*All times Pacific
1st round: July 16, 5:10 p.m. Semis: July 17, 5:33 p.m. Final: July 17, 7:50 p.m. Team USATF: Melissa Jefferson (Georgetown, South Carolina/USATF South Carolina), Aleia Hobbs (Baton Rouge, Louisiana/USATF Southern), Twanisha “TeeTee” Terry (Miami, Florida/USATF Florida) WC Medal History: 17 medals - 8G, 3S, 6B Last Gold: 2017 – Tori Bowie Last Medal: 2017 - gold, Tori Bowie With Jamaica’s sprint squad riding high after a sweep of the women’s 100m medals at Tokyo last summer, Team USATF’s trio of talented dash women will count on a touch of home track advantage to break up that stranglehold and bring home the first World Championships medal in the event since 2017. Melissa Jefferson won the USATF Championships with a stunning 10.69w, aided by a +2.9 m/s wind, and she needed her extra gear to stave off Aleia Hobbs, who is the U.S. list leader at 10.81 this season and finished at 10.72w. Jefferson has run three wind-legal sub-11 races this year, including her PR of 10.82 in the USATF semis. TeeTee Terry has also put together a string of 10 sub-11 outings in 2022, including four with a legal wind, and her best of 10.87 should challenge for a spot in the final. Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce appear unstoppable on paper, with Fraser-Pryce topping the world list at 10.67 and Thompson-Herah bringing a 10.61 lifetime best that she set in winning Olympic gold last year. Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji won the World Indoors 60m title in March and could be a medal threat.
1st round: July 18, 6:00 p.m. Semis: July 19, 6:05 p.m. Final: July 21, 7:35 p.m. Team USATF: Abby Steiner (Dublin, Ohio/USATF Kentucky), Tamara Clark (High Point, North Carolina/USATF Texas Southern), Jenna Prandini (Pflugerville, Texas/USATF Central California) WC Medal History: 13 medals - 4G, 8S, 1B Last Gold: 2009 - Allyson Felix Last Medal: 2019 – silver, Brittany Brown Abby Steiner obviously likes running at Hayward Field. She won the NCAA title for Kentucky with a collegiate record 21.80 and then came back two weeks later to match that in the USATF semis before taking gold in 21.77. Pair that with sub-11 100m speed and some rapid 4x400m relay legs, and it’s apparent she is a contender for the top of the podium, even in the presence of world-leading Shericka Jackson of Jamaica, who rocketed to a 21.55 at her national championships. Reigning world champion Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica, the double Olympic sprint champion in Tokyo, are locks to dip under 22 seconds, with Nigeria’s Favour Ofili also a contender and familiar with Steiner after their Southeastern Conference tussles. Tamara Clark and Jenna Prandini will need to be in top form to challenge for a medal, but should be in the hunt for a lane in the final.
1st round: July 17, 12:00 p.m. Semis: July 20, 6:45 p.m. Final: July 22, 7:15 p.m. Team USATF: Talitha Diggs (Saucon Valley, Pennsylvania/USATF Mid-Atlantic), Kendall Ellis (North Hollywood, California/USATF Southern California), Lynna Irby (Indianapolis, Indiana/USATF Indiana) WC Medal History: 11 medals - 4G, 3S, 4B Last Gold: 2017 – Phyllis Francis Last Medal: 2017 – gold, Phyllis Francis; bronze, Allyson Felix Four women in the field have cracked the 50-second barrier this season, and 19-year-old Talitha Diggs is one of them. Diggs won the NCAA gold for Florida with a 49.99 lifetime best and is part of one of the great American running families. Her mother, Joetta Clark-Diggs, ran at five World Championships in the 800m and her aunts, Hazel Clark and Jearl Miles-Clark, amassed 11 worlds appearances between them. Diggs also captured the NCAA indoor crown and is a big-meet performer. Kendall Ellis is making her third straight 400m appearance at the World Championships and has 4x400m relay gold from the 2017 and 2019 versions, along with last summer’s Olympics. Her teammate and fellow gold medalist in the heats of that relay at Tokyo, Lynna Irby, has run her four fastest times ever in Eugene, including a 49.80 to win the 2018 NCAA gold for Georgia. Olympic champion and 2019 World Championships silver medalist Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas is a strong candidate for gold here, though she will have to fend off Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic, who took silver behind her at Tokyo and leads the 2022 world list at 49.49.
