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Pulse Sports highlights the top female athletes whose form this season is a cause for worry ahead of the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan in September.
With the 2025 World Athletics Championships just over two months away, a number of athletes have been shaping up in readiness for the global event.
So far, some of the world’s top athletes have displayed great form which puts them in good stead to challenge for gold in Tokyo Japan during the September 13-21, event.
However, not all have been great as some of the big names have either not lived up to expectations or suffered setbacks that have left fans worried whether they will be ready for Tokyo or make it altogether.
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Among them are a number of high-profile female track athletes whose form does not inspire confidence.
Cause For Worry? 7 Top Track Queens Whose Form Does Not Inspire Confidence in 2025
Sha’Carri Richardson
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American track queen Sha’Carri Richardson has had an unusual start to the season, having featured in just one event this year, the Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Tokyo, where she finished fourth in 100m.
That does not inspire confidence in the defending champions given the form of her rivals and she is set to face some of them such as Olympics champion Julien Alfred and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden at the Prefontaine Classic this week, which will give an indication of where she is.
Athing Mu-Nikolayev
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Another American athlete whose form is a cause for worry is former Olympics 800m champion Athing Mu-Nikolayev who has not had the best return since her heartbreaking US Olympics trials last June.
Mu-Nikolayev has run three races so far, but none in her specialty, starting with 5,000m when she did not finish at the Mt SAC Relays, and back-to-back 1,500m in Los Angeles, managing first and second places.
While that might point to good tidings, she is untested in 800m this year and things will be clear at the Prefontaine Classic this weekend.
Mary Moraa
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World 800m champion Mary Moraa has been blowing hot and cold this season, leaving fans unsure whether she is in great form to defend her title or not.
Moraa has run five 800m races so far this year, with three wins, two in Kenya and there is a feeling that she did not face stiff competition locally, compared to what she is expected to come up against at the World Championships.
Her eighth-place finish at the first leg at Grand Slam Track was a concerning result but there was an improvement to fifth in Philadelphia and second at Stockholm Diamond League, which has brought back cautious optimism, but there is still a feeling that she has not hit her best yet.
Keely Hodgkinson
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The Olympic champion was untouchable last year as she effortlessly clinched gold in Paris but a hamstring injury in February messed up her 2025 season.
Hodgkinson was set to feature at her event Keely Klassic early this year but the injury forced her out and when she was thought to have been on the mend, another setback struck.
According to the BBC, Hodgkinson’s return is not known after a setback in her recovery from the hamstring issue just when she was preparing for last month’s Stockholm Diamond League.
Elaine Thompson-Herah
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Another athlete whose body has let her down is Jamaican sprint legend Elaine Thompson-Herah, who is practically out of the World Championships.
Thompson-Herah did not feature at the Jamaican Championships that selected the team to Tokyo last week and continues to sit out without any updates regarding an injury that locked her out of the Paris 2024 Olympics, having not raced since July 2024.
Beatrice Chepkoech
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Kenya’s steeplechase queen Beatrice Chepkoech’s absence has been a cause for worry this season as she is yet to run in 2025.
The world record holder has battled injuries in recent years but still managed to pull through to feature at the 2023 World Championships and Paris 2024 Olympics, winning silver and finishing sixth respectively, but fans are wondering whether she will be in shape to challenge for a second world title in Tokyo.
Letesenbet Gidey
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Ethiopian long distance great Letesenbet Gidey has also not been seen much this season, raising questions over her availability for the World Championships.
The 2022 world 10,000 champion has run just one race in 2025, which was the season-opening Xiamen Diamond League, finishing third in 5,000m, and has not been seen since. It is not certain if she is preparing for a marathon or whether there has been an injury setback.
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