\nEPA\/Piotr Wittman<\/span><\/span>
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Poland\u2019s Anita Wlodarczyk has already posted a world-record throw in the women\u2019s hammer this year, so undoubtedly is the favourite in Beijing. She is tipped to better her 81.08m throw set<\/a> at the Festival of Throwers meeting in Cetniewo, Poland, a monumental distance and the first time the 80m barrier has been broken by a woman. Such a huge improvement suggests that Wlodarczyk has the potential to throw even further in Beijing.<\/p>\n

Giant leaps<\/h2>\n

Like Johnson\u2019s long-standing 400m record, another that has stood for 20 years is Jonathan Edwards\u2019s triple jump record<\/a> \u2013 currently at 18.28m.<\/p>\n

Current Olympic champion Christian Taylor is still 23cm short of this, but this record is what he has his sights on, and has been his goal<\/a> since entering the sport.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nChristian Taylor is the current Olympic champion triple jumper.<\/span>
\nEPA\/Olivier Anrigo<\/span><\/span>
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Taylor will have some competition in the shape of Cuba\u2019s Pedro Pablo Pichardo who recently jumped out to 18.06<\/a> at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Doha. This competition could be the one to see this long-standing record fall.<\/p>\n

Bolt v Gatlin<\/h2>\n

It will take a record-breaking time to win the 4x100m men\u2019s relay<\/a>. The event which will see Jamaica\u2019s team (featuring the fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt) take on America (featuring Justin Gatlin<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nBolt vs Gatlin: the high-speed duel everyone\u2019s been talking about.<\/span>
\nEPA\/Thierry Roge<\/span><\/span>
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Bolt\/Gatlin showdown is hotly anticipated and the two athletes will first face each other in the men\u2019s 100m. At 33, Gatlin is five years older than Bolt and has twice been found guilty of doping. Much has been made of this contest and many have suggested<\/a> that Gatlin will not only take Bolt\u2019s 100m title but will also claim his world record, which was set in 2009<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Long walk to stardom<\/h2>\n

While the 100m is undoubtedly the most hyped, the 20km walk could also see a new record set. Research has frequently cited the benefits of competing at home<\/a> and this could well be the case for Liu Hong as she attempts to go faster than her 1.24.38 time<\/a> set at the Premio Cantones de Marcha \u2013 the Spanish leg of the 2015 IAAF Race Walking Challenge in La Coruna.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nChina\u2019s golden walker, Liu Hong.<\/span>
\nDenis Balibouse\/Reuters<\/span><\/span>
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Briton Mo Farah also has the potential to break records in Beijing. He is in the form of his life, having broken the two mile indoor record<\/a> earlier this year. While Farah has said the wins are the priority he hasn\u2019t ruled out<\/a> tackling Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele\u2019s 5,000m (12:37.35) and 10,000m (26:17.53) outdoor records.<\/p>\n

What is certain is that the coming nine days of competition guarantee to have their fair share of drama, medals and hopefully some record-breaking performances.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Candice Lingam-Willgoss<\/a> is Lecturer in Sport & Fitness at The Open University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

This article was originally published on The Conversation<\/a>. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n

F<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Candice Lingam-Willgoss This year\u2019s World Athletics Championships kicking off in Beijing couldn\u2019t come at a better time for many athletes. It is a chance for athletic performance to take centre stage, a change in focus from the recent doping controversy that has shrouded the sport. While we know that three medals will be awarded […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-athletics-world-championships","category-candice-lingam-willgoss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/OU-Sport\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/OU-Sport\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/OU-Sport\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/OU-Sport\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/OU-Sport\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=655"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/OU-Sport\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":659,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/OU-Sport\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655\/revisions\/659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/OU-Sport\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/OU-Sport\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/OU-Sport\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}