1st round: July 21, 5:10 p.m. Semis: July 22, 6:35 p.m. Final: July 24, 6:35 p.m. Team USATF: Athing Mu (Trenton, New Jersey/USATF New Jersey), Ajee' Wilson (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania/USATF Mid-Atlantic), Raevyn Rogers (Houston, Texas/USATF Gulf) WC Medal History: 6 medals - 0G, 2S, 4B Last Gold: none Last Medal: 2019 – silver, Raevyn Rogers; bronze, Ajee’ Wilson Bursting onto the world elite scene last year with a majestic Olympic victory in American record time, Athing Mu has stamped her claim as favorite to win the first world title ever by an American. Mu was undefeated last year in the 800m and she has kept that streak alive this year, including a world-leading 1:57.01 to win the Rome Diamond League meet and a 1:57.16 for USATF gold. World Indoor champion and 2019 bronze medalist Ajee’ Wilson was second behind Mu at the USATF Championships in 1:57.23 and has gone sub-1:56 in her career, but she will have to watch for Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson, another precocious talent who claimed silver at Tokyo and has a lifetime best of 1:55.88. Raevyn Rogers has silver from the 2019 Worlds and bronze from the Tokyo Games and has a knack for finishing quickly off any pace, and along with Kenya’s Mary Moraa will offer stern competition for medal placings. Lurking in the wings is reigning world champion Halimah Nakaayi of Uganda, who took bronze at the World Indoors.
1st round: July 15, 6:10 p.m. Semis: July 16, 7:05 p.m. Final: July 18, 7:50 p.m. Team USATF: Sinclaire Johnson (Longwood, Florida/USATF Oregon), Cory McGee (Boulder, Colorado/USATF New England), Elle St. Pierre (Brighton, Massachusetts/USATF New England) WC Medal History: 7 medals – 2G, 4S, 1B Last Gold: 2011 – Jenny Simpson Last Medal: 2017 - silver, Jenny Simpson Barring any unforeseen happenings like galaxies collapsing or a meteor strike, the battle for gold will be between Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon of Kenya and Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia. That duo is well clear of anyone else on the entry list, with Kipyegon sporting a 3:52.59 season best and Tsegay a 3:54.21, both run at the Pre Classic. That leaves the bronze up for grabs, and any of the U.S. entrants could be in with a chance if they are in position coming into the final stretch. Sinclaire Johnson won the USATF gold and clocked a lifetime best 3:58.85 at the Pre Classic, and Elle St. Pierre had a season best of 3:59.68 behind her in that race, while Cory McGee is looking for her first sub-4 outing ever after a 4:00.34 that day. If Britain’s Laura Muir is healthy, she is a serious medal threat, given her 3:54.50 PR set in taking silver at Tokyo. Australia’s Jessica Hull has gone sub-4:00 this year and is very familiar with the Hayward Field track after a career at the University of Oregon, and Ethiopia’s Freweyni Hailu was just out of the medals at Tokyo.
