3 golds on the line at worlds, including women’s 200 meters

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — There are three gold medals up for grabs Wednesday at track and field world championships, including one in women’s 200-meter sprint that looks as wide open as ever.

Defending world champion Dafne Schippers and reigning Olympic champion Elaine Thompson will both be on the sideline with injuries, leaving Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith and a trio of Americans who have never won a major title — Anglerne Annelus, Brittany Brown and Dezerea Bryant — as the top contenders.

Also up for grabs is the men’s 110-meter hurdles gold, in what looks like an equally wide-open field. Russian Sergey Shubenkov, the champion in 2015 and runner-up two years ago, has been inconsistent, as has defending champion Omar McLeod of Jamaica.

The other final on Wednesday night’s program is in men’s hammer throw.

In a rarity, decathlon and heptathlon athletes are competing at the same time — part of the plan to condense all action into nighttime sessions. The stands in the 40,000-seat stadium were about one-eighth full when the action began Wednedsay evening in Doha.