Alright, the World Championships are underway! At the time of writing, five gold medalists had been named at the end of day one, and dozens more are still to be named.
Will it be the favorites who take home gold, or will there be a number of underdogs wearing gold around their necks?
We thought it would be fun to take a look at the 10 athletes voted most likely to win their events using the data from our prediction contest, which is currently underway.
So here are the favorites, as selected by you, the voters!
#1 (Tie) Armand Duplantis (Men’s Pole vault – 100%)
Should this come as any surprise? Mondo Duplantis breaks world records more often than most of us brush our teeth (wait, it’s supposed to be more than once a month?).
Take a look at his World Athletics Profile–do you see anything other than a first-place finish this season, because we don’t. How about 2024? Nope.
You would have to go all the way back to July 2023 to find anything but a first-place finish, when he jumped 5.75m at the Monaco Diamond League meeting and finished fourth.
#1 (Tie) Tara Davis-Woodhall (Women’s Long Jump – 100%)
Tara Davis-Woodhall has carved out a reputation for herself as one of those jumpers you can never count out. The “sixth round queen” has a personal best of 7.12 meters this season, which is a 5-centimeter world lead over Malaika Mihambo and Larissa Iapichino.
We were actually surprised that she received 100% of the vote, since there have been several other jumpers over 7.00 meters this season. But we think it’s because it seems like no matter how far anybody else jumps, she’ll raise her game and jump farther.
She’s undefeated this season, but has only competed four times leading into the World Championships.
Her last time finishing anywhere but first in the long jump was at the World Championships two years ago, when she finished second behind Ivana Vuleta.
#3 (tie) Keely Hodgkinson (Women’s 800m – 92.9%)
This makes sense. The smart money says you shouldn’t count out the defending Olympic Champion who’s run over a second faster than everybody else in the world this year. Keely Hodgkinson has only raced twice in 2025, both times in August, since she was dealing with injuries for most of the year.
If we squint, we can see one of the other women in the field, such as Audrey Werro or Georgia Hunter Bell, moving into that top spot, but for now, Hodgkinson’s to lose.
#3 (Tie) Faith Kipyegon (Women’s 1,500m – 92.9%)
Faith Kipyegon holds the World Records in the women’s 1,500m and mile. She also ran faster than her mile world record at the Breaking4 exhibition event this spring. She does seem to be in a class of her own this year, maintaining an almost two-second world lead over Gudaf Tsegaf.
But of course, championship racing is always prone to upsets in the middle distances, and there is a chance that somebody else could come out of the field, even if Kipyegon seems to be the most fit.
#5 Femke Bol (Women’s 400mH – 89.3%)
With Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone focusing her attention on the flat 400-meter, the way has been cleared for Femke Bol to take home gold in the 400-meter hurdles for the second time at the World Championships.
McLaughlin-Levrone did still receive a few votes in our competition, but if we take those away, Bol received every vote except for one person who voted for Savannah Sutherland, the 22-year-old Canadian who broke the NCAA record this season.
#6 Valarie Allman (Women’s Discus – 88.5%)
Valarie Allman has been just about as dominant as anybody in her event over the past two Olympic cycles. She won gold at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics and has previously won bronze and silver at the World Championships in Eugene and Budapest, respectively.
She’ll be looking to continue the pattern, moving into the gold position this year. Her last time finishing anywhere other than first at a competition (not counting qualifying rounds) was at the 2023 World Championships.
#7 Maria Pérez (35km Race Walk – 87.5%)
Maria Pérez took nearly 90% of the vote in the women’s 35km racewalk. The world record holder in the event has gone undefeated in the event this year, and last night took home gold at the World Championships to add to her extensive medal collection. She’s now a three-time World Champion, including twice at the 35-kilometer distance.
#8 Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (Women’s 100m – 81.5%)
Melissa Jefferson-Wooden is having a dominant season, having run under 10.70 seconds twice this year. To take home gold, she’ll have to edge out defending Olympic Champion Julien Alfred. Jeffereson-Wooden has the three fastest times in the world this year with 10.65, 10.66, and 10.73 seconds. Alfred has the next fastest with 10.75 seconds. Combined, these two women have run the nine fastest times of the year, with Tina Clayton and Tia Clayton being the next two on the list with 10.81 and 10.82 seconds, respectively.
#9 Masai Russell (Women’s 100mH – 78.6%)
Masai Russell ran 12.17 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles back in May to record the second fastest time in history in the event. However, the top of the women’s field is stacked, and she’ll have to edge out teammate Tia Jones and World Record holder Tobi Amusan to take home gold.
#10 Toshikazu YAMANISHI (Men’s 20km Race Walk – 78.3%)
Toshikazu Yamanishi received more than three-quarters of the votes in the men’s 20-kilometer race walk. He is a two-time World Champion in the event, winning in 2019 and 2022.
He’s undefeated this season in his three races over 20 kilometers and one over 10 kilometers. He’ll be looking to win his third World Championship title on home soil.