1st round: July 16, 10:35 a.m. Final: July 20, 7:45 p.m. Team USATF: Emma Coburn (Boulder, Colorado/USATF Colorado), Courtney Wayment (Layton, Utah/USATF Utah), Courtney Frerichs (Beaverton, Oregon/USATF Oregon) WC Medal History: 3 medals – 1G, 2S, 0B Last Gold: 2017 – Emma Coburn Last Medal: 2019 - silver, Emma Coburn Both reigning global champions are entered, but neither is the favorite. Peruth Chemutai raced to gold in Tokyo ahead of Courtney Frerichs, but the Ugandan hasn’t broken the 9:00 barrier yet and that puts her at a disadvantage with Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi and Kazakhstan’s Norah Jeruto already under that mark in 2022. World record holder Beatrice Chepkoech clocked 8:44.32 in 2018 and won the world title at Doha in 2019, but is on the downside of her career and was only seventh at the Games. Emma Coburn was the silver medalist behind Chepkoech in Doha and won the USATF Championships in impressive fashion and could be a podium challenger. Frerichs is one of only seven women ever to run under 9:00, zipping to an 8:57.77 American record at the Pre Classic last August, but she finished behind another Courtney, Courtney Wayment, at the USATF Championships. Wayment won the NCAA title for BYU in collegiate record time and lowered her lifetime best to 9:12.10 to take second behind Coburn and ahead of Frerichs and is on an upward trajectory.
1st round: July 20, 4:25 p.m. Final: July 23, 6:25 p.m. Team USATF: Elise Cranny (Beaverton, Oregon/USATF Oregon), Karissa Schweizer (Urbandale, Iowa/USATF Oregon), Emily Infeld (University Heights, Ohio/USATF Oregon) WC Medal History: none Last Gold: none Last Medal: none Ethiopia’s Ejgayehu Taye became the fifth fastest woman in history with her 14:12.98 at the Pre Classic in May, beating her national teammate, world record holder Letesenbet Gidey, by almost 12 seconds. The duo presents a formidable obstacle to any other women with aspirations to mount the victory stand, but the 5,000m comes a week after the 10,000m that both are running. That may leave a tiny window of opportunity for someone like Elise Cranny, the U.S. champion who set an American indoor record of 14:33.17 in February and has a 30:14.66 10,000m to her credit this season. An American has never won a medal in the event at the World Championships, but all three U.S. entrants are equipped to make a strong bid. Karissa Schweizer is doubling back after the 10,000m and is the second fastest American ever with a lifetime best of 14:26.34, while Emily Infeld is a World Championships veteran with a bronze from the 2015 10,000m. Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands is a bit of an unknown quantity at this point, running only one race this year after a Tokyo Games performance that will go down as one of the most impressive in history. Hassan, who won a 5,000m at Portland last weekend in 15:13.41, won the 5,000m and 10,000m at Tokyo and for good measure added a bronze in the 1,500m.
Final: July 16, 12:20 p.m. Team USATF: Karissa Schweizer (Urbandale, Iowa/USATF Oregon), Alicia Monson (Boulder, Colorado/USATF Colorado), Natosha Rogers (Denver, Colorado/USATF Michigan) WC Medal History: 2 medals – 0G, 1S, 1B Last Gold: none Last Medal: 2015 - bronze, Emily Infeld World record holder Letesenbet Gidey and her countrywoman, Ejgayehu Taye, open their Championships with a tough test over 25 laps, going against 2022 list leader Eilish McColgan of Britain, who has already run a 30:19.02. As in the 5,000m, the big question mark hangs over Olympic champion Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, who has been virtually absent from the scene since last summer. Hassan is the only woman in the field who has ever run close to Gidey’s 29:01.03 WR and it will be intriguing to see what she can do on relatively fresh legs. Karissa Schweizer won the USATF Championships race by two seconds over Alicia Monson in May as part of the Pre Classic and both women have great top-end speed as evidenced by their outings over shorter distances. Schweizer just missed the top three in the USATF Championships 1,500m and has a lifetime best just over 4:00, while Monson ran 14:31.11 for 5,000m at the Oslo Diamond League meet and a world-leading 8:31.62i for 3,000m indoors in January. Natosha Rogers comes in with a season best of 31:16.89 and should be in the hunt for a top-10 finish.
