Jamaicans lead charge to upset champ Lyles

The World Athletics Championships get under way in Tokyo on Saturday, beginning nine days of captivating drama featuring the world’s biggest track and field stars.

There are 147 medals to be awarded across 49 events in an action-packed schedule in the Japanese capital, with a total prize pot of $8.5m on offer.

The men’s and women’s 100 metres are always the highlights of an athletics event. That happens over both days this weekend.

American Noah Lyles seeks a third consecutive global 100m title after following up world glory in Budapest with a dramatic Olympic gold at Paris 2024.

The 28-year-old Floridian edged out Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson in the fastest race in history last summer but his season’s best of 9.90 seconds ranks just 11th in the world this year. Thompson arrives as 2025’s fastest man in 9.75, while fellow Jamaican Oblique Seville beat Lyles comprehensively in August. There will also be attention on Australian teenager Gout Gout, who has been likened to sprint icon Usain Bolt.

St Lucia’s Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred will target a sprint double in the absence of injured American 200m gold medallist Gabby Thomas - the only athlete able to deny her that achievement last summer.

American Sha’Carri Richardson will aim to retain her world title after taking Olympic silver, but it is Paris 2024 bronze medallist Melissa Jefferson-Wooden who has been the standout performer this season. Not only has Jefferson-Wooden run an unmatched 10.65 seconds, but she also boasts five of the six fastest times this year - with her fourth-fastest tied with Alfred’s best of 10.75 secs.

Great Britain’s former world 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith, Daryl Neita and Amy Hunt will each hope to be in the medal mix, as will Jamaican legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce at her final major championship.