With Usain Bolt and Mo Farah having retired from the track, there is no talk over whether the Jamaican can add another gold medal or world record to his collection or whether the Brit can hold off the attentions of his Kenyan and Ethiopian rivals, but that does not mean that there is not plenty of intrigue about the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Doha. The 17th edition of the competition gets underway on September 27 and while the world are waiting to see if American sprinter Christian Coleman can keep his name in the public eye for positive reasons, there is naturally lots of discussion about whether any British representatives can get themselves onto the podium.
Keeping on the theme of the 100m, each sport betting sites will have Coleman has the favourite to edge out the likes of Justin Gatlin and Andre De Grasse, but Zharnel Hughes has done enough this season to see him head into the event as world number four. Over two months have passed since Hughes recorded his best run of the summer - 9.95 seconds in London - but there is still value in backing the 24-year-old at betting odds in the region of 6/4 to finish in the top three.
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As far as the women's event is concerned, the bookmakers feel that it is a foregone conclusion that Shelley-Ann Fraser Pryce, Elaine Thompson and Dina Asher-Smith will fill the top three places. While we feel that those odds to not represent good value, it may be worth placing small bets on two of the three, given that all of their odds are in and around the 2/1 mark. As the IAAF number one, Asher-Smith's odds will also be short for the 200m, although there is more value in backing the British champion for the longer race as a result of a wider margin for error.
Later on in the event, all eyes will be on whether 1500m runner Laura Muir can finally get her hands on a medal in a global outdoor event. While the Scot has gained silver at the World Indoors, she has finished in fourth, fifth and seventh respectively in two World Championships and one Olympic Games. The 26-year-old has shown enough form over the course of the summer to suggest that she deserves to be in the running for gold, but we would still err on the side of caution and only back a top-three finish.
The women's heptathlon is also one to keep an eye on with Katarina Johnson-Thompson also attempting to break her duck outdoors. The Liverpudlian is yet to finish higher than fifth spot in her previous three World Championships or Olympic Games, but she currently sits as the second favourite behind Nafissatou Thiam. The Belgian is by far and away the standout athlete in this event and it would be considered a monumental surprise if she does not defend her title from two years ago. With Johnson-Thompson only priced at 13/5, it does not represent great value, and it may be worth taking a punt on world number three Verena Preiner to claim a medal at odds of 9/2.
