Ten Men's Events to Follow At USA Track and Field Championships

The USA Track and Field Championships takes place from June 24 to 16 at the historic Hayward Field in Eugene Oregon. 

Men’s 100 metres: 

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Eight sprinters have broken the 10 seconds barrier during the qualifying period from 27 June 2021 to 26 June 2022. Trayvon Bromell leads the entry list with his PB of 9.76 set last year. Bromell won the US Olympic Trials final in Eugene in 2021 in 9.80 and the 100m race at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene this year in 9.93. 

Fred Kerley won the 100 metres in the Diamond League Final in Zurich in 9.87 last September. This year he ran the 100 metres under the 10 seconds four times in Coral Gables (9.99), Nairobi (9.92), Eugene (9.98) and in Rome (9.92). Kerley improved his PB to 9.84 to win the Olympic silver medal in Tokyo. 

Noah Lyles has a bye into this year’s World Championships as the reigning 200m world champion. Lyles, who won the Olympic bronze medal  in Tokyo, set the third fastest time of his career clocking 19.61 in the New York Continental Tour meeting earlier this month. 

Christian Coleman won the world indoor silver medal in the 60m in Belgrade last March in 6.41 behind Marcell Jacobs. Coleman won the world outdoor gold medal in the 100m in Doha 2019 setting the sixth fastest time in history with 9.76. Coleman won two Continental Tour Gold races in Tokyo in 10.09 and in New York in 9.92 and finished third at the Prefontaine Classic in 10.04. 

Marvin Bracy won the 60m world indoor bronze medal in the 60 metres in Belgrade and improved his 100m PB to 9.85 last year. He recently clocked a wind-assisted 9.80 in Montverde and finished third in New York in 10.03.

The other sprinters aiming to make the team are Kenneth Bednarek, who finished fourth at last year’s Olympic Trials in 9.89, Micah Williams, who won the 100m in Walnut in a wind-assisted 9.83 and will be looking to bounce back from his seventh place at this year’s NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Kyree King, who finished second at the Rome Golden Gala, and Cravont Charleston, who improved his PB to 9.98 in Geneva. 

200 metres: 

The clash between Erryion Knighton and Fred Kerley is one of the most eagerly-awaited races at this year’s US National Championships. Eighteen-year-old rising star Erryion Knighton clocked a sensational world leading time of 19.49 in Baton Rouge last April moving into fourth in the world all-time list. 

Fred Kerley is ranked third in the world seasonal list of 19.80 set in Walnut last April and holds a PB of 19.76 set in Nairobi in 2021. 

The other name to watch is olympic silver medallist Kenneth Bednarek, who dipped under the 20 seconds barrier 12 times last year and won the Diamond League final in Zurich in 19.70m. Bednarek won two consecutive Diamond League races in Rabat in 20.21 and in Rome in 20.01. Christian Coleman is entered with a seasonal best of 19.92. 

400 metres: 

Michael Norman will chase his second consecutive US National title one year after his win at the US Olympic Trials in 44.07. Norman won his first two 400m races of the 2022 season in Tokyo in 44.62 and at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene in a world leading time of 43.60 and finished second in the 200m in Walnut in 19.83m. 

Norman will face Michael Cherry, who finished fourth in the 400 final in 44.21 and won the gold medal in the 4x400 relay in 2:55.70 at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021. Cherry won two Diamond League races in Brussels in 44.03 and Zurich in 44.41 and has a bye into the World Championships as reigning Diamond League champion. 

This year Cherry won in Walnut in 44.28 setting the fifth fastest time in the world this year. The other names to watch are Randolph Ross, who won the NCAA outdoor title in Eugene in 2021 in 43.85 and in 2022 in 44.13, Bryce Deadmon, who finished second in the NCAA Finals last year in Eugene and won the 4x400 Olympic gold medal in Tokyo, NCAA runner-up Champion Allison, who clocked 44.29 in the NCAA Championships semifinals this year, Vernon Norwood, who won six medals in indoor and outdoor global championships, including the gold in the 4x400 and bronze in the 4x400 mixed relay at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

110 metres hurdles: 

Grant Holloway is chasing his second consecutive US National title. Last year the reigning world indoor and outdoor champion narrowly missed Aries Merritt’s world record by 0.01 clocking 12.81 in the semifinal of the US Olympic Trials in Eugene before winning the final in 12.96. Later last summer Holloway won the Olympic silver medal in Tokyo in 13.09. During the winter Holloway won the world indoor gold medal in the 60m hurdles in 7.39 in Belgrade after equalling his own world indoor record with 7.29 in the semifinal.

