1. The Battle For The Women’s 100m Crown Is Fierce

The competition to be the World’s Fastest Woman has been one of the most fascinating and exciting narratives of the sport in 2023, and this weekend only made things more interesting. Reigning World champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was conspicuously absent in the first half of the season as she made her way back from injury, and as the weeks ticked by with no SAFP 100-meter results to report, fans were getting increasingly nervous that time had caught up to the 36-year-old legend. But that concern was quickly put to rest when Fraser-Pryce clocked a pair of 10.82 and 10.83 victories in Luzern and Madrid two days apart. It’s clear she’s healthy and fit enough to contend for the win… but can she beat the women in front of her?

There are at least four other athletes who could be considered a threat, all of whom have legitimate cases to be made for gold. NCAA champ and newly-signed Puma pro Julien Alfred has not lost a 100-meter race all year and took down U.S. champ Sha’Carri Richardson earlier this week. Veteran Ivory Coast sprinter Marie-Josée Ta Lou is having a career year at 34 and is riding a seven-race win streak in the 100m dating back to April 15. Shericka Jackson is the world leader at 10.65, although this weekend was a mixed bag for her, clocking a blazing 21.86 in the Monaco 200m while beating Gabby Thomas, Dina Asher-Smith, and Alfred, then losing to Ta Lou and Asher-Smith two days later over 100m in London.

And then there’s Richardson. When the 23-year-old superstar is on, she looks invincible, but a long summer of racing may be taking its toll as she suffered her first 100-meter defeat in Hungary on Tuesday then withdrew from London with precautionary concerns over hamstring discomfort in warmups. A few weeks ago, the battle for gold looked to be a two-woman race between Richardson and Jackson, but even with both women running strong, they’ll have to beat some seriously big names to do it.

2. Letsile Tebogo Is The Real Deal

After breaking the world U20 record in the 100m three times last summer, sprints fans started to learn Bostwanan phenom Letsile Tebogo’s name and began to draw the inevitable comparisons to Usain Bolt. But with PBs of 9.91 and 19.96 headed into 2023, most considered him a podium threat for the future, not a legitimate contender in Budapest. All that changed this weekend when Tebogo improved his best in the 200m from 19.87 to 19.50 in one race, landing at No. 6 on the all-time list and appearing to close the gap on World champ Noah Lyles in the final 50 meters of the straightaway. Only the most passionate of African athletics fans would expect Tebogo to knock out the 2x reigning champ in a Worlds final, but with Erriyon Knighton struggling a bit in his 200m last week (finishing second in Hungary to Alex Ogando of the Dominican Republic in 20.05, his slowest final of the year to date) and Fred Kerley pulling out of London and Monaco, the 200-meter podium is looking a little less crowded than it did a few weeks ago

(NOTE: Even with the absence of Nigel Amos as he serves a 3-year doping ban for a positive test, Botswana has four men who’ve run between 44.61 and 44.91 in the 400m this season, so Tebogo’s first senior World medal may very well come in a relay).

3. The Women’s 5000m Could Get Crazy

We got a mini-preview of what the Worlds final might look like in the 5000m this weekend in London when Gudaf Tsegay outkicked World No. 1 Beatrice Chebet and Olympic champ Sifan Hassan to win in 14:12.29 and the trio clocked the 5th, 8th, and 12th fastest marks of all-time. Combine that with the results of Paris, where Faith Kipyegon set the world record of 14:05.20, Letesenbet Gidey finished second in 14:07.94, and Ejgayehu Taye finished third in 14:13:31, and six of the 10 fastest women of all time are all in peak form at the same time. If they all race the 5000m at Worlds, things could get crazy.

That’s a big “if,” however. Tsegay is the reigning champ so she’ll almost certainly be there, but she also won the 10,000m at the Ethiopian trials and Ethiopia does try to avoid doubling their athletes when possible. Similarly, Gidey is the reigning 10,000m champ, although she did double last year in Eugene and should be expected to again. Chebet will probably be in the 5000m, as she’s raced it all season, although she raced the 1500m at the Kenyan national championships. Kipyegon is relatively new to the 5000m, but given that her specialty event, the 1500m, wraps up its final the day before the 5000m heats kick off, there’s no downside to her trying the double. And Hassan has said she’s definitely doubling, and definitely running the 10,000m, but that she hasn’t decided on a secondary event. The heats of the 1500m are 7.5 hours before the 10,000m final, but the easier double would certainly be to contest the longer distances, particularly with Kipyegon seeming unbeatable in her element.

4. Stiff Competition For Silver In The Men’s 1500m

Even without World No. 1 Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the men’s 1500m in London was a thriller, with U.S. champ Yared Nuguse clocking his first Diamond League win (also the first in the event for an American in over a decade) in 3:30.44, overtaking Norway’s Narve Nordås in the final few meters. 12 men finished under 3:32, showing almost unprecedented depth in an event that has been elevated to a new level in recent years.

Despite his surprise loss last year, Ingebrigtsen and his final 100-meter speed look increasingly out of reach for even the best milers in the world and he has to be considered the heavy favorite to claim gold. But in the last 3 global finals since 2019, there have been 8 different men on the podium (Ingebrigtsen’s gold in Tokyo and silver in Eugene is the only repeat). Between the OAC trio of Nuguse, Olli Hoare, and Mario Garcia Romo, the reigning bronze medalist Mo Katir (assuming he runs the 1500m and not just the 5000m), British champ Neil Gourley having the best year of his career, 3 Kenyans including 2019 champ Tim Cheruiyot under 3:31 this season, and Josh Kerr always turning up at the right time, it’ll be a roll of the dice to see who lines up next to Ingebrigtsen in Budapest. And if it’s an even-slightly slower final, you can’t count out the resurgent Cole Hocker or the tactically-brilliant Joe Waskom.

Heavy favorites can make races boring, but with the wide-open race behind Jakob and the potential for tactical shenanigans upsetting the form charts, the 1500m won’t be. With at least 8 nations and an even wider range of brands, training groups, and personalities in the mix, picking your 1500m ride-or-die and rooting hard for them in Budapest is a surefire way to make this event thrilling and emotional from the fan perspective.