Final: July 18, 6:15 a.m. Team USATF: Emma Bates (Boulder, Colorado/USATF Colorado), Sara Hall (Flagstaff, Arizona/USATF Arizona), Keira D’Amato (Midlothian, Virginia/USATF Virginia) WC Medal History: 2 medals – 0G, 1G, 1B Last Gold: none Last Medal: 2017 - bronze, Amy Cragg Seven of the women slated to contest the longest event of the Championships have dipped under 2:20 this season, including Keira D’Amato, who bettered the American record with her 2:19:12 at Houston in January. Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich is the reigning champion after taking gold in brutal conditions at Doha in 2019, and she also has the fastest 2022 time in the field at 2:17:18. Both of her Kenyan teammates have gone sub-2:20 this season, as have two Ethiopians and Israel’s Lorna Salpeter. One of the Ethiopians, Ashete Bekere, was second at Tokyo in March in 2:17:58. Sara Hall bettered the American half marathon record with a 67:15 at Houston in January and added a 2:22:56 marathon at Tokyo in March, and Emma Bates set her lifetime best of 2:24:20 in finishing second at Chicago last October. An enthusiastic crowd along the Eugene route should go a long way toward producing one of the better races in World Championships history.
Final: July 15, 1:10 p.m. Team USATF: Robyn Stevens (Vacaville, California/USATF Pacific), Miranda Melville (Chula Vista, California/USATF New York) WC Medal History: none Last Gold: none Last Medal: none Australia’s Jemima Montag tops the entry list with a 1:27:27 this year, but doesn’t have much of a cushion over Spain’s Maria Perez, who has walked 1:27:40. Reigning champion Hong Liu of China and her teammate Shijie Qieyang have by far the fastest lifetime bests, with each boasting sub-1:25 credentials, and Zhenxia Ma is also a threat with a 1:28:03 best in 2022. Much will depend, as always, on who avoids penalties from the judges. Robyn Stevens had a superb outing at Podébrady in April, setting a lifetime best of 1:32:15 to place 12th, and she also bettered the American record for 35k with a 2:49:29 at Dudince. Miranda Melville won the USATF 20k and 35k titles this year and has a lifetime best of 1:31:42 coming into her fourth career World Championships.
Final: July 22, 6:15 a.m. Team USATF: Miranda Melville (Chula Vista, California/USATF New York), Stephanie Casey (Portland, Oregon/USATF Oregon), Maria Michta-Coffey (Lake Grove, New York/USATF Long Island) WC Medal History: none Last Gold: none Last Medal: none China dominated the walks podiums at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, taking five of the six medals on offer, and two of their top stars will again be among the favorites as the 35k distance takes over for the 50k that was last walked in those Championships. Shijie Qieyang has the best time in the field this year at 2:43:06, and teammate Maocuo Li was the silver medalist at 50k in Doha. Li has walked 2:45:46 thus far, and between those two is Peru’s Kimberly Garcia Leon, who was seventh in the 20k at London in 2017 and brings in a 2022 best of 2:43:19. USATF champion Miranda Melville is a seasoned veteran of international championship competition and leads an experienced American trio. Melville has walked 3:00:19 this year, while Stephanie Casey and Maria Michta-Coffey were 2-3 behind her at the national championships.
1st round: July 23, 11:20 a.m. Semis: July 24, 5:05 p.m. Final: July 24, 7:00 p.m. Team USATF: Keni Harrison (Pflugerville, Texas/USATF Texas Southern), Alaysha Johnson (Houston, Texas/USATF Florida), Alia Armstrong (New Orleans, Louisiana/USATF Southern), Nia Ali (Jacksonville, Florida/USATF Florida) WC Medal History: 16 medals - 8G, 5S, 3B Last Gold: 2019 – Nia Ali Last Medal: 2019 - gold, Nia Ali; silver, Keni Harrison Traditionally a stronghold for Team USATF, this year is no different as the American squad boasts the world record holder and the reigning world champion along with a pair of young stars-in-the-making. Keni Harrison took silver at the Tokyo Games and leads the 2022 world list with a 12.34. She is seeking her first global gold in the 100H to go with the World Indoors title she won in 2018. Doha 2019 winner Nia Ali is rounding into top form again with a 12.49 season best that is not far off her personal best of 12.34, while Alaysha Johnson has exploded into the limelight with her runner-up finish at the USATF Championships in a lifetime best 12.35. NCAA champion Alia Armstrong is trending upward and has run 12.47 this season. The mountain all four will have to climb is Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico, the fourth fastest woman in history at 12.26 who has only one loss on her record this year. Camacho-Quinn has won three Diamond League races in 2022 and lowered her season best to 12.37 at the Rome meet last month. Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan has a pair of fourth-place finishes from the last two major championship meets and is always in the mix with a 12.41 PR.
