Berlin - High jump sensation Ariane Friedrich and defending champions Betty Heidler (hammer throw) and Franka Dietzsch (discus) led the way as hosts Germany on Tuesday nominated 74 athletes for the upcoming world athletics championships in Berlin.

Friedrich tops the 2009 rankings with a national record 2.06 metres and appears to be the team's biggest gold medal hope at the August 15-23 event.

Heidler and Dietzsch won world titles 2007 in Osaka, with Dietzsch now to compete in her 10th worlds as Germany hopes to overcome the 2008 Olympics slump with just one bronze medal.

German athletics officials said the team will likely rise to 85 athletes at a second round of nominations in early August.

That is short of the record 96-strong team from 1995 in Gothenburg, German athletics federation sports director Juergen Mallow said that "it doesn't make sense to nominate a record number of athletes who then don't perform well." (dpa)