The World Athletic Championships are steaming in quicker than an autumn morning in Sweden. Japan welcomes athletes to Osaka for a feast of athletics and the journalists and squires from around the world prepare to put pen to paper in preparation for 9 days of athletics. The last Champs, 2 years ago in Finland, were literally washed out and the organisers must be holding thumbs that the same fate does not await them.
Now for the predictions! No sporting event should pass without the speculation of who is fancied to win Gold and who is your pick of the surprise of the games, so I shall not falter in making a few predictions of my own to add to the fun.
First off, I shall mention Jeremy Wariner of the USA, as I have made him Captain of my Men's team for the IAAF Fantasy Prediction contest. The IAAF contest allows you to select only 1 athlete per country out of 20 possible best performers worldwide. Wariner, I do believe, is on song for something spectacular and the warm and humid conditions may certainly favour his event. Now we could say 'time will tell' and in this case it certainly shall. 
For my surprise of the games, I shall look to Bernard Lagat to take the Men's 5000m. He has been quietly preparing and everyone (The Kenyans per say) have been focusing his performances towards the 1500m, however I do believe that the 5000m may just be his event.
Staying with the predictions I shall give my favourites from 800m to the Marathon .
Because of the difficulty of finding 20 different country winners in the Fantasy game, I decided to go for the stalwart in the form of the Mozambique great, Maria Mutola. However, if I had not used up my Russian certainty in the Women's polevault, I would have tried to find a winner amongst their 3 entrants. The Ukraine has a great emerging athlete in the form of Yuliya Krevsu, who set the year's fastest time in the recently held Student's Games in Bangkok with a time of 1:57.63. I don't give her much scope on the larger scale as the event is a tough nut to crack. I will be more than happy if Mutola takes a medal. In the Men's event, I don't see Rashid Ramzi coming back to defend his title and Russia's Olympic Champion, Yuriy Borzakovskiy, is always a threat. I have not selected a winner in the IAAF game however I do fancy South Africa 's Mbulaeni Mulaudzi to be in the shake up.
In the 1500m, things are truly open for all, amongst the Women we can again look to the Russians to be at the party in full force and I couldn't find Maryam Yusuf Jamal's name among the entrants, so it is an easy call to go for a Russian athlete, but which one? So, I will go for, Yuliya Fomenko, who I believe can catch her compatriots out on the day. In the Men's race, America are screaming for Alan Webb and for them Gold is begging, however if he is able to nab a podium finish he will have had a great Championship. One athlete who won't be there because of failing a drug test is Morocco's Adil Kaouch and this opens the door for France's Mehdi Baala however I shall go for Belal Mansoor Ali who I believe is due a good one.Â
In the 5000m Women's event, we have to look no further than Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba with her ever present rival, Meseret Defar, waiting to take honours at the smallest of slip ups. Championship races often tend to be tactical, cagey affairs and Defar still does not seem to have the firepower when needed over the last 200m. In the men, as mentioned, I am going with Bernard Lagat.
The 10000m is an Ethiopian affair in both the Men and Women's races with Kenenisa Bekele and Tirunesh Dibaba my favourites. The 10 is before the 5, Dibaba will take this race and then go towards the 5. If Bekele doubles, then I thinks he will take the 5 as well.
The Steeplechase, Russia to take the Women's gold with a few of their athletes again capable of winning, especially with Zambia's Docus Inzikuru missing. World leader, Gulnara Samitova-Galkina, to do the honours. In the Men's race, the withdrawal of the WL, Kenya 's Paul Kipsiele Koech and World Record Holder, Saif Saaeed Shaheen, pave the way for Ezekiel Kemboi with Kenyan trials winner, Richard Kipkemboi Mateelong, a great threat.
The marathon is never an open affair, especially at Championship events. I however will stick with Japan's Yumiko Hara (who I have in my fantasy team because I have China's high hurdler, Xiang Liu, I could not choose, Chunxiu Zhou, who I believe is the outright favourite). For the Men, it is a tough call and I will go with Morocco's Abderrahim Goumri. Goumri had a good London on his debut and a tactical race will suit him tremendously.
Japan to win the Women's Marathon team event and Morocco to take the Men's.
A great Championship in store
TheEd
