The poll was open from July 24th to August 3rd, collecting a total of 161 responses.

The form was open to anyone so it didn’t require a sing-in, but you can fill in your name or nickname in the ‘Response’ column if you know which one is yours.

Results: MEN

100m

67.1 % - Usain Bolt (Jamaica) 13.0 % - Andre De Grasse (Canada) - OUT WITH INJURY 7.5 % - Christian Coleman (USA) 6.8 % - Yohan Blake (Jamaica) 5.6 % - Justin Gatlin (USA) 0.0 % - Akani Simbine (South Africa)

My pick: Usain Bolt

It seems that people still trust Bolt’s abilities despite him not having a particularly promising 2017 season. This is his last individual race ever and he is still the man to beat. It’s really unfortunate that Andre De Grasse sustained an injury just a couple of days ago.

Will Bolt bow out undefeated in the 100m?

200m

51.6 % - Wayde van Niekerk (South Africa) 35.4 % - Andre De Grasse (Canada) - OUT WITH INJURY 8.7 % - Yohan Blake (Jamaica) 3.1 % - Isaac Makwala (Botswana) 0.6 % - Ameer Webb (USA) 0.0 % - Akani Simbine (South Africa) 0.6 % - Usain Bolt (Jamaica) - DIDN'T ENTER

My pick: Wayde van Niekerk

Bolt has been utterly dominant in the 200m since 2008, but he will only do the 100m this yeas, which means that we will get a new world champion for the first time in a decade! The last man to hold this title was Tyson Gay when he won back in 2007 in Osaka (ahead of Bolt).

With no clear-cut favourites to take the throne, it is one of the most unpredictable race of the Championships. The Americans are always up there; Blake is looking good after returning from injuries; Makwala is a bit of an unknown as a 400m specialist, but his scorching 19.77 world lead makes him a big threat; and then we were promised a clash between two guys that are so tough to beat when it matters — Wayde van Niekerk and Andre De Grasse. The latter unfortunately suffered a season ending injury just days before the competition.

Does this open the road for van Niekerk to take the double?

400m

92.5 % - Wayde van Niekerk (South Africa) 2.5 % - Fred Kerley (USA) 2.5 % - LaShawn Merritt (USA) 1.9 % - Isaac Makwala (Botswana) 0.6 % - Steven Gardiner (Bahamas) 0.0 % - Baboloki Thebe (Botswana)

My pick: Wayde van Niekerk

No surprises here. No one seems capable of beating van Niekerk at his best, but the Championships are all about performing on the day. It should still be an interesting race because we have 3 undefeated men in this season — van Niekerk, Kerley, Gardiner. These three are my favourites to take the medals and they’re almost sure to cross paths before the final, so it will be interesting to see their approach. We mustn’t forget about the extremely fast Botswanans and the veteran Merritt.

Even without Kirani James, this is probably the most stacked and high-quality field of the sprints. How far can they push each other?

Results: WOMEN

100m

82.6 % - Elaine Thompson (Jamaica) 6.2 % - Dafne Schippers (Netherlands) 5.0 % - Tori Bowie (USA) 1.9 % - Marie-Josée Ta Lou (Côte d’Ivoire) 1.9 % - Michelle-Lee Ahye (Trinidad and Tobago) 1.9 % - Murielle Ahouré (Côte d’Ivoire) 1.2 % - DON'T KNOW

My pick: Elaine Thompson

No surprises here either. Elaine Thompson is the most dominant female sprinter at the moment and she looks undefeatable. It still isn’t known whether Tori Bowie will run the 100m or the 200m or both.

200m

56.5 % - Dafne Schippers (Netherlands) 13.0 % - Shaunae Miller-Uibo (Bahamas) 10.6 % - Deajah Stevens (USA) 6.8 % - Marie-Josée Ta Lou (Côte d’Ivoire) 5.6 % - Dina Asher-Smith (Great Britain) 3.7 % - Michelle-Lee Ahye (Trinidad and Tobago) 1.8 % - Tori Bowie (USA) 1.2 % - DON'T KNOW 0.6 % - Elaine Thompson - DIDN'T ENTER

My pick: Shaunae Miller-Uibo

This seems to be the most divisive event due to fragmentation of responses, but I feel like the results are a bit skewed in Dafne’s favour because I didn’t include Tori Bowie. If I would, she would undoubtedly get more votes, but I kinda misunderstood her statements about which events she will contest in London. She doubled at the Olympics and got a medal in both short sprints, but apparently she only wants to focus on one event this year. I thought she wanted to do the 100m, but it’s still unknown because she is entered in both the 100m and the 200m.

400m

67.7 % - Allyson Felix (USA) 21.7 % - Shaunae Miller-Uibo (Bahamas) 4.3 % - Shericka Jackson (Jamaica) 3.7 % - Kendall Ellis (USA) 1.9 % - Quanera Hayes (USA) 0.6 % - Phyllis Francis (USA)

My pick: Shaunae Miller-Uibo

The ordering doesn’t surprise me, but Allyson’s winning margin does. I called this race a 50/50 between Felix and Miller, but Felix seems to be the people’s favourite. I still think it will be a very close race.

Žiga P. Škraba