1st round: July 19, 5:15 p.m. Semis: July 20, 6:15 p.m. Final: July 22, 7:50 p.m. Team USATF: Sydney McLaughlin (Playa Vista, California/USATF Southern California), Britton Wilson (Henrico, Virginia/USATF Virginia), Shamier Little (Louisville, Kentucky/USATF Arkansas), Dalilah Muhammad (Fort Worth, Texas/USATF Southern California) WC Medal History: 18 medals - 4G, 9S, 5B Last Gold: 2019 - Dalilah Muhammad Last Medal: 2019 - gold, Dalilah Muhammad; silver, Sydney McLaughlin World records in her last three championship finals would seem to cement Sydney McLaughlin as the rock-solid favorite for gold, and the main question on many minds is how fast she can go. McLaughlin was the silver medalist behind Dalilah Muhammad at Doha in 2019, but has since matured into the best intermediate hurdler the world has ever seen, setting her first WR of 51.90 at the Trials last summer and then smashing that with a 51.46 to win Olympic gold. Picking up right where she left off, McLaughlin cut .05 off that mark at the USATF Championships in June. Muhammad, the previous world and American record holder, can never be counted out with a PR of 51.58 and an Olympic and world title on her resumé, and she won the Birmingham Diamond League meet in May. Tokyo bronze medalist Femke Bol of the Netherlands is a young superstar in her own right and is waiting to pounce if either American falters. Bol is the third fastest woman ever at 52.03 and has already gone 52.27 in 2022. NCAA champion Britton Wilson dramatically improved her lifetime best to 53.08 to place second at the USATF Championships, with 2015 silver medalist Shamier Little right behind her. Little is the world’s fifth fastest ever at 52.39.
Qualifying: July 16, 11:10 a.m. Final: July 19, 5:40 p.m. Team USATF: Vashti Cunningham (Las Vegas, Nevada/USATF Nevada), Rachel McCoy (Austin, Texas/USATF Texas Southern), Rachel Glenn (Long Beach, California/USATF Southern California) WC Medal History: 4 medals - 0G, 2S, 2B Last Gold: none Last Medal: 2019 – bronze, Vashti Cunningham Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh was the silver medalist at Doha in 2019 as an 18-year-old and took bronze at Tokyo last summer. She has the highest season best this year at 2.03m/6-8 and Australia’s Eleanor Patterson is the only other entrant who has gone 2.00m/6-6.75 or better in 2022. Patterson was the silver medalist at the World Indoor Championships behind Mahuchikh in March. USATF champion Vashti Cunningham was the bronze medalist at Doha in 2019 and placed sixth at Tokyo. She is capable of matching Mahuchikh and Patterson jump for jump and is the strongest U.S. medal hope. One other jumper who is familiar with the Hayward facility is Jamaica’s Lamara Distin, the NCAA indoor and outdoor champion for Texas A&M who has gone over 1.97m/6-5.5 this year. Rachel McCoy was an Olympian last year and placed 12th at the World Indoor Championships, while Rachel Glenn won NCAA gold for South Carolina last year.
