World Championships: Bolt, Gatlin Rivalry Will Light Up Event

Usain Bolt and the controversial Justin Gatlin will get the world championships off to an explosive start when they take their rivalry onto the Beijing track in the 100m heats on Saturday, AFP reports.

Bolt has dominated sprinting since he claimed a golden treble at the Beijing Olympics in the Bird’s Nest stadium, winning nine of 10 individual world and Olympic sprint titles since 2008 — his sole blip being the 100m at the Daegu worlds in 2011.

America’s Gatlin is the man in form but he cuts a contentious figure after serving two doping bans, latterly between 2006-2010 after a positive test for testosterone.

Usain Bolt Will Rule World Championships - Glen Mills

Usain Bolt’s coach, Glen Mills, has backed the sprinting superstar to come good at this month’s World Championships in Beijing.

The 28-year-old Bolt will enter the August 22 to 30 showpiece at the Bird’s Nest with question marks over his form after a series of lacklustre performances in recent months.

However, Mills said while Bolt had suffered several injury setbacks recently, which had affected his preparation, he was the type of athlete who was always highly motivated for major championships.

Athletics Can Learn From Cycling - Chris Froome

Britain's double Tour de France champion Chris Froome has urged athletics to follow cycling's lead and invest a lot more money in anti-doping. Cycling's problems with drugs are well documented but the sport's blackest days appear to be behind it.

But the ongoing doping allegations in athletics threaten to overshadow this month's World Championships in Beijing.

"From what I understand, the testing hasn't been at the level that it is in cycling," Froome told BBC Sport.

World Championships: Team Nigeria Set To Depart To Beijing On August 18

Nigeria's  team to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships will be off to Beijing on August 18, Technical Director of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Omatseye Nesiama, said yesterday.

The championship will take place from August 22 to August 30 in Beijing and Nigeria’s team 14 women and three men would jostle for laurels on behalf of the country at the event.

On why only 17 athletes would be representing Nigeria, Nesiama said: “We decided to send a more compact team in order not to just go for a jamboree.

Usain Bolt Tops Jamaica's 53-Man List For World Championships

Six-times Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt headlines Jamaica's squad for the world athletics championships in Beijing later this month.

The world record holder over 100 and 200 metres is joined in the 53-member squad by Asafa Powell and Warren Weir, both world championships sprint relay gold medalists.

Bolt answered questions over his fitness with a 100m season's best of 9.87 seconds at the London Anniversary Games last month while Powell ran his fastest 100 in four years to win the sprint at the Paris Diamond League meeting in 9.81 seconds.

Nigeria: AFN Releases 22 Man List For World Championships

Africa’s fastest woman Blessing Okagbare and former national sprint king, Ogho-Oghene Egwero, top the list of athletes representing Nigeria at the 2015 World Championships holding in Beijing, China, from August 22 to 30.

Egwero and Okagbare, who was absent at the All Nigeria Athletics Championships in Warri, Delta State last week, remain Nigeria’s only representatives in the 100 metres events, as their teammates failed to make the IAAF standards.

Okagbare will feature in the women’s 100m and 4x100m events, Gloria Asumnu and Ngozi Onwumere will compete in the 200m, while Stephanie Kalu, Deborah Odeyemi and Cecilia Francis will complete the team in the women’s 4x100m event.

Blessing Okagbare Eyes World Championship

Olympic and World Championships medalist, Blessing Okagbare is on course to cruise into the 15th World Championships in Athletics and the 11th All Africa Games both scheduled to hold this year.

The World Championships in Athletics, football’s equivalent of the World Cup, is expected to hold between August 22-30 in Beijing, China, while the All Africa Games, Africa’s mini-version of the Olympics, holds between September 4–19 in Brazzaville, Congo.