ATHLETICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Venue: Olympic Stadium, Berlin Date: 15-23 August
Coverage: Watch the action live and highlights on BBC Two, BBC HD, Red Button, Radio 5 live and the BBC Sport website (video for UK users only)
Full BBC coverage details The days before the World Championships are very busy for me as I work through the thousands of names on the provisional entry listand strive to update my records for each and every one of them. They range from 20-year-old sprinter Okilani Tinilau, the first athlete from Tuvalu to compete in the World Championships, to evergreen German discus thrower Franka Dietzsch, who at 41 will contest her 10th.  | 606: DEBATE |
The global breadth and depth of participation is one of athletics' great strengths and leads to its unpredictability. That is why it is risky to make predictions, but it is fun to try and therefore below are my gold medal 'picks' for each event. I would be delighted to be proved wrong in at least one case. In making these picks, current form is important but I also take into account those who we know are able to raise their game in championships. I also like to consider who might be the hungrier athletes, those who must feel it is their turn for gold. Finally, I try to expect where the unexpected might occur. There are always upsets at big meetings like these. MEN'S EVENTS 100m: Usain Bolt JAM  Usain Bolt could win over both 100m and 200m |
200m: Usain Bolt JAM 400m: LaShawn Merritt USA 800m: Ahmad Ismail SUD 1500m: Deresse Mekonnen ETH 5,000m: Eliud Kipchoge KEN 10,000m: Kenenisa Bekele ETH Marathon: Tsegay Kebede ETH 3,000m steeplechase: Mahiedine Mekhissi FRA 110m hurdles: Dayron Robles CUB 400m hurdles: LJ van Zyl RSA High jump: Ivan Ukhov RUS Pole vault: Renaud Lavillenie FRA Long jump: Dwight Phillips USA Triple jump: Phillips Idowu GBR Shot put: Tomasz Majewski POL Discus: Gerd Kanter EST Hammer: Krisztián Pars HUN Javelin: Andrea Thorkildsen NOR Decathlon: Leonel Suárez CUB 20km walk: Giorgio Rubino ITA 50km walk: Yohann Diniz FRA 4x100m relay: United States 4x400m relay: United States WOMEN'S EVENTS 100m: Kerron Stewart JAM  Ennis is favourite to win the women's heptathlon |
200m: Allyson Felix USA 400m: Sanya Richards USA 800m: Hasna Benhassi MAR 1500m: Anna Alminova RUS 5,000m: Meseret Defar ETH 10,000m: Tirunesh Dibaba ETH Marathon: Sabrina Mockenhaupt GER 3,000m steeplechase: Marta Dominguez ESP 100m hurdles: Sally McLellan AUS 400m hurdles: Lashinda Demus USA High jump: Blanka Vlasic CRO Pole vault: Yelena Isinbayeva RUS Long jump: Naide Gomes POR Triple jump: Yargelis Savigne CUB Shot put: Valerie Vili NZL Discus: Yania Ferrales CUB Hammer: Anna Wlodarczyk POL Javelin: Christina Obergföll GER Heptathlon: Jessica Ennis GBR 20km walk: Olga Kaniskina RUS 4x100m relay: United States 4x400m relay: United States BRITISH MEDAL PROSPECTS Everyone is asking me about Britain's prospects. In June I said I felt heptathlete Jessica Ennis could spearhead Britain's women's best-ever medal haul .  Idowu must overcome Olympic champ Evora to win gold |
Unfortunately this is much less likely now that injury has robbed us of Mara Yamauchi, Tasha Danvers and Kelly Sotherton, while Christine Ohuruogu has also had difficulties this summer. Yamauchi in particular is a big loss now that the favourite, double winner Irina Mikitenko, has also withdrawn from the marathon. We still do not know if Paula Radcliffe will even start that race, so I won't speculate on her chances. It's clear that Britain have three solid medal prospects in Berlin: Ennis, Ohuruogu (400m) and Phillips Idowu in the triple jump. Each have formidable opponents to whom it would be no disgrace to lose: Natalya Dobrynska, Sanya Richards and Nélson Evora respectively. Where could our other medals come from? With Jamaica's men having an off-year in the one-lap event, I feel the men's 4x400m relay team have the best chance. Their success would be fitting as this event supplied one of our two athletics golds here in Berlin at the 1936 Olympics (the other was the 50km walk where we have no entrant this time). The women's 4x400m team also have a good chance, especially as Belarus - who beat us in Beijing - have no entry this time. Rounding out my "big six" would be Mo Farah, who is at the peak of his powers and is certainly ahead of the schedule he was in 2007, when he led at the bell in the 5,000m final. There are 13 further British athletes entered for Berlin who and currently ranked in positions 8-20 in the world in their chosen event. We can hope that some of them can make finals and preferably finish in the top eight, and therefore contribute to the placement table which I feel is a more accurate measure of a country's prowess than medals alone. However, remember that this time last year Tasha Danvers and Germaine Mason were each regarded as no better than potential finalists, yet both went on to win Olympic medals. BRITISH PLACINGS AT PAST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS | Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | Medals | Points | | 1983 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 104 | | 1987 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 88 | | 1991 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | 7 | 76 | | 1993 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 95 | | 1995 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2+1 tie | 3 | 3 | 4 | - | 5 | 78.5 | | 1997 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3+1 tie | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 78.5 | | 1999 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 70 | | 2001 | 1 | - | 1 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 58 | | 2003 | - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | 3 | 46 | | 2005 | 1 | - | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | - | 1 | 3 | 34 | | 2007 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | - | 4 | - | 1 | 5 | 61 | | Totals | 14 | 23 | 26 | 27+2 ties | 27 | 19 | 19 | 13 | 63 | 789 |
Eight points are given for a gold medal down to one for eighth place. Points are shared in the case of a tie.
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