Qualifying: July 15, 5:20 p.m. Final: July 17, 5:25 p.m. Team USATF: Sandi Morris (Fayetteville, Arkansas/USATF Arkansas), Katie Nageotte (Powder Springs, Georgia/USATF New York), Gabriela Leon (Grand Rapids, Michigan/USATF Michigan) WC Medal History: 6 medals - 2G, 4S, 0B Last Gold: 2001 – Stacy Dragila Last Medal: 2019 - silver, Sandi Morris In the absence of 2019 world champion Anzhelika Sidorova of Russia, Sandi Morris and Katie Nageotte have a much clearer path to the top of the podium. Morris won the world indoor title in March and was the silver medalist at Doha 2019. She leads the world outdoor list at 4.82m/15-9.75, a mark she set to win the USATF Championships. Olympic champion Katie Nageotte picked up World Indoors silver behind Morris and is coming back into top form. Slovenia’s Tina Sutej is familiar to U.S. fans after a storied collegiate career at Arkansas, including 2011 and 2012 NCAA indoor golds and is the only other woman besides Morris and Nageotte to have cleared 4.80m/15-9 this season. Gabriela Leon won the NCAA gold for Louisville on the Hayward runway and is familiar with the unpredictable wind patterns, but needs to markedly improve her lifetime best to be in the medal hunt. 2016 Olympic gold medalist and 2017 world champion Ekaterini Stefanidi of Greece is another very experienced jumper who is familiar with Eugene conditions.
Qualifying: July 23, 12:00 p.m. Final: July 24, 5:50 p.m. Team USATF: Quanesha Burks (Baton Rouge, Louisiana/USATF Southern), Jasmine Moore (Grand Prairie, Texas/USATF Southwestern), Tiffany Flynn (Ellenwood, Georgia/USATF Georgia) WC Medal History: 11 medals - 8G, 0S, 3B Last Gold: 2017 – Brittney Reese Last Medal: 2017 - gold, Brittney Reese; bronze, Tianna Bartoletta Malaika Mihambo of Germany has been the world’s dominant women’s long jumper of late, winning the 2019 world title before capturing Olympic gold in Tokyo. She has a lifetime best of 7.30m/23-11.5 that she set to win the 2019 Doha gold and has the best 2022 mark in the field at 7.09m/23-3.25. Serbia’s Ivana Vuleta took top honors at the World Indoors in March with a big 7.06m/23-2 jump and was fourth at Tokyo. Tiffany Flynn and Quanesha Burks went 4-5 at the World Indoors, but Burks was the USATF champion and has the farthest lifetime best of the U.S. contingent at 6.96m/22-10. NCAA long jump and triple jump champion Jasmine Moore just continues to improve and could be in contention for a top-eight finish. Other challengers to Mihambo include Nigeria’s Ese Brume, the bronze medalist at Doha and Tokyo and silver medalist at the World Indoors, as well as Sweden’s Khaddi Sagnia.
Qualifying: July 16, 10:30 a.m. Final: July 18, 6:20 p.m. Team USATF: Keturah Orji (Atlanta, Georgia/USATF Georgia), Tori Franklin (East Lansing, Michigan/USATF New York), Jasmine Moore (Grand Prairie, Texas/USATF Southwestern) WC Medal History: none Last Gold: none Last Medal: none Gold medal talk begins and ends with Venezuela’s Yulimar Rojas, possibly the most prohibitive favorite in the entire meet. Rojas has been indomitable in recent years, winning the past two world titles and the Tokyo gold while stretching the world record out to 15.74m/51-7.75 at the World Indoors in March. She is almost a meter better than anyone else in the field, but Keturah Orji has bright medal hopes, especially after going 14.79m/48-6.25 to win the USATF Championships. That was the third best jump in American history and ranks her second among the entries here. Not far behind her is former American record holder Tori Franklin, who has bounded back into top form and had her second farthest jump ever to finish second behind Orji last month. Franklin’s lifetime best of 14.84m/48-8.25 puts her in medal range. Florida’s Jasmine Moore swept the NCAA and Southeastern Conference indoor and outdoor long jump and triple jump crowns this year, the first woman in collegiate history to achieve that feat. She set her lifetime best of 14.57m/47-9.75 to win the NCAA indoor title in March. Shanieka Ricketts of Jamaica and Patricia Mamona of Portugal were silver medalists at the 2019 World Championships and last year’s Olympics, respectively, and can’t be counted out. Ukraine’s Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk is better known as the silver medalist in the long jump at Doha 2019, but she took up the triple jump seriously this year for the first time and is already out to 14.74m/48-4.5, a distance that earned her silver at World Indoors.
