Sprinters are taking their sweet time to prepare for the upcoming World Championships in Tokyo next year. However, the stakes are high, with several performing extremely well at the Olympics, leaving room for more choices for fans. Veterans Justin Gatlin and Rodney Green recently talked about their choices on their podcast.
The duo participated in a YouTube Q&A when one fan asked about their Tokyo 2025 World Championships picks. With strong contenders across both men and women, like Noah Lyles, Sha’Carri Richardson, Kishane Thompson, Julien Alfred, and so on, they sat down to compare their preferences.
Gatlin went in first, talking about how he wanted to pick both men and women in his list since the asker hadn’t specified any category. After some thought, he declared his first pick as Alfred before moving on to the others.
“I think she’s just getting into shape…I think we’re going to see something very very good from her going into this season.“
Apart from that, he went forth with Tamari Davis, Thompson, Erriyon Knighton, and the entire relay team of Botswana, including Tebogo. While the list was a bit all over the place, Gatlin believed it was inclusive enough to cover an entire spectrum of track and field athletes.
“So that’s my list, very unorthodox, but I think I got the job done. It shows the well-rounded community of men and women sprinters, and also relay.“
The World Championships are a significant event that determines some of the best athletes globally. Green wanted to include some of his picks, resulting in a list of around ten athletes that people could look forward to next season.
His first pick was surprisingly popular American hurdler Grace Stark, who placed fifth at the Paris Olympics this year. Green firmly believed that she might have the X-factor developed well enough to crush the competition next year.
Continuing his unconventional picks, Green chose Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke as a potential World Champion next season. She became the first Irish woman to break the 50-second barrier for a 400m sprint, and the veteran thought she was promising enough to prove her worth on track.
He also opted for Jamaican sprinting icon Tia Clayton for the next season’s promising athlete list. Amongst the male sprinters, Green chose Jereem Richards and Courtney Lindsey as two popular track athletes who could bring in some accolades for their country.
Overall, the list of athletes that the veterans revealed, had some hidden gems who might shine bright next season. From promising sprinters to young record-breakers, the World Championships next season is set to be a sight to behold.
