The Japan Times - Rojas, McLaughlin-Levrone go for gold at world champs

There are four finals in all, and also a first spin round the track for Britain's 800m Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson.

AFP Sport picks out the three potential highlights:

- Women's 400 metres final -

McLaughlin-Levrone's smashing of the American record, which had stood for almost two decades, in her semi-final will have sent shivers down her rivals' spines.

The manner in which the two-time 400m hurdles Olympic champion coasted in timing 48.29sec suggests that even East German Marita Koch's world record of 47.60sec, which was set nearly 40 years ago, could be under threat.

McLaughlin-Levrone's presence has certainly revived an event that has lacked spark in recent years.

Nevertheless defending and Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino and the silver medallist from Paris, Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain, will not go down without a fight.

"This race definitely gives me confidence for the final," said the 26-year-old American.

"I didn't expect to run this fast today. I still have more to show. I feel strong and good."

- Women's 800m heats -

Hodgkinson shed the bridesmaid's tag in style in the Olympic final last year and arrives in Tokyo favoured to also add the world crown after being pipped for the title by Kenya's Mary Moraa in 2023.

The 23-year-old Briton, who is also the reigning European champion, only returned to the track in August after a year's hiatus having suffered three hamstring injuries.

However, she looked as good as ever as she posted the fastest time this year, 1min 54.74sec, in the Silesia Diamond League meet.

Hodgkinson had hoped to bask in the glory of being Olympic champion but admitted it had instead been a "challenging year".

To such an extent that winning the world title would mean more than the Olympic gold.

"Whatever happens this year in Tokyo, hopefully it’s what I want because it will just mean even more than Paris last year," she told reporters.

"That is kind of crazy because that obviously changed my life and winning the Olympics is what every athlete wants to do.

"The challenge it took to get here would just make it that much sweeter."

Moraa's once considerable powers appear to have faded, so perhaps the greatest threats to Hodgkinson could come from her training partner, Olympic 1500m bronze medallist Georgia Hunter-Bell, and young Swiss hope Audrey Werro.

A measure of Hunter-Bell's confidence is she opted for the 800m ahead of the 1500m.

Werro, 21, is a live chance to give the Swiss a second gold, Ditaji Kambundji having sprung a surprise in the 100m hurdles, on the back of a mightily impressive win in the Diamond League final in Zurich.

- Women's Triple Jump final -

Rojas will be hard to stop in her pursuit of a record-extending fifth successive world title.

The crowd-pleasing 29-year-old qualified for the final with her first effort, a season's best 14.49 metres.

Rojas is back and keen to reassert her dominance of the event after missing defending her Olympic title because of injury.

She will be mindful of how close she came to being deposed at the last worlds in Budapest, winning it with her last jump.

"I love making the crowd vibrate with every jump," said Rojas after qualifying.

"I love to compete and be filled with joy in doing so. I am happy to get back to my level."

If anyone is to end her extraordinary run of success it is most likely to be Cuba's Leyanis Perez Hernandez, bronze medallist two years ago and who also missed the Paris Games because of injury.

The 23-year-old Cuban hopped, skipped and jumped into the final on her first go as she bids to become Cuba's first woman's triple jump world champion since Yargelis Savigne won the second of her two titles in Berlin in 2009.

K.Inoue--JT