Beijing new faces
The only thing people love more than an upset is predicting an unlikely winner. Following on from yesterday's fistfull of faces to look out for at the Beijing World Championships, we bring you five more lesser-known athletes that could do big things in the Bird's Nest.
Omar McLeod, Jamaica – 110m hurdles
The second fastest athlete in the world this year is seeking to create history and become Jamaica’s first global senior 110m hurdles champion. The 21-year-old University of Arkansas athlete showed promise as a youngster, placing fourth in the 110m hurdles at the 2011 World Youth Championships. This year he has developed into a world-class senior.
He secured NCAA titles indoor (60m hurdles) and out (110m hurdles), the latter in a blistering PB 13.01. He went on to chip a further 0.04 from that time when landing his national title. He is one of just three athletes to go sub-13 this season and is gunning for gold in Beijing.
Shamier Little, USA – 400m hurdles
Bespectacled hurdler Shamier Little served notice of her talent when she won the world junior title in Oregon last year, but during an unbeaten 2015 she has stepped things up to a whole new level.
Aged just 20, the Texas A&M student set a world leading mark of 53.74 to claim the NCAA title, and she has since gone on to take the American national title and Pan American crown. Born in Louisville – birthplace of boxing legend Mohammed Ali – she will be hoping to use all his legendary fighting qualities to add another title to her growing collection.
Guowei Zhang, China – High jump
The high jump is currently enjoying a boon in quality, and though much of the focus has been on world champion Bohdan Bondarenko and world indoor champion Mutaz Essa Barshim, watch out for home hope Guowei Zhang in Beijing.
Born in the coastal city of Penglai, the charismatic jumper – a former table tennis and football player – has bedded himself into the very top echelon this year. The Asian Games silver medallist claimed victory with 2.36m clearance in Oslo last month, and his 2.38m clearance in Eugene earlier in the summer – just a single centimetre shy of Zhu Jianhua’s national record – marks the 24-year-old down not as a one hit wonder, but a genuine gold medal contender.
Denia Caballero, Cuba – Discus
Eighth at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, 25-year-old Denia Caballero has improved her personal best by more than 5m this year. The Cuban emerged as an athlete of top currency after becoming only the 25th woman in history to throw beyond 70m in June.
Significantly, alongside that mighty 70.65m effort which she notched in Bilbao, she has performed consistently well all year and last month secured gold at the Pan American Games. Form guide followers take note.
Shaunae Miller, Bahamas – 200m, 400m, 4x400m
Measuring 6ft 2ins in height, the talented Bahamian will be seeking to stand tall against her rivals in the women’s 400m. A huge age group talent, Miller won 2011 world youth and 2010 world junior 400m titles (in that order) and finally appears set to crack the code at the senior level.
A fourth place finisher in the 200m at the 2013 Moscow World Championships, Miller is now under the coaching of Lance Brauman and has enjoyed a great year. The highlight so far has was a 400m personal best of 49.92 in Lausanne, a time that ranks her as the number one competitor in the field in Beijing. In the 200m, the 21-year-old has this year run a PB 22.14 this year, though the event schedule in Beijing will likely see her focus on the quarter-mile distance.