By David Woods for DyeStat

The World Athletics Indoor Championships, which run Friday through Sunday at Glasgow, Scotland, don’t have prestige of an outdoor Worlds or Olympic Games.

However, there is ample star power with Ryan Crouser, Noah Lyles, Mondo Duplantis and Josh Kerr on the men’s side, and Femke Bol, Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Gudaf Tsegay on the women’s.

Prize money in each event through six places is $40,000, $20,000, $10,000, $8,000, $6,000, $4,000. World record bonus is $50,000.

Live coverage on Peacock (Eastern time):

>> Friday, 4:45-9:10 a.m.; 2-5 p.m.

>> Saturday, 4:50-9:20 a.m.; 2-5 p.m.

>> Sunday, 4:55-8:40 a.m.; 2-5 p.m. (also on CNBC)

A super seven storylines:

A richer Lyles seeks rare sprint triple

Since the 1987 debut of indoor worlds, Maurice Greene is the only male sprinter to have won World titles in the 60, 100 and 200 meters in a 12-month span. That is what Lyles is trying to do, coming off a 100/200/4x100 triple in last August’s Worlds at Budapest, Hungary. (Greene won all three in 1999.)

On Monday, Lyles posted an adidas news release announcing the biggest contract in track and field since Usain Bolt retired. No figures were disclosed.

At nationals in Albuquerque, N.M., Lyles edged Christian Coleman, 6.43 to 6.44. Lyles climbed to No. 9 on an all-time list, led by Coleman’s 6.34.

In 2022, Lyles ran 6.55 indoors and set an American record of 19.31 in the 200 outdoors. In 2023, he ran 6.51 indoors and won three world gold medals.

What does 6.43 say about 2024?

“It says that I’m ready to run fast in the 100 and 200 and everywhere that I touch,” Lyles said.

Others with PBs under 6.50: Ronnie Baker, 6.40 (third at nationals in 6.51); Jamaica’s 22-year-old Ackeem Blake, 6.42; Italy’s Samuele Ceccarelli, 6.47.

Great Scot! Three locals go for gold

As many as three Scots could thrill the crowd by running to gold medals: Olympic medalists Josh Kerr and Laura Muir in the 3,000 meters, and Jemma Reekie in the 800.

In all three events, Ethiopian runners block the ramp to top of the podium.

Kerr, the outdoor 1,500 World champion, is up against Selemon Barega and Getnet Wale, who clocked 7:25.82 and 7:26.73 in the same Feb. 6 race to lead the world this year. Kerr is coming off a 2-mile world record of 8:00.67. Another contender is American Yared Nuguse, also a miler.

Gudaf Tsegay is favored in the 3,000 as world record-holder in the outdoor 5,000 and world champion in the 10,000. Welknat Wudu, 19, set a world junior record Feb. 4 in Boston and finished behind Muir in the 116th Millrose Games 2-mile a week later. Also in the mix are Elle St. Pierre, the 2022 silver medalist, and Australia’s Jessica Hull.

In the 800, Reekie (1:58.24) ranks second the world this year behind Habitam Alemu (1:57.86).

Mondo climbing higher, and Moon vs. Morris

With jaw-dropping heights more obvious to a crowd seated close to the runway, the intimacy of the pole vault makes it more appealing indoors.

And it’s always a show with Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis.

The 24-year-old Swede goes for a sixth global title. Moreover, he will try to add a centimeter to the world record of 20-5.25 (6.23m) he set in last September’s Diamond League final at Eugene, Ore. He missed three attempts at 6.24m last week in Clermont Ferrand, France. Duplantis has raised the world record seven times, a centimeter at a time, since February 2020.

If Duplantis has an early miss, Americans Chris Nilsen (indoor bronze in 2022) and Sam Kendricks (silvers in 2018 and 2016) will try for upset gold.

