Injuries rob world champs of top duels

Injuries to several top athletes will rob this month's World Athletics Championships of many mouth-watering duels at the sport's showcase event in Daegu, South Korea.

Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt will be starved of a run-off against American arch-rival Tyson Gay and compatriot Asafa Powell, the fastest man over 100m this year.

Both Gay and Powell have been ruled out injured, clearing the path for Bolt in his quest to defend his world sprint double.

Another Jamaican, Steve Mullings, would surely also have been in podium contention but misses out because of a doping offence.

But while the Daegu posters ask 'Who's the fastest?', with photos of Bolt and Powell, American duo Walter Dix and Justin Gatlin will doubtless ask questions of the Jamaican sprint train now rejigged to include Michael Frater and Nesta Carter over 100m.

Defending world and European triple jump champion Phillips Idowu will not get to compete against French tyro Teddy Tamgho, who has a broken ankle, and Jeremy Wariner is also absent and unable to claim revenge over US teammate LaShawn Merritt.

But it's not all bad news for the August 27-September 4 event.

Allyson Felix, the defending three-time 200m champion, is stepping "out of her comfort zone" to attempt an audacious 200m and 400m double.

The American will face a tough test in the shape of team-mate Sanya Richards-Ross, who won gold at the Berlin worlds in 2009, and Botswana's Amantle Montsho.

"It was a very difficult decision to decide to double. I was torn with deciding if I wanted to have fresh legs to defend my title in the 200m for an unprecedented fourth time," Felix said.

"Ultimately I decided that I wanted to step outside of my comfort zone and try something different this time. I feel blessed to have had success in the 200m at worlds in the past and I felt like it was time to take on a different challenge."

The men's pole vault promises to be a thrilling competition between Australian Steve Hooker and Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie.

Hooker, defending world and Olympic champion, is slowly coming back from a injury-enforced eight-month lay-off and will have his hands full coping with the French tyro, Germany's Malte Mohr and Poland's Pawel Wojciechowski.

"I'm going to be defending the world title with all I have, but it's going to be a big job," admitted Hooker.

"I've got to be realistic about it. I want to go into this championship and I want to jump well. That's all I want.

"If I go in there and feel like I've jumped well then it's been a successful championship and a good step towards next year (London Olympics). That's really the main focus."

The men's 110m hurdles is sure to be one of the most eagerly awaited events on the track after the Bolt roadshow, with Cuban world record holder Dayron Robles up against old foes Liu Xiang of China and American David Oliver.

Also on the track, team Kenya will bid to reassert itself as a leader in the middle-distance events, starting with world record holder David Rudisha and former world 800m champion Alfred Kirwa Yego in the 800m.

Yego, who won a silver medal behind South Africa's Mbulaeni Mulaudzi at the last championships in Berlin, predicted that with fellow teammate Jackson Kivuva, the Kenyans could secure a podium whitewash.

DAEGU, South Korea, Aug 26, 2011 AFP