Learn about the top storylines for the women's 100m at the IAAF World Championships in London in the event preview. Competition begins this week!

When:
August 5, 5:45 AM CT (heats)
August 6, 1:10 PM CT (semi-finals)
August 6, 3:50 PM CT (final)

Top International Contenders: Elaine Thompson (Jamaica), Dafne Schippers (Netherlands), Michelle-Lee Ahye (Trinidad and Tobago), Murielle Ahoure (Ivory Coast), Marie-Josee Ta Lou (Ivory Coast)

Team USA: Tori Bowie, Deajah Stevens, Ariana Washington

2016 Olympic 100m Final:

Place	Athlete	Country	Time	Back in 2017?
1	Elaine Thompson	JAM	10.71	YES
2	Tori Bowie	USA	10.83	YES
3	Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce	JAM	10.86	NO
4	Marie Josée Ta Lou	CIV	10.86	YES
5	Dafne Schippers	NED	10.90	YES
6	Michelle-Lee Ahye	TTO	10.92	YES
7	English Gardner	USA	10.94	NO
8	Christania Williams	JAM	11.80	NO

Analysis: Last year, Jamaica found a new sprint star in Elaine Thompson, who made history by becoming the first woman to sweep the 100m and 200m at the Olympics since Florence Griffith Joyner at the 1988 Games. Thompson's dominance was felt throughout the track world and in her home country. For having such a stronghold on the sprint events, Jamaica has never seen one of its incredible female talents capture the elusive double -- until Thompson.

In 2017, Thompson has shown the same fierceness in competition. She hasn't lost a Diamond League 100m final all year and even won a race while wearing flats. At the London Diamond League meet, Thompson wore flats because she didn't feel confident in her spikes, which she said hurt her Achilles. Despite the heavier footwear, Thompson still beat the field in a winning time of 10.94. Her most recent victory took place at the Rabat Diamond League meeting where she won in 10.87. Given her recent dominance, Thompson is a favorite to repeat in London, but she will have formidable opponents.



Last year, Tori Bowie represented the United States amazingly when she earned a silver medal in the 100m, a bronze medal in the 200m, and a gold medal as part of the 4x100m at the Olympics. Although she hasn't raced as much this year, Bowie is still on pace to contend in London. She dominated the 100m at the USATF Outdoor Championships and captured a season's best of 10.90 in the first round of the meet. Prior to USAs, Bowie displayed a breakthrough when she ran a world lead and personal best of 21.77 to win the 200m at the Prefontaine Classic. In the same race, Bowie beat 400m Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo and 100/200m champion Thompson.

Dafne Schippers will also be looking to improve on her Rio performance. The Dutch heptathlete-turned-sprinter burst onto the scene in 2015 when she won her first ever world championship in the 200m. Schippers beat Thompson with a winning time of 21.63 to become the third-fastest woman in history to contest the event. Only Florence Griffith Joyner and Marion Jones ran faster 200m times. But with the title came intense pressure heading into the 2016 Olympics, where she finished second in the 200m and fifth in the 100m. As Schippers told Reuters, "Looking back, it was chaos. Everyone wanted a piece of me . . . but now I have weeks with nothing going on and therefore I'm a lot more relaxed, which I really need. The attention has waned but it has also been a question of self-preservation for me to stay out of the spotlight. This is my career, I want so badly to do well."

Another competitor to keep an eye on will be Marie Josee Ta Lou, who has been on a tear recently. For the past three Diamond League competitions, she has finished runner-up to either Thompson or Schippers (twice to Thompson and once to Schippers). Her season's best of 10.90 was earned in Rabat where she finished 0.03 seconds shy of the Jamaican standout. Ta Lou is presumably also seeking redemption after finishing in the dreaded fourth place in the 100m and 200m in Rio.

The remaining American contingent of Deajah Stevens and Ariana Washington is also returning to their second international championship in two years. Stevens and Washington competed at Oregon together until Stevens recently signed a professional contract. Prior to turning pro, Stevens made a comeback from a fall at the NCAA championships to earn a spot on the 100m and 200m teams headed to London. The highlight of her 2016 season came at the Olympic Games when she finished seventh in the 200m final. Washington also returned from a disappointing performance at this year's NCAAs to secure a spot in the 100m. For Washington, the 100m will mark her first time competing in an open event at an international championship. She was part of the relay pool in Rio. If both runners compete as strongly as they did in Sacramento, they could be a force in London.