World Athletics Championships: Hunt, Kerr and Lake among Britons to watch

The World Athletics Championships begin on Saturday in Japan, with Keely Hodgkinson, Josh Kerr and Katarina Johnson-Thompson among the title hopefuls.

Here, the PA news agency looks at five British athletes to watch in Tokyo, where Cam Corbishley will be the first Briton in action in the 35 kilometres race walk at 11.30pm on Friday in the UK.

Georgia Hunter Bell – 800 metres

Keely Hodgkinson is the favourite to back up her Olympic 800 metres gold with a maiden world crown, but this time will face competition in her own training partner, Georgia Hunter Bell.

Hunter Bell left a seven-year stint in cybersecurity to return to running, and is still in just her first season as a full-time athlete after completing her stunning comeback with 1500m bronze on her Olympic debut last summer.

After considering doubling up, the 31-year-old has decided to focus solely on the shorter distance in Japan, entering with the third-fastest 800m time in the world this year.

Josh Kerr – 1500m

Edinburgh’s Kerr will look to defend his 2023 title in Tokyo but faces stiff competition in a wide-open field, with a record 14 men having run under 3:30:00 this year.

The 2024 Olympic silver medallist pipped long-time arch rival Jakob Ingebrigtsen to the world podium two years ago in Budapest, but Ingebrigtsen – the Norwegian reigning 5000m world champion – is in a race against time to be fit for Sunday’s 1500m heats after sustaining an Achilles issue that ruled him out of the outdoor season.

Instead, Kerr’s toughest challenger this time around might come in the form of 20-year-old Dutchman Niels Laros, the Zurich Diamond League finals champion looking to become the youngest man to win a world 1500m crown after setting a new national record in Switzerland.

Matt Hudson-Smith – 400m

New father Matt Hudson-Smith is among the favourites for a maiden world 400m gold after collecting bronze in 2022 and silver in 2023.

The 30-year-old also claimed his first Olympic medal, a silver, last summer, and the man who beat him in Paris, American Quincy Hall, has been ruled out of these championships through injury.

There could be more than one podium appearance for the Wolverhampton athlete, who is also likely to feature on a men’s 4x400m relay team that finished third in both Budapest and Paris.

Morgan Lake – high jump

Morgan Lake wants to make more history after setting a national record just two weeks ago.

The 28-year-old Great Britain team captain became the first British woman to clear two metres at the Zurich Diamond League finals, beating Johnson-Thompson’s previous 1.98m and raising the bar for her world podium hopes after finishing fourth two years ago.

Just six women have cleared two metres this season, among whom only two – reigning world and Olympic champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh and world leader Nicola Olyslagers – have also surpassed that mark.

Amy Hunt

Fellow sprinters Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita might be more familiar names to Britons, but Grantham athlete Amy Hunt is enjoying an excellent season.

The 23-year-old British 100m champion has set personal bests in three events this year, though she faces a stacked line-up in both the 100m and 200m in Tokyo, even factoring in the injury-related absence of Olympic champion Gabby Thomas from the latter.

Hunt and the British women, who landed a silver medal in Paris, have high hopes for the 4x100m relay, an event they enter with a world-leading 41.69 seconds set in July.