(Reuters) – Sprint favorites Christian Coleman and Noah Lyles and women’s 400 metres hurdles world record holder Dalilah Muhammad headline a 141-member U.S. team for this month’s world athletics championships, USA Track and Field announced yesterday.
The talented squad also includes eight reigning world champions and 13 Rio Olympic gold medalists.
World 100 metres silver medalist Coleman is favored to claim the gold this time and Lyles, the Diamond League 100-200m champion, is the top 200m pick for the Sept. 27-Oct. 6 championships in Doha.
Olympic champion Muhammad set the 400m hurdles world record of 52.20 seconds in winning the U.S. championship in July. Justin Gatlin (100m), Sam Kendricks (pole vault), Christian Taylor (triple jump), Tori Bowie (women’s 100m), Phyllis Francis (women’s 400m), Kori Carter (women’s 100m hurdles), Emma Coburn (women’s 3,000m steeplechase) and Brittney Reese (women’s long jump) will defend world titles they won in London in 2017.
Muhammad and Taylor also won individual gold medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics as did Matthew Centrowitz (1,500m), Jeff Henderson (long jump), Ryan Crouser (shot put), Brianna Rollins McNeal (women’s 100m hurdles)a and Michelle Carter (women’s shot put).
The squad also boasts nine members with the best performances of the year.
Coleman, Lyles, Kendricks, Muhammad, Michael Norman (400m), Grant Holloway (110m hurdles), Will Claye (triple jump), Jenn Suhr (women’s pole vault) and DeAnna Price (women’s hammer throw) all top the yearly list.
Making the team for a record ninth consecutive team is sprinter Allyson Felix.
Felix, the world championships’ most decorated athlete with 16 medals, has made every U.S. world team since 2003.
She gave birth to daughter Camryn by emergency cesarean section in November and is a member of the 4x400m relay pool.
The oldest member of the U.S. team is marathoner Roberta Groner at 41 years, 8 months, and 23 days and the youngest is pole vaulter Zack Bradford at 19 years, 9 months, and 29 days.