Qualifying: July 15, 5:05 p.m. Final: July 16, 6:25 p.m. Team USATF: Chase Ealey (Holman, New Mexico/USATF New Mexico), Adelaide Aquilla (Westlake, Ohio/USATF Lake Erie), Jessica Woodard (Marlton, New Jersey/USATF Arizona), Maggie Ewen (Dilworth, Minnesota/USATF Minnesota) WC Medal History: 3 medals - 0G, 0S, 3B Last Gold: none Last Medal: 2017 – bronze, Michelle Carter An American has never stood atop the World Championships podium in this event. Chase Ealey would love to change that. Ealey has been on a tear this year, leading the world with a 20.51m/67-3.5 that won the USATF Championships. She was the World Indoors silver medalist, equaling the American indoor record in the process, and hasn’t lost since then. Her wins include Diamond League victories at Doha, Oslo and Stockholm, and she has topped 20m in four of her meets so far. Portugal’s Auriol Dongmo won the World Indoors gold and has a best of 20.43m/67-0.5, but she and Ealey will have to be wary of China’s Lijiao Gong, the reigning world and Olympic champion who has a lifetime best of 20.58m/67-6.25. Gong and teammate Jiayuan Song could both spell trouble for their fellow competitors, as could Canada’s Sarah Mitton. Mitton has also been on a national record-setting streak in 2022, getting out to 20.33m/66-8.5. Collegiate record holder Adelaide Aquilla won the NCAA outdoor title with a 19.64m/64-5.25 and was a Tokyo team member, while Jessica Woodard made her first U.S. team with a third-place effort at the USATF Championships. Maggie Ewen earned her berth with the Diamond League overall title in 2021 and won the USATF Indoor Championships with a lifetime best 19.79m/64-11.25.
Qualifying: July 18, 5:10 p.m. Final: July 20, 6:30 p.m. Team USATF: Valarie Allman (Austin, Texas/USATF New York), Rachel Dincoff (Tallahassee, Florida/USATF Inland Northwest), Laulauga Tausaga-Collins (Spring Valley, California/USATF San Diego-Imperial), Veronica Fraley (Clemson, South Carolina/USATF North Carolina) WC Medal History: none Last Gold: none Last Medal: none Recent history’s top two women’s discus athletes will wage what promises to be another titanic tussle with world gold on the line. American record holder Valarie Allman won everything last year, including Olympic gold and the Diamond League title, and set an American record of 71.16m/233-5 at Berlin. To open 2022, she bettered that mark with a 71.46m/234-5 throw at La Jolla, California, that was the best in the world for more than 30 years. Croatia’s Sandra Perkovic is the only other woman in the field with credentials close to that, sporting a lifetime best of 71.41m/234-3 to go with a pair of Olympic golds and two world titles. Not to be overlooked is Cuba’s Yaime Perez, the defending champion who has a best of 69.39m/227-8. Arizona State’s Jorinde van Klinken of the Netherlands also has a 70m+ lifetime best and won the last two NCAA titles at Hayward Field, while Tokyo silver medalist Kristin Pudenz of Germany reached a lifetime best 67.10m/220-2 at her national championships last month. Americans Rachel Dincoff and Laulauga Tausaga-Collins are top-10 candidates, with USATF Throws Festival winner Veronica Fraley hoping for a berth in the final 12.
