AW promotion
Armand Duplantis and the household names of Jamaican sprinters Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson and Elaine Thompson-Herah have been given the chance to be even further in the limelight.
This quartet as well as other track and field stars will reach an extended audience at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. The prestigious meet at Budapest will be broadcast live, following a television deal between Warner Bros. Discovery and World Athletics rights-holders Eurovision Sport and ESPN.
Next year’s nine-day event will appear on its channels – Eurosport 1, Eurosport 2 and the Eurosport app – including its Discovery platform, on a non-exclusive basis in over 45 European countries. Eurovision Sport and ESPN jointly hold and distribute World Athletics media rights in Europe and Africa for 2023.
American-born pole vault world record-holder Duplantis is a massive draw, with the exciting Jamaican female trio of Fraser-Pryce, Jackson and Thompson-Herah injecting both some glamour and remarkable speeds.
Sebastian Coe, the World Athletics president, enthused: “I’m delighted to welcome Warner Bros. Discovery back into the high-powered portfolio of our World Championships broadcast partners.
“Eurosport has a long tradition of offering outstanding athletics coverage. This agreement will be welcomed by our fans across Europe, as it will give them even more opportunities to watch every amazing moment of the World Athletics Championships [Budapest 2023].”
Budapest’s brand-new National Athletics Centre will host the 2023 World Athletics Championships between 19-27 August. This will be the first-ever time that the illustrious event will be competed in central Europe. Already it has got fans buzzing about the talents on show.
Duplantis is a massive name and seems indomitable. He was named Male Athlete of the Year, selected from a panel of nominees by nearly 10 million voters, earlier this month at the esteemed World Athletics Awards 2022.
The Louisiana-born 23-year-old scooped the same award in 2020, but he was unable to attend any celebrations because of the disruption caused by COVID-19.
He holds the world pole vault record (6.21m) on top of being the reigning Olympic and world outdoor and indoor champion, the current world outdoor and indoor record holder, the current European outdoor and indoor champion as well as the current Diamond League champion.
The event was organised by the International Athletics Federation and Le Meridien hotel in Monaco played host, but the entire Jamaican contingent left empty-handed.
The Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA), were nominated in various categories, with Fraser-Pryce shortlisted for the Female Athlete of the Year award.
Fraser-Pryce claimed a fifth women’s 100m title at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, United States last July. Her season best of 10.62s was one of eight finishes in under 10.70s during the 2022 campaign. Her compatriot Jackson won the silver medal at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, with double Olympic champion Thompson-Herah settling for bronze.
Jackson then followed that up with a lifetime best, and Jamaican national record, of 21.45s to capture the 200m crown in Oregon. Some of the best online casinos in UK, such as Betway Casino and Unibet, have sportsbook counterparts that will surely be offering odds on which of these three athletics can succeed next term. , such as Betway Casino and Unibet, have sportsbook counterparts that will surely be offering odds on which of these three athletics can succeed next term.
All eyes will be firmly fixed on how Thompson-Herah bounces back next year following this season’s spate of injuries. She finished a disappointing seventh in the final of the women’s 200m, but believes that she has fully recovered and is fighting fit to tackle the 2023 season.
The 30-year-old, currently the fastest woman alive in the 100m with a personal time and Jamaican national record of 10.45, has a worldwide following and will lap up the extra coverage to reach a larger audience.