World Athletics Championships: Back Rowden at 25/1 among five Brits to watch

• Keely Hodgkinson is a worthy 5/6 favourite in 800m

• Laura Muir @ 50/1 could cause a shock in the 1,500m

• British sprint "stars" are far below the standard needed.

Beware the BBC coverage

As usual, the BBC is providing blanket coverage of the Championships across multiple platforms from Saturday August 19th. This is great for fans, but a risk for punters. With so much air-time to fill, there will be previews galore highlighting the stories and chances of British athletes.

There will be little editorial discernment here. British athletes are promoted because, well, it's the national broadcaster, and it's also much cheaper to send a two-bit presenter and crew to an athletics track down the road from BBC HQ than it is to fly them to the training centre of a top-flight athlete with a genuine chance of gold.

Punters should therefore beware: follow the advice below to separate the genuine contenders from the space-filling duds.

Hodgkinson can take 5/6 gold in Women's 800m

Keely Hodgkinson (1.855/6) can go one better than her silvers at the last World Championships and Olympics. On both those occasions she was bettered by America's Athing Mu. However, with Mu unlikely to line-up in Budapest, Hodgkinson's path should be clear.

The biggest obstacle will come in the form on Kenya's Mary Moraa (2.35/4), who beat Hodgkinson in Lausanne earlier this season. That was an unusually poor tactical display from Hodgkinson, though, who can be trusted to navigate the multiple rounds of a championship more effectively than her Kenyan rival.

Fellow Britain, Jemma Reekie (15.014/1), could cause a surprise in a slow-run race.

Britain's Rowden can surprise @ 25/1 in Men's 800m

The Men's 800m is more open than its female equivalent, with the injury-plagued reigning champion, Emmanuel Korir (8.07/1), an unreliable prospect as things stand. His wayward form means a valid case can be made for any one of the 50 or so athletes who have run quick enough to win a championship 800m.

Within that group, Britain has three solid chances in Max Burgin (11.010/1), Daniel Rowden (26.025/1) and Ben Pattison (34.033/1).

At the odds, Rowden is the most interesting. Tactically, he's the most astute, and if the pace is slow - which it usually is in these men's championship races - he can take advantage.

Maybe Muir @ 50/1 in Women's 1,500m?

Kenya's Faith Kipyegon (1.061/18) is one of the shortest-priced favourites at the Championships and is considered a certainty by most commentators to take 1,500m gold. That's of little surprise: she is unbeaten in over two years, and has lit up the track this year, breaking three world records in dominant Diamond League displays across seven weeks in June and July.

Championships are different to grand-prix events, though, with the lack of pacemakers and multiple rounds (not to mention multiple events in the case of Kipyegon, who will also target the 5,000m) meaning that early-season form does not always translate.

Britain's Laura Muir (50.049/1), an Olympic silver medallist and reliable championship performer, can take advantage of any slip from Kipyegon. Exchange punters, though, may prefer to simply lay Kipyegon at those short odds, and have a stacked field running for them against the favourite.

Avoid Zharnel Hughes @ 13/2 in Men's 100m

It would be easy to see Zharnel Hughes's season-topping 9.83secs in New York and mark him down as favourite for 100m sprint glory, especially if knowing that he is trained by legendary coach-of-Usain-Bolt, Glen Mills. There is certainly plenty of hype around Hughes, especially as he has recently broken the British records in both the 100m and 200m.

Hughes is inconsistent, though, has a habit of letting the pressure get to him in major championships, and whilst breaking ancient British records gets some column inches among the hacks who remember Linford Christie and John Regis, the achievement is meaningless on the world stage. Hughes' odds of 7.613/2 in the 100m are far too short.

Fred Kerly (3.412/5), Noah Lyles (5.85/1), Letsile Tebogo (8.07/1) and Ferdinand Omanyala (8.07/1) are all better prospects for gold, with preference at the odds for the up-and-coming Botswanan, Tebogo.

Hughes (20.019/1) might go closer in the 200m, but again, a final berth, rather than a medal, is his likely limit.

Avoid Dina Asher-Smith @ 15/1 in 200m

The darling poster-child of British Athletics, Asher-Smith (16.015/1) won a weak renewal of the World Championships in Doha in 2019, but has been some way short of that form since. Even if returning to her best, she will likely struggle to make the final here, but rest assured that over-enthusiastic pundits will have viewers believing she has a chance at glory.

Fellow Brit Daryll Neita (30.029/1) has a better chance at a medal, but will not receive the attention of Asher-Smith, which might be to the former's advantage.

Multiple medal-winning Shericka Jackson (1.42/5) is the rightful favourite to take the title here, but a better bet at the odds is Gabby Thomas (5.04/1). Thomas posted the world's fourth-best all-time performance last month, and will be hard to beat after an uninterrupted preparation.

*Odds correct at the time of writing