Qualifying: July 15, 12:05 p.m. Final: July 17, 11:35 a.m. Team USATF: Brooke Andersen (Phoenix, Arizona/USATF Inland Northwest), Janee Kassanavoid (Manhattan, Kansas/USATF Missouri Valley), Annette Echikunwoke (Cincinnati, Ohio/USATF Ohio) WC Medal History: 1 medal – 1G, 0S, 0B Last Gold: 2019 – DeAnna Price Last Medal: 2019 – gold, DeAnna Price USATF champion Brooke Andersen and runner-up Janee Kassanavoid have the top two entry marks in an event that has begun to take on an American flavor of late. Andersen tops the world list at 79.02m/259-3 and is the No. 2 American all-time, while Kassanavoid has gone out to 78.00m/255-11 and ranks third on the all-time U.S. performer list. Poland’s Olympic champion and world record holder, Anita Wlodarczyk, is out with injury, but Canada’s Camryn Rogers, the NCAA champion and collegiate record holder for California, will mount a spirited challenge for gold with her personal best of 77.67m/254-10. Tokyo bronze medalist Malwina Kopron of Poland and Italy’s Sara Fantini have the credentials to medal, and Annette Echikunwoke was third at the USATF Championships and has thrown 75.49m/247-8 in her career. Doha 2019 champion DeAnna Price was a late withdrawal for Team USATF.
Qualifying: July 20, 3:20 p.m. Final: July 22, 6:20 p.m. Team USATF: Kara Winger (Colorado Springs, Colorado/USATF New York), Ariana Ince (Chula Vista, California/USATF San Diego-Imperial), Maggie Malone (Phoenix, Arizona/USATF Arizona) WC Medal History: none Last Gold: none Last Medal: none Prospects for the first U.S. medal ever in the World Championships are looking up, with American record holder Maggie Malone and former American record holder Kara Winger seeking a podium spot and coming into the meet ranked in the top four in 2022. Malone leads the world list at 65.73m/215-7, about a foot ahead of Greece’s 19-year-old Elina Tzengko. Winger won the USATF Championships with a season best 64.26m/210-10 and will be making her sixth and final World Championships appearance. Olympic champion Shiying Liu of China doesn’t have an official result yet this year but is reported to have thrown near 63m to earn her place on the Chinese team. Her teammate, Huihui Lu was the bronze medalist at Doha 2019 and could be among the medals. Poland’s Maria Andrejczyk was the Tokyo silver medalist but has had a down year, though her 71.40m/234-3 lifetime best always gives her competitors pause for concern. Olympian Ariana Ince had her second best throw ever with a 62.74m/205-10 at Chula Vista, California, in June and was the 2019 Pan American Games bronze medalist. This event is often decided by who decodes and adjusts to the wind the best.
Day 1: July 17, 10:35 a.m. Day 2: July 18, 9:35 a.m. Team USATF: Anna Hall (Gainesville, Florida/USATF Florida), Ashtin Zamzow-Mahler (Temple, Texas/USATF Texas Southern), Michelle Atherley (Coral Gables, Florida/USATF Florida), Kendell Williams (Kennesaw, Georgia/USATF Georgia) WC Medal History: 4 medals - 2G, 0S, 2B Last Gold: 1993, Jackie Joyner-Kersee Last Medal: 2001 – bronze, Shelia Burrell It has been more than 20 years since the last medal for Team USATF, and Anna Hall is in line to update that scorecard after taking the USATF Championships gold with a lifetime best 6,458 points and then winning the NCAA title for Florida. Demonstrating she is a great teammate, Hall also ran the 400m hurdles at the NCAA meet and earned silver as the Gators won the team trophy. Hall is second on the entry list behind Olympic silver medalist Anouk Vetter of the Netherlands, who tallied a world-leading 6,693 to win the Götzis meet. Vetter is strongest in the throws, while Hall has an edge in the high jump and 200m. Olympic champion Nafissatou Thiam of Belgium is the only woman in the field to have topped 7,000 points in her career, but she has not completed a heptathlon in 2022. Reigning world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson of Britain isn’t far behind Thiam with a personal best of 6,981, but she has scored only 6.174 this year. Last year’s World Athletics Combined Events Tour winner, Kendell Williams, is another medal threat for the U.S. if she can match her PB of 6,683, while Ashtin Zamzow-Mahler and Michelle Atherley will challenge for top-10 finishes. Click here to find out how to watch. A full list of results and schedule of events can be found here. Join the conversation with USATF on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook using the hashtag #JourneyToGold.