Doha (AFP)

Who will be the star of the Worlds? From the new sensation US Noah Lyles to the controversial Christian Coleman to Karsten Warholm or the trio of sprinters Dina Asher-Smith, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson, many are able to ignite the Khalifa stadium track in Doha in from Friday for the first World Championships after Usain Bolt.

- Noah Lyles: the future star? -

Showman with a devastating smile, the runner from Gainseville, Florida is announced as the future star of athletics, in search of celebrities recognized by the general public since the retirement of the legendary Usain Bolt in 2017, and these World Championships could mark the beginning of a long reign. At only 22 years old, Lyles is already the 4th all-time 200m (19sec 50) all-time performer who will be his only individual event in Qatar. Without a rival on the half-lap, the title of world champion seems promised. Probably before attacking the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 at the Grail for any sprinter: the 100m.

- Christian Coleman: a smell of sulfur -

Silver medalist at the Worlds in 2017, indoor world champion in 60m (2018) and world record holder in the distance (6 sec 34), best world performer since 2017 in the straight line: everything seemed to succeed Christian Coleman , labeled grandissime favorite of the 100 m of the Worlds. But the revelation at the end of August of three breaches of its anti-doping localization obligations has had the effect of a cold shower. The 23-year-old rider was finally cleared by the US anti-doping agency, making a mistake, but his reputation was fatally tainted and he arrived in Qatar with a ball that he would have done well. Without Noah Lyles, who focuses on the 200m, and therefore without an opponent to his measure, he remains the main contender for the crown supreme. But if he succumbed to the pressure, his compatriot and veteran Justin Gatlin (37) could take the role beautiful and succeed himself on the charts. Gatlin, crowned under the whistles in 2017, has already been suspended twice for doping during his long career. Not sure athletics wins at the change.

- Karsten Warholm: Sacred Viking -

The mischievous Norwegian, gold medal in 2017 in relative indifference, took a new dimension this year by beating three times the European record of 400 m hurdles, increased to 46 sec 92, second time in history. He has managed to eclipse the two other prodigies of a discipline finally buzzing after years of lean cow, the Qatari Abderrahman Samba and the American Rai Benjamin, who also seem able to threaten the old record Kevin Young's World (46 sec 78 in 1992). The probable presence of these three cracks in the final could offer an anthology race.

- Asher-Smith, Thompson, Fraser-Pryce: undecided sprint -

Triple European champion in 2018 (100m, 200m, 4x100m), the British sprinter Dina Asher-Smith hopes to confirm her new status at the world level at 23 years old. The game is not yet easy against two Jamaican women Elaine Thompson, two-time Olympic champion in 2016 (100m, 200m), and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, also a double Olympic gold medalist (100m in 2008 and 2012), returning to its best level after an absence due to maternity.

- Yulimar Rojas: record in sight? -

The Venezuelan woman hit hard on September 6, setting the second-best ever performance in the triple jump (15.41m). If the world crown should logically come back to him, the one that failed just 9 centimeters from the world record seems able to erase the mark of the Ukrainian Inessa Kravets (15.50 m) which holds since August 10, 1995.

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