The World Athletics Championships take centre stage in Budapest this weekend as over 2100 athletes from 202 nations converge on the Hungarian capital for nine days of fierce competition from 19-27 August. As always, African athletes will be looking to dominate on the track – particularly in the middle to long distance events – with several sprinters also gunning for glory this time around. We take a look at a selection of the continent’s athletes who feature among the medal prospects for their respective countries…
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BOTSWANA
Letsile Tebogo – Men’s 100 and 200m
Barely 20 years old, Tebogo has been taking the tracks of Europe by storm. A remarkable performance at the Diamond League meet in London saw him blitzing to a 200m time of 19.50 seconds to smash iconic Namibian sprinter Frankie Fredericks’ 26-year-old African record set at the Atlanta Olympics.
Men’s 4x400m relay team
Botswana announced themselves on the world stage by claiming the bronze medal in the 4x400m relay at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and followed that up with silver at last year’s Commonwealth Games. With four men who can run under 45 seconds, they’re sure to be in the medal mix.
BURKINA FASO
Hugues Fabrice Zango – Men’s triple jump
Zango has made several trips to international podiums in recent years, picking up Olympic bronze in Tokyo and World Championships silver last year in Oregon. He’s shown some great form already this year, winning all but two of his competitions and boasts the second furthest leap of the season – his 17.81m effort in Doha.
COTE D’IVOIRE
Marie-Josée Ta Lou – Women’s 100m and 200m
She may be 34 years old, but Ta Lou is getting better with age. The Ivorian claimed 100m bronze at the 2019 World Championships and a silver in both the 100 and 200m back in 2017. She’s run the third fastest 100m time of the season (10.75 seconds in Oslo) and won 10 out of her 10 races contested so far.
“I’m really going for the gold and I believe that I can do it,” Ta Lou told World Athletics. “I know my finish is strong, but my start could be better. I need to improve it to make sure I can achieve my goal of winning gold.”
ETHIOPIA
Berihu Aregawi – Men’s 5000m and 10 000m
He’s just 22 but Aregawi boasts the quickest times of the year in both the 5000m (12:40.45) and 10 000m (26:50.66) and will be looking to earn his first major track medal at a senior championships. So far he’s claimed Youth Olympic silver and World Junior Championship bronze while also taking two silver medals at last year’s World Cross Country Championships in Australia.
Lamecha Girma – Men’s 3000m steeple chase
He’s finished second at the last two editions of the World Championships – in 2019 and 2022 – and at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. But it seems Girma is ready to take that step up to the top of the podium, having set an impressive new world record of 7:52.11 in Paris in June. If he achieves that, he’ll become the first Ethiopian in World Championships history to claim the 3000m steeple chase title but he’ll have teammate Getnet Wale hot on his heels and also vying for that accolade.
Letesenbet Gidey and Gudaf Tsegay – Women’s 5000m and 10 000m
Ethiopia has no shortage of talent when it comes to the distance events. Tsegay heads into the 5000m as defending champion while Gidey does the same in the 10 000m. They’ve run the second and third fastest 5000m times in the world this year (behind Kenyan Faith Kipyegon’s spectacular world record) while Tsegay has the quickest 10 000m of the year, run in Spain at the end of June.
KENYA
Faith Kipyegon – Women’s 1500m and 5000m
After the year Kipyegon has had on the track, breaking three world records in a matter of weeks, it’s tough to imagine anyone getting the better of the indomitable Kenyan. If she succeeds in her quest for gold in both events she’ll become the first woman to complete a hattrick of world titles over 1500m and the first woman to accomplish the 1500m-5000m double.
Ferdinand Omanyala – Men’s 100m
It’s been 20 years since a sprinter from outside of Jamaica or the USA has claimed the men’s 100m world title, but Omanyala will be going all out to break that trend and become the first African to take the gold. Having dipped under 9.90 twice this year and boasting the second fastest time in the world this season (9.84 in Nairobi), the Commonwealth Games gold medallist will be taking to his blocks full of confidence, but he’ll have to prove he can produce the goods when it matters most.
Mary Moraa – Women’s 800m
Known for her exuberant celebrations, Moraa will be hoping there’s more to dance about when she takes to the track for the 800m. She’s unbeaten so far and has run the second fastest time of the season (1:56.85 in Poland). But the two-lap event is all about tactics and heading to Budapest, Moraa will be hoping to improve on the bronze she won at last year’s World Championships.
Jackline Chepkoech – Women’s 3000m steeple chase
In what’s been billed as the battle of the Chepkoeches, 19-year-old Jackline Chepkoech will take on compatriot and world record holder Beatrice Chepkoech in the 3000m steeple chase. Jackline claimed Commonwealth Games gold last year and is the 2021 world junior champion. She’s also run the fastest time this year of 8:57.35, so becoming the only woman to have run under nine minutes this season.
Emmanuel Wanyonyi – Men’s 800m
At just 19 years of age, Wanyonyi is looking to make his mark at senior international level. The former world junior champion ran a blistering personal best of 1:43.27 to record the second-fastest time of the year and will be looking to build on that in Budapest.
MOROCCO
Soufiane El Bakkali – Men’s 3000m steeple chase
El Bakkali claimed Olympic gold in 2021 and added the world title to his collection last year in Oregon. Since then, he was roared to a new personal best time of 7:56.68 by a passionate home crowd in Rabat and will be up for the fight against Ethiopia’s new world record holder Lamecha Girma.
NIGERIA
Tobi Amusan – Women’s 100m hurdles
Nigeria’s top medal hope is still waiting to hear whether she will be able to defend her 100m hurdles world title. Amusan set the world record in the event at last year’s World Championships but has been temporarily suspended pending the outcome of the whereabouts failure charge brought against her by the Athletics Integrity Unit. A decision is expected before the start of the championships on Saturday.
SOUTH AFRICA
Wayde van Niekerk – Men’s 400m
Van Niekerk remains unbeaten so far this season and has shown glimpses of the form that took him to two world titles (in 2015 and 2017) and Olympic gold in 2016 in world record time. He’s run the fourth fastest time of the season – his 44.08 in Poland – but will most likely have to go even quicker to claim another World Championships gold. "I'm definitely in the mix this time around. My performance shows that I can be challenging for gold medals, so my mind is locked into that," he told Athletics Weekly.
Akani Simbine – Men’s 100m
Simbine has become something of a nearly man when it comes to global championships – having just missed out on several Olympic and World Championships podiums. But the 29-year-old has shown some consistent form this season and remains the only man to have defeated defending 100m champion Fred Kerley this season. He also boasts the highest number of sub-10 seconds times of any African athlete with 37.
UGANDA
Joshua Cheptegei – Men’s 5000m 10 000m
Cheptegei has worked his way back from injury, but with credentials like his, few would count him out. The world record holder over both distances is aiming to make it three back-to-back world titles over 10 000m, having claimed gold in 2022 and 2019, while also looking to add to his 5000m gold from the Tokyo Olympics. He’s recorded the second fastest time in the world this year over 5000m – his 12:41.61 run in Switzerland at the end of June.
ZAMBIA
Muzala Samukonga – Men’s 400m
It remains the be seen whether Samukonga is fit enough to match the sensationally quick time of 43.91 he ran in Gaborone earlier this year. The Commonwealth Games champion pulled up with a hamstring injury in Poland last month but has been included on Zambia’s entry list for the championships.