From left: American athletes Ryan Crouser, Emma Coburn, Rai Benjamin and Dalilah Muhammad during a press conference at Khalifa Stadium yesterday. Pic: Abdul Basit/The Peninsula
Go to any track and field event around the world and you see fans expecting a complete domination of proceedings from the US athletes. That’s the kind of reputation Team USA has built for itself for many decades.
A decorated group of high-profile 141 US athletes descended upon the Qatari capital to embark on a IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 mission that has been dubbed as the ‘journey to gold’ by the team.
This group includes 55 Olympians including 26 Olympic medallists that have a combined 44 Olympic medals, as well as 78 previous World Championships team members with a total of 65 medals.
They have seven reigning world champions, who will defending their crowns during the September 27-October 6 event in Doha. These include Tori Bowie, Kori Carter, Emma Coburn, Phyllis Francis, Justin Gatlin, Sam Kendricks and Brittney Reese.
Not just that, USA also have superstars like 2019 Diamond League champions Noah Lyles (200m) and Dalilah Muhammad, who can create history any day.
And, Dalilah, who set a new women’s 400m hurdles world record at the USATF 2019 National Championship, is targeting the same in Doha.
The 29-year-old feels she can better her time of 52.20 seconds during the battle in Doha.
“I am always aiming to run my absolute best and improve my performance, and if I do that it will be another world record, so yes I am targeting the one in Doha,” Dalilah told The Peninsula yesterday.
“It (questions about the world record) adds a little bit of pressure and it makes you run a little bit fast. It’s not a distraction,” she said.
“You know what is so crazy? My winning time was the PIN number for my first credit card,” she said yesterday. “I never even thought about it until I ran that time and I thought ‘Wow, that used to be my PIN number.
“The field is very deep in women’s hurdles and it’s going to be a tough battle. I am preparing hard and will give my best,” she added.
Earlier, members of USA squad including defending women 3,000 steeplechase champion Emma Coburn, Rio gold medalist Ryan Crouser and star 400m hurdler Rai Benjamin besides Dalilah spoke at a press conference at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Coburn, who won gold at the 2017 World Championships in London, predicted a stiff competition for the podium finish.
“The women’s steeplechase is super super competitive, and the event is very deep, so I think it’s a pretty big battle. The top 6 to 8 women will be competing for the podium. I am looking for the fight and waiting for Friday (tomorrow),” Coburn told reporters.
“With team USA there are a lot of expectations. There is standard is to be on the podium, to win the races. In the last 43 or 40 years, we have been making a lot of appearances at the podium. So that’s the standard of team USA,” she added.
Rio Olympics champion Crouser hoped for a new record in the men’s shot put event.
“I am really excited for the shot put event. It’s a couple of days we’ve been here and the training has been fine. The field is looking great, probably a field record will be set,” he added.
“These are the World Championships and standard of the competition will be very high,” he added.
Benjamin, who will be making his debut at the World Championships, was also eyeing for glory in Doha.
“This is my first World Championships and I am very excited. It’s a strong line-up in the 400m hurdles and I am looking forward to it,” he added.
