On the track:
Jamaica’s dangerous duo
Few nations dominate sprinting like Jamaica, and in 2025, two of its most celebrated athletes, Shericka Jackson and Elaine Thompson-Herah, are set to make their highly anticipated returns.
Jackson, who shocked the world by withdrawing from the women’s 100m and 200m events at Paris 2024, is hungry for redemption. With a blistering personal best of 21.41 seconds in the 200m, the second-fastest time ever recorded, Jackson’s ambition to break Florence Griffith Joyner’s iconic 21.34-second world record, set in 1988, remains firmly in her sights.
But hot on her heels is her teammate Thompson-Herah, a five-time Olympic champion and queen of sprint doubles, looking to reclaim her throne after an Achilles injury sidelined her last year. With a personal best of 21.53 seconds in the 200m, Thompson-Herah remains a threat to both Jackson and Flo Jo’s long-standing mark.
The rivalry between these two Jamaican juggernauts could define the year, especially with reigning world champion Sha’Carri Richardson and Olympic champion Julien Alfred also in the mix, making for a thrilling showdown every time they take the blocks.
Bahamas’ 400m king and queen
The 400m will be another event to watch closely, as 2025 will see the black, aquamarine, and gold grace the track in the 400m. Shaunae Miller-Uibo , the women’s 400m Olympic champion from both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, alongside Steven Gardiner , the men’s 400m Olympic champion from Tokyo 2020, will both return to the global stage.
The current world record holder in the indoor 300m, Gardiner will have to overcome the reigning Paris 2024 Olympic champion Quincy Hall, who laid down the gauntlet on the purple track with a blistering 43.40, eight-tenths of a second faster than Gardiner’s personal best.
UK’s middle-distance maestro
As if the men’s 1500m event wasn’t stacked enough already, Great Britain’s 2022 World Champion Jake Wightman is ready to rejoin the mix. The Scotsman, who pulled out of Paris 2024 just days before he was scheduled to race the 800m because of a hamstring injury, has refocused his goals for 2025. Among them could be disrupting the ever-changing 1500m reign, again.
Across the Atlantic, Team USA’s Emma Coburn (3000m steeplechase) and Britton Rose Wilson (400m) are also gearing up for returns in their respective events.
