World Athletics Championship Betting Day Seven: US to raise the gold standard

Athletics / Robin Adams / 21 August 2009 / Leave a Comment

"Merritt 1.37 is short on the win market, but should prevail and Warriner 3.75 is the value alternative. With Britain's athlete's aiming to beat their target of five medals, Jeremy Bingham 10.0 is a speculative bet to make the podium."

There's no rest on the seventh day in Berlin as Bob Adams makes his selections for the men's high jump and 400m as well as the women's 200m.

My original idea that the USA would claim a 1-2-3 in the men's 400m final has gone out of the window with the elimination of David Neville but America's medal tally can still be boosted here with a 1-2 courtesy of LaShawn Merritt and Jeremy Warriner.

Both Merritt and Warriner will be running in the favoured centre lanes this evening and that could be the key to winning tonight's final for which all the field can boast sub 44 secs times. Merritt [1.37] is short on the win market, but should prevail and Warriner [3.75] is the value alternative. With Britain's athlete's aiming to beat their target of five medals, Jeremy Bingham [10.0] is a speculative bet to make the podium.

Allyson Felix [1.26], one of the most talented athletes in world, should win the women's 400m final this evening, to follow up the three medals she took home from the last world championships in Osaka, equalling the record of the great Marita Koch. The Winner W/O market is intriguing here with three athletes receiving support, and we could be in for another US 1-2 and Muna Lee [2.52] is confidently selected to claim silver.

The third final that interests me tonight is the men's high jump, which like the women's final yesterday should be a close run thing. The two Russians Ivan Ukhov [3.05] and Yaroslav Rybakov [3.10] dominate the win market and both have leapt 2.35m this season. However, the young American Andra Manson has also cleared that height this year, yet is easy to back at [9.6]. Manson is clearly a young man with a golden future and that can begin tonight. Take him also in the Winner W/O Ukhov market at [4.0] and complete the treble with a podium finish at [3.0].