Olympic and world champions will be out in force at next weekend’s Athletics World Cup with France, Poland and Jamaica all confirming their teams for this ground-breaking event.
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Double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson spearheads a Jamaican team boasting 60 major international medals between them.
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The 26-year-old will double-up in London, competing in both the women’s 100m and 4x100m relay; the latter being an event which will see Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce continue her return to the sport following the birth of her first child.
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Commonwealth champion Ronald Levy (below) and 2015 world champion Danielle Williams will ensure Jamaica is represented strongly in both the men’s and women’s sprint hurdle events.
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The Jamaican’s are expected be strong in the sprint events, but the Caribbean nation are sending talent across the board to London.
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Gold in the discus at the Commonwealth Games confirmed Fedrick Dacres’ place within the world’s top echelons, while Commonwealth silver medallist Shanieka Ricketts is continuing to stamp her authority in the women’s long jump.
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Poland are another nation sending a strong team to London, with world and Olympic champion Anita Wlodarczyk (below) – an athlete who also holds the world record in the event – one of four medallists from last year’s IAAF World Championships heading to London.
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The world record holder has been streets ahead of her competition over recent years, but, with the already-confirmed Deanna Price (USA) closing in on the world’s leading hammer thrower, the women’s hammer competition will certainly be an event to watch.
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Poland will also have a world medallist representing them in the men’s hammer, with world bronze medallist Wojciech Nowicki confirming his appearance in the British capital, while World silver medallist Piotr Lisek will contest the men’s pole vault.
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On the track, double European champion Adam Kszczot will return to London 12 months after winning world silver in the men’s 800m. Kszczot has already tasted success on British soil this year, winning gold at the World Indoor Championships in March.
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Featuring a mix of experienced athletes and up-and-coming talent, the French team will pose a threat to some of the more established names in the sport, especially in the sprint events.
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Jimmy Vicaut (below) is the joint-quickest European in history over 100m and will certainly be one-to-watch in London, while fellow sprinter Carolle Zahi looks like being one of France’s next big stars having put in a good showing at the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham.
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Pascal Martinot-Lagarde has always been in the mix for the podium on the global stage in the men’s 110 hurdles, finishing fourth at Rio 2016, and will look to show well in the UK next weekend, while the experienced Floria Guei will look to add Athletics World Cup silverware to the eight international medals she holds.
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In the field events, Renaud Lavillenie has often carried the hopes of France in the men’s pole vault, but Axel Chapelle – who finished sixth at last year’s World Championships – will get the chance to impress without being in the shadow of Lavillenie in London. Quentin Bigot will also return to the London Stadium 12 months after just missing out on a world medal in the men’s hammer throw.
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The full Poland team is available to view here.
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The full France team is available to view here.
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The full Jamaica team will be posted here in due course.
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Tickets are still available to buy for the inaugural Athletics World Cup (Saturday 14 & Sunday 15 July) and can be purchased by clicking here.
