Adam Kszczot in the 800m at the IAAF World Indoor Championships (© Getty Images)
Following his swift 1:44.21 African record and world-leading performance in New York at the start of February, Kenya’s Emmanuel Korir will head into the competition as one of the gold medal contenders.
The 22-year-old 2017 NCAA indoor and outdoor champion has only contested one 800m race this winter – which represented a two-second improvement on his previous PB – but it was enough to suggest that he will be tough to beat in Birmingham.
A man of great consistency this winter, Adam Kszczot is unbeaten in all six of his 800m outings and clinched the event title on the IAAF World Indoor Tour. The two-time world outdoor and 2014 world indoor silver medallist notched up victories in Dusseldorf, Madrid, Lievin, twice in Torun and in Glasgow last weekend. Owner of five gold medals at the continental level, the 28-year-old will be aiming to win his first senior global title.
USA’s Donavan Brazier and Drew Windle, meanwhile, enter the competition with confidence following their recent 1:45.10 and 1:45.53 respective personal bests.
Brazier, the 2016 NCAA outdoor champion, has recorded three lifetime bests this season as well as taking the win in Boston with second place in New York, while Windle took the runner-up spot behind Brazier at the US Indoor Championships and finished third in New York.
Others looking to impress include Spain’s Alvaro de Arriba, the European indoor bronze medallist who has recorded a 1:45.43 personal best this winter, and Morocco’s world U20 bronze medallist Mostafa Smaili, who will be keen to improve on his sixth-place finish from Portland two years ago after setting an indoor PB of 1:45.96 this year.
Nicola Sutton for the IAAF