In the women’s vault, Katie Moon has won the past three outdoor global titles (2021 Olympics, 2022-23 Worlds) and Sandi Morris the past two indoor golds (2022, 2018). On the yearly list, the two Americans, both coming off Achilles' injuries, are behind Great Britain’s 22-year-old Molly Caudery (15-11.25/4.86m) and New Zealand’s Eliza McCartney (15-10.50/4.84m).

Crouser chases another world record

Ryan Crouser has won four global golds in the shot put but, oddly, never at an indoor Worlds.

Temptation is to assert it is Crouser vs. the indoor world record line of 74-10.50 (22.82m). However, the field is stout.

New Zealand’s Tomas Walsh has medaled in each of the past four editions of this meet, including golds in 2016 and 2018. Also in it are Brazil’s Darlan Romani, who beat Crouser in 2022; Italy’s Leonardo Fabri, who took silver behind Crouser at Budapest, and Croatia’s Filip Mihaljevic, the 2016 indoor bronze medalist. Ten throwers have PBs exceeding 22 meters (72-2.25).

Crouser’s 76-8.50 (23.38m) from last year was disallowed as a world indoor record, and he intends to do something about that.

“I’d like to move out that indoor record, move it closer to where it should be,” he said.

Crouser’s lifetime number of 22-meter throws is 247, according to USA Track & Field.

Holloway going like 60

Grant Holloway has won 60 consecutive 60-meter hurdles races at the senior level. Not since he was a high school sophomore, when he was beaten by Isaiah Moore in the 2014 New Balance Nationals Indoor at New York, has he been beaten in this event.

Most recently, Holloway lowered his world record to 7.27 at nationals. He withdrew from the final, won by Trey Cunningham in 7.38.

Holloway has won four World titles (three outdoors, 2022 indoors) and will try to upgrade his silver medal from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

Hurdlers could be tops in 400 meters

For star power involving both genders, nothing delivers on the track in Glasgow like the 400 meters.

Femke Bol is coming off a world indoor record of 49.24, nearly a second faster than the next-fastest woman this year, Lieke Klaver, also of the Netherlands.

Bol’s rematch with Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in the 400 hurdles will have to wait until the Paris Olympics.

In the men’s 400, Norway’s Karsten Warholm, world record-holder in the 400 hurdles, is by far the most distinguished entry. He is opening his season in Glasgow.

With the nine fastest men of 2024 all preparing for NCAAs, the top entry is Brian Faust, the USA champion in 45.47. If you’re unfamiliar with Faust, that’s because the 25-year-old never made an NCAA final during college stops at Villanova, Purdue and Kentucky.

America’s young guns in 1,500: Hocker and Hobbs

Without Kerr, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Abel Kipsang and Nuguse – four of the top five men from Budapest  – it could be argued the 1,500 lacks star power. This is, in fact, Glasgow’s sneaky good event.

Of foremost interest to Americans is the duo of Cole Hocker, 22, and Hobbs Kessler, 20.

Hocker is coming off a dominant victory by 1.25 seconds. It was a nationals and not a Worlds, but championship 1,500s are rarely so decisive. For instance, in 30 global finals in the 2000s (indoors, outdoors, Olympics), only once has the winning margin exceeded 0.71 seconds. In 20 of the 30, the margin was less than 0.30.

Kessler has something Hocker lacks – a global medal, having won gold at the Oct. 1 road mile.

It is a formidable field beyond these two:

Samuel Tefera, Ethiopia, 2022 gold medalist with a championship record of 3:32.77 in beating Ingebrigtsen; Norway’s Narve Gilje Nordas, 2023 bronze medalist behind Kerr and Ingebrigtsen; New Zealand’s Geordie Beamish, who ran an 8:05.73 2-mile (with a 55.20 last 440) at the 116th Millrose Games to finish .03 behind third-place Hocker; Spain’s Mario Garcia Romo, fourth at outdoor Worlds in 2022 and sixth in 2023.

Contact David Woods at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007