Every new season, there are athletes who announce themselves on the big stage with good performances, especially at major competition like the World Championships. And so it is not out of place to peg these athletes as the next rated stars to dominate the sport.
Having ended the 2017 season, and with the 2018 season about to commence, we have drawn up a list of eight athletes who are our Breakout Athletes this year.
Salwa Eid Naser shone like a thousand stars at the 2017 IAAF World Championships where she defeated some of the biggest names in her event, clinching the Silver medal in a National Record (NR) of 50.06s for Bahrain.
Coming to London, the Nigerian-born Bahraini athlete wasn’t one of those considered for a medal as she was up against a star-studded field comprising of the likes of Olympic Champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo, defending World Champion Allyson Felix, Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson and a host of others.
It is interesting to note that prior to the championships, Naser’s coach John Obeya had reeled out some of the names she would go against, but she wasn’t fazed, and this was evident by the confidence she exuded whilst running through the rounds. She said: “I don’t care who is there. I just want to go do my thing.”
Salwa Eid Naser stormed to a Silver medal in a stacked women’s 400m final.
Jereem Richards clocked the fastest time in the 200m heats and clinched a Bronze medal in the event in London.
Trinidad and Tobago sprinter Jereem Richards is a 2012 World Indoors Bronze medalist in the 4x400m. The 23-year old had an outstanding 2017, posting impressive performances in the NCAA indoor and outdoor circuit for the University of Alabama. He won the SEC Indoor Championships in February in a time of 20.34s, finishing ahead of Christian Coleman (20.50s) and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake (20.57s).
One of the highlights of Richards’ season was setting a Personal Best (PB) of 19.97s in May, making him only one of seven men to have run under 20s this season. He also clocked a PB of 45.21s in the 400m earlier this year in Freeport, Bahamas. He placed 3rd (20.22s) behind Coleman and Mitchell Blake at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, having clocked a wind-aided 19.98s in the heats.
Jereem Richards enjoyed an outstanding 2017.
Karsten Warholm
It’s been less than two years since Norwegian hurdler Karsten Warholm switched from the Decathlon to face the 400m Hurdles squarely, and going by the successes he has experienced this season, the 21-year old has no regrets making that switch.
The former multi-event athlete was properly unveiled to the world in July at the 2017 Oslo Diamond League where he enjoyed the massive support of his home crowd to clock a new Norwegian Record of 48.25s to finish ahead of European Champion Yasmani Copello and Thomas Barr in the 400m Hurdles.
A few weeks later, he raced to a Championship Record (CR) of 48.37s to win the 400m Hurdles at the European U-23 Championships in Bydgoszcz, before winning Silver in the 400m in 45.75s. At this point, it was becoming clear that Warholm would be a major contender for the title.
Karsten Warholm was overwhelmed at his good fortune in London.
Warholm finished 2nd in the heats in London, setting a time of 49.50s. He then improved on his time in the semis, clocking 48.43s to follow Olympic Champion Kerron Clement who won the race in 48.35s. With World Leader Kyron Mcmaster out of the way after being disqualified for a lane infringement, Warholm had one less opponent to deal with.
Christian Coleman celebrates winning the men’s 100m Silver medal at the World Championships.
Our No.1 breakout athlete for the year 2017 is USA sprinter Christian Coleman who occupies the top spot in the men’s 100m rankings after racing to a Personal Best (PB) of 9.82s in June in the semis of the NCAA Outdoor Championships, smashing the Collegiate Record of 9.89s in the process, before striking the GOLD medal for the University of Tennessee in the final.
Ironically, we had listed Coleman as the No.1 young athlete to watch out for at the London 2017 World Championships, and the 21-year old lived up to our expectations. Earlier in the season, Coleman won both the 60m (tying the collegiate record) and 200m titles at the NCAA Indoor Championships, before storming to outdoor titles in the sprint double, becoming only the second man after Justin Gatlin (2002) to sweep the NCAA 60m/200m indoor titles and 100m/ 200m outdoor titles.
Coleman (9.98s) narrowly lost the men’s 100m final to Justin Gatlin at the US Trials, having clocked the overall fastest time of 9.93s in the heats, and then dominating the standings in the semis with 10.02s. He then finished 2nd to Ameer Webb in the 200m, making him the only American sprinter to qualify for the double in London. However, he opted for the 100m only after enduring a lengthy collegiate season.
Christian Coleman claimed a Silver medal in his first outing at the World Championships.
Even though he was going to London as the world’s fastest man in 2017, Coleman made no promises ahead of the showpiece. He said: “I know from watching previous championships what the atmosphere is going to be like, from the fans to the Usain
Emmanuel Korir
Just before the commencement of the 2017 World Championships in London, we named Korir as one of the five young athletes to watch out for at the competition.
Having dominated at the NCAA for his school University of Texas El Paso (UTEP), the 22-year old headed to London with three of the Top 5 fastest times in the men’s 800m in 2017. In fact, Korir had the World Lead (WL) of 1:43.10, a new Personal Best (PB), which he ran on his maiden Diamond League debut in Monaco, and it was such fantastic build-up to the World Champs.
Korir opened his season by clocking a time of 1:46.50 in the 800m in his first ever indoor race, and then a week later, he stormed to a world indoor best of 1:14.97 in the 600m at the Cherry and Silver Collegiate Invitational in Albuquerque, taking 0.15s off the former record set by Germany’s Nico Motchebon in 1999.
2018 will be a big season for Korir who will be hoping to impress at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, and the African Championships in Nigeria, and yes, the London World Champs was just a blip.
Celliphine Chepteek Chespol
In 2016, Chespol, who competes in the women’s 3000m Steeplechase, served the world a snippet of her talent when she raced to the world Junior title at the IAAF U-20 World Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, winning with a Championship Record (CR) of 9:25.15.
Meanwhile a year earlier, Chespol had won GOLD at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Cali, Colombia, winning the 2000m Steeplechase with a Personal Best of 6:17.15.
Following her Youth and Junior achievements, 2017 was the year Chespol really made the big step-up, competing in the senior category not just to make up the numbers, but coming in as a big contender.
That time made her only the fourth woman in history to ever dip under 9mins; in fact, it is the 3rd fastest time in history.
Kyron McMaster
Although he won Bronze at the World Junior Championships in 2016, not many knew much about Kyron McMaster before he started dominating in the men’s 400m Hurdles this season.
A native of the British Virgin Islands, McMaster who just turned 20 in January this year, is looking like the athlete who could end the American dominance in this event.
Earlier this year in May, McMaster announced himself to the world when he stormed to a World Leading (WL) time of 47.80s at the Jamaican Invitational in Kingston, making him the only hurdler to have dipped inside 48s this season.
In fact, he holds three of the five fastest times in the world this year. In the build-up to the World Championships, he finished 2nd at the London Diamond League, clocking a time of 48.12s.
Yuliya Levchenko
Lasitskene’s dominance was out of this world and she seemed to be competing against herself at almost every meet this year. However, at the World Championships in London, she was firmly challenged by Levchenko.
Levchenko has been progressing very well through the ranks, winning the Youth Olympics in 2014 in Nanjing, and claiming Bronze two years later at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
However, at her maiden World Championships competition in 2015, she finished 13th and couldn’t make it to the final. She got better and came back two years later to win Silver with a 2.01m mark.
It’s not just about winning the medal, but the manner that she pushed Lasitskene all the way even after other contenders had exited the competition, rattling the favourite for a potential upset.
