10 biggest storylines for 2022 track and field world championships, from Allyson Felix to Erriyon Knighton

The United States has long been a dominant force in the world of track and field.

Now, for the first time ever, the country will host the sport's most prestigious non-Olympic event.

The 2022 track and field world championships will begin Friday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon – the same venue that hosted last year's U.S. Olympic Trials, and the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships earlier this summer.

The world championships, which will run through July 24, promise to feature many of the exciting matchups that garnered attention at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, but plenty of surprises, too.

Here are 10 key athletes, events or storylines worth watching over the next 10 days.

Kerley the favorite in men's 100

Fred Kerley raised a few eyebrows last summer when the 400-meter stalwart announced he would be switching to the 100 and 200 at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

There's no skepticism anymore.

Kerley went on to not just qualify for the Games in the 100 but win a silver medal. And it appears he's only gotten stronger in the year since. The 27-year-old has run three of the four fastest times in the world this year, including 9.76 and 9.77 to win at nationals.

"He's had a chance to actually train for just the 100, to train as though he's a 100-meter favorite – which he now is," NBC analyst Ato Boldon told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday. "Fred Kerley's going to be very difficult to beat at this meet."

Reigning Olympic gold medalist Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy and American Christian Coleman figure to be Kerley's top competition. Coleman, the defending world champ, missed out on Tokyo after being suspended for whereabouts violations.

Felix's farewell tour rolls on

Allyson Felix will be making her 10th and final appearance at the world championships Friday, when she'll compete in the mixed 4x400 relay.

If the team finishes in the top three, as expected, it would give her a total of 30 Olympic and world championship medals – a staggering sum, illustrating both her dominance, versatility and longevity over nearly two decades in the sport.

Felix, 36, has announced that she will retire at the end of the year, writing in an Instagram post that the 2022 season "isn’t about the time on the clock, it’s simply about joy." But surely a 19th world championship medal will be on her mind, and would make her farewell tour that much sweeter.

McLaughlin a lock in 400 hurdles

There is perhaps no track athlete more dominant in their event right now than Sydney McLaughlin, the 22-year-old defending Olympic gold medalist in the 400-meter hurdles.

Between trials, the Tokyo Games and outdoor nationals, she has now broken world records at each of her three most recent major finals. And the current record of 51.41, which she set last month, could very well be in danger next week.

"The only thing I feel like is a lock is Sydney McLaughlin," NBC analyst Kara Goucher said in a news release.

McLaughlin's compatriot and top rival, Dalilah Muhammad, missed outdoor nationals with an injury but received a bye to worlds as a defending champion.

There are also injury questions in the men's 400 hurdles, where American Rai Benjamin and Karsten Warholm of Norway will look to reprise their historic meeting last summer. Warholm is in the field but has been nursing a hamstring injury and might not be at 100%.

New U.S. faces in women's sprints

The most shocking twist at outdoor nationals was Sha'Carri Richardson's failure to qualify in the women's 100. But she won't be the only notable absentee. Of the five women who ran either the 100 or 200 for Team USA in Tokyo, only Jenna Prandini managed to clinch a trip to the world championships.

Instead, the U.S. will be fielding tons of up-and-coming talent in the sprints, including six women who are 23 or younger.

"The women's sprints are, I think, maybe a notch above the men's, maybe, because of the presence of all this new blood," Boldon said.

NCAA record-holder Abby Steiner will be the one to watch in the 200, as she's coming off a brilliant senior season at Kentucky and has run three of the four fastest times in the world this year. She figures to be in contention for a medal.

Coastal Carolina's Melissa Jefferson, meanwhile, won the 100 at outdoor nationals but will be hard-pressed to reach the podium at worlds. The Jamaican trio of Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson swept the medals in Tokyo and will be favored again this week.

More records for Crouser, Rojas?

They might not compete in the most popular events – shot put and triple jump – but American Ryan Crouser and Yulimar Rojas deserve star billing this week.

Crouser, the two-time defending Olympic champion, has recorded seven of the 10 best throws of all-time – and all of them have come in the past 14 months. And Rojas, the two-time defending world champ, has recorded six of the best eight jumps ever, all since 2019.

Each has made a habit of breaking their own world records, and could do so again this month.

Elsewhere in the field events, keep an eye on Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis, who grew up in Louisiana, and American Valarie Allman, who recently won Olympic gold in discus.

Knighton-Lyles rivalry heating up

This time last year, it appeared that Noah Lyles and Erriyon Knighton had something of a mentor-mentee relationship in the men's 200, with Lyles the reigning world champion and Knighton, then 17, the youngest track athlete on Team USA.

It looks like a full-blown rivalry now.

Lyles and Knighton finished third and fourth, respectively, in Tokyo and then first and second at outdoor nationals – with Lyles, ever the showman, pointing at the clock as he crossed the finish line.

Lyles was, at one point, the hottest up-and-coming sprinter in the U.S. Now it's Knighton, a former four-star football recruit who has broken several of Usain Bolt's world records.

"My pick for this world title would have been Noah – until the U.S. nationals, and what happened there," Boldon said. "Whether (Noah's gesture at the finish line) was malicious or not – he says it wasn't, and I believe him ... Erriyon Knighton's response to it is I think all he needs to be world champion in another couple days."

Mu tops crowded 800-meter field

There's always a fair amount of intrigue in the 800, and this year is no exception.

On the women's side, Athing Mu is favored to follow up her Olympic gold medal in Tokyo with her first career world title – though the competition promises to be tight. The 20-year-old owns the fastest time in the world at this distance in 2022 at 1:57.01, but four others – including compatriots Ajee Wilson and Raevyn Rogers – have run sub-1:58.

For the men, Donovan Brazier will try to defend his world title and rebound from an undoubtedly rocky year. He didn't qualify for Tokyo and has been dealing with injuries.

Best chance at U.S. distance medal?

The U.S. tends to be more competitive in the sprints than the distance events, with one notable exception: The women's 3000-meter steeplechase.

A fan-favorite among casual viewers (including former SNL cast member Leslie Jones) the women's steeplechase has also been the most consistent distance event for Team USA in recent years. Either Emma Coburn or Courtney Frerichs have made it on the podium in every major track and field championship – worlds or Olympics – since 2016.

In other distance events, keep an eye on Grant Fisher and Karissa Schweizer – each of whom qualified at both 5,000 and 10,000 meters – and Galen Rupp, the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist in the marathon.

Semenya's surprising return

In another major distance storyline, Caster Semenya is slated to compete at worlds for the first time since 2017. Semenya, who has been at the center of a yearslong debate over the treatment of intersex athletes, is on the preliminary entry list for the 5,000.

A three-time world champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, Semenya switched from her primary event, the 800, after governing body World Athletics implemented a rule that would have required her to take medication to lower her testosterone levels.

Francine Niyonsaba, another woman with naturally elevated levels of testosterone, was also expected to compete in the 5,000 but recently withdrew due to injury.

Men's 4x100 aims to rebound

The American men underperformed a bit in Tokyo, failing to win an individual gold medal on the track for the first time in modern Olympic history. But their performance in the 4x100 relay was perhaps an even more significant flop.

Despite fielding some of the world's top sprinters, the U.S. failed to so much as qualify for the final, marking the third straight Games in which they failed to medal. In fact, at world championships and Olympics since 2012, the U.S. has only failed to medal in a relay on four occasions – all the men's 4x100.

Will next week's relays in Eugene bring signs of progress, or more of the same?

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Track world championship 2022: 10 storylines include Allyson Felix