Holloway will take on Devon Allen, who beat Holloway in the Continental Tour in the 110m hurdles in 12.84 setting the third fastest time in history. Allen won two consecutive Diamond League races last week in Oslo in 13.22 with a headwind of -1.2 m/s and in Paris in 13.16. 

Trey Cunningham showed his impressive form this year by winning the NCAA title in the indoor 60m hurdles in 7.38 in Birmingham and in the 110m hurdles in 13.00 in Eugene. 

400 metres hurdles: 

Rai Benjamin won last year’s edition of the US Olympic Trials in the 400m hurdles in 46.83 and went on to clinch the Olympic silver medal in Tokyo in 46.17 setting the second fastest time in history with 46.17. He won in Tokyo in 48.60 and finished second in Doha in 47.49 in his first  two 400m hurdles race of the season. 

The other candidates for a spot in the US team at the World Championships are Khallifah Rosser and Quincy Hall, who finished second and third with the same time of 48.10 at the Prefontaine Classic. 

800 metres: 

Reigning world champion Donovan Brazier has been hampered by injury problems and missed the Olympic Games. He made his come-back last winter to make the US team at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade in the 4x400 relay. 

The top favourite is Bryce Hoppel, who finished fourth at the World Championships in Doha and won the world indoor bronze medal in Belgrade last March. The other contenders are 2016 Olympic bronze medallist and 2019 US Olympic Trials winner Clayton Murphy and 2021 NCAA champion Isiah Jewett. 

Shot Put: 

Double Olympic champion Ryan Crouser returns to Hayward Field where he won the US Olympic Trials setting the world record with 23.30 last year. He won the past two editions of the Prefontaine Classic in 2021 with 23.15m and in 2022 with 23.02m. Crouser will take on Joe Kovacs, who won two world gold medals in Bejing 2015 and Doha 2019 and two consecutive Olympic silver medals in Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Tokyo 2021. Kovacs is ranked second in the world with his seasonal best of 22.49m set at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene. Darrell Hill, Josh Awotunde and Adrian Piperi are ranked in the top ten in this year’s world list. Hill won the Diamond League title in Brussels 2017 and finished fourth at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene. Awotunde improved his outdoor PB to 22.00m last year in Padua and finished fifth at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade 2022. Piperi won the NCAA outdoor title in Eugene with 21.52m earlier this month. 

 Pole Vault: 

Chris Nilsen won the Olympic silver medal with 5.97m in Tokyo last year and the world indoor bronze medal with 5.90m. Nilsen improved the US Indoor record to 6.05m in Rouen last March and cleared the 6.00m barrier for the first time outdoors in South Dakota. In his past three competitions this season Nilsen finished second with 5.81m at the Prefontaine Classic and won two Continental Tour Gold meetings in Bydgoszcz with 5.80m and Chorzow with 5.92m. 

Nilsen will take on LC Lightfoot, who finished fourth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo last year with 5.80m, and Jacob Wooten, second in Walnut with 5.80m, and Matt Ludwig, who cleared 5.70m in Samorin and Innsbruck. 

High Jump/Long Jump: 

Ju’Vaughn Harrison became the first man since Jim Thorpe in 2012 to make the US Olympic team in the high jump and long jump. Harrison won the US Trials n Eugene with 2.33m and cleared the same height to finished seventh at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. He won his first Diamond League competition in Rome with 2.27m. He will face Darryl Sullivan and Shelby McEwen, who hold the same lifetime best of 2.33m.

Harrison won the US Trials last year with 8.47m and finished fifth in the Olympic final in Tokyo with 8.15m. “Mr. Jumps” will face Marquis Dendy, who won three medals in the past three World Indoor Championships, including a bronze in Belgrade this year, Steffin McCarter, who finished third at the US Olympic Trials and second in the Diamond League final in Zurich last year, and Matthew Boling, who holds PBs of 8.25m indoors and 8.02m outdoors and 9.98 in the 100m and 19.92 in the 200m and finished second in the 200m at the NCAA Finals in Eugene earlier this month. 

Men’s triple jump: 

Two-time Olympic gold medallist and four-time world champion Christian Taylor has a bye into this year’s World Championships in Eugene as defending champion. Taylor is making his come-back from a serious Achilles tendon injury and set his seasonal best of 16.54 in Paris last week. Taylor will renew his rivalry against Will Claye, who won two Olympic silver medals in London 2012 and Rio 2016 and finished fourth in Tokyo after winning the Olympic Trials in Eugene on his final attempt. Claye is one of the three US jumpers to jump over the 18 metres barrier. The other names to watch are world indoor bronze medallist Donald Scott, who has won six US indoor and outdoor titles, and Chris Benard, who has jumped over the 17 metres barrier in the past year.