*All times Pacific
1st round: July 15, 6:50 p.m. Semis: July 16, 6:00 p.m. Final: July 16, 7:50 p.m. Team USATF: Fred Kerley (Taylor, Texas/USATF Gulf), Marvin Bracy-Williams (Jacksonville, Florida/USATF Florida), Trayvon Bromell (Jacksonville, Florida/USATF Florida), Christian Coleman (Lexington, Kentucky/USATF Kentucky) WC Medal History: 25 medals - 10G, 10S, 5B Last Gold: 2019 – Christian Coleman Last Medal: 2019 – gold, Christian Coleman; silver, Justin Gatlin What can’t Fred Kerley do in the sprints? The silver medalist in the 100m at Tokyo last summer, Kerley was the bronze medalist in the 400m at Doha 2019. He now ranks as one of the top three all-around sprinters in history and has the fastest time in the world in 2022 for 100m at 9.76. That ranks him as the equal third fastest American ever, a spot he shares with two of his teammates, Trayvon Bromell and Christian Coleman. Bromell ran a late season 9.76 in Kenya last year and was third at the USATF Championships, while Coleman set his lifetime best in winning the 2019 world title. Marvin Bracy-Williams was the runner-up at the USATF Championships, matching his personal best of 9.85, and was the bronze medalist in the 60m at the World Indoors in March behind Coleman’s silver. Jamaica’s Yohan Blake is now basically the grand old man of the dash at age 33, and he has clocked 9.85 this season. Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala has also gone 9.85 as seven men on the entry list have run sub-9.90 already in 2022. It may be necessary to break 10.00 to make the semis on the lightning-fast straightaway at Hayward Field.
1st round: July 18, 5:05 p.m. Semis: July 19, 6:50 p.m. Final: July 21, 7:50 p.m. Team USATF: Noah Lyles (Alexandria, Virginia/USATF Potomac Valley), Erriyon Knighton (Riverview, Florida/USATF Florida), Fred Kerley (Taylor, Texas/USATF Gulf), Kenny Bednarek (Minneola, Florida/USATF Wisconsin) WC Medal History: 21 medals - 9G, 5S, 7B Last Gold: 2019 – Noah Lyles Last Medal: 2019 – gold, Noah Lyles Anime fan Noah Lyles paid tribute to one of his favorite characters during the World Championships in Doha, wearing silver hair in honor of Goku from Dragon Ball Z. Now Lyles is looking to move a step closer to achieving his own mythical status by winning his second straight world title in the half-lap. He outran Erriyon Knighton for the USATF Championships gold in 19.67 and is undefeated in six races this year, all under 20 seconds. Knighton, a teenage phenom who is still only 18, roared to a world-leading 19.49 at LSU in April, making him the second fastest man in American history. At the USATF Championships he led off the turn before Lyles eased past him at the line, missing the national title by only .02 seconds. Fred Kerley was third in that race at 19.83 and has a lifetime best of 19.76 that he set last September, while Kenny Bednarek took silver in Tokyo and had one of the best 200m seasons ever last year with 13 sub-20 clockings, 11 of them wind-legal. Bednarek’s compilation of times in 2021 was historic and he also captured the Diamond League overall title. Who can break up the formidable U.S. quartet? Perhaps NCAA champion Joseph Fahnbulleh of Florida, a Liberian who closes like a freight train and has run 19.83. Luxolo Adams of South Africa and Jereem Richards of Trinidad have also run under 19.9 this season and may be in the medal chase. Canada’s Andre De Grasse, the Olympic champion, hasn’t shown great form yet this season but cannot be counted out.
1st round: July 17, 11:05 a.m. Semis: July 20, 7:15 p.m. Final: July 22, 7:35 p.m. Team USATF: Michael Norman (Sherman Oaks, California/USATF Southern California), Champion Allison (Houston, Texas/USATF Florida), Randolph Ross (Burlington, North Carolina/USATF North Carolina), Michael Cherry (Inglewood, California/USATF Southern California) WC Medal History: 25 medals - 10G, 9S, 6B Last Gold: 2013 - LaShawn Merritt Last Medal: 2019 - bronze, Fred Kerley Olympic and world champion Steven Gardiner of the Bahamas was a late withdrawal due to injury, increasing the chances of a Michael Norman gold if he can overcome Kirani James of Grenada. Norman has the two fastest times in the world this year, topped by a 43.56 to win the USATF Championships, but 2012 Olympic champion and Tokyo bronze medalist James isn’t showing many signs of slowing down at 29, zipping to a 44.02 to finish second at the Pre Classic. Florida’s Champion Allison surprised many seasoned observers with his 43.70 lifetime best to take second to Norman at the USATF Championships, avenging a loss to Randolph Ross of North Carolina A&T at the NCAA Championships. Ross has also run sub-44 in his career with a 43.85 best and he swept the NCAA indoor and outdoor titles this season. His 44.62 to win the indoor gold ranked him third on the all-time collegiate list. Michael Cherry was the highest-placing American at Tokyo, finishing fourth, and he went on to win the Diamond League title to earn a bye into this year’s World Championships. Cherry lowered his lifetime best to 44.03 at Brussels last year and has a 44.28 in 2022. Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith has shown improvement this year and broke his nation’s record with a 44.35 to take third at the Pre Classic. World record holder and 2016 Olympic gold medalist Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa showed that he may finally be healthy again with a 44.58 at a small meet in Georgia earlier this month.
1st round: July 20, 5:20 p.m. Semis: July 21, 7:00 p.m. Final: July 23, 6:10 p.m. Team USATF: Bryce Hoppel (Midland, Texas/USATF Missouri Valley), Jonah Koech (Falls Church, Virginia/USATF Potomac Valley), Brandon Miller (St. Louis, Missouri/USATF Ozark), Donavan Brazier (Grand Rapids, Michigan/USATF Oregon) WC Medal History: 4 medals - 1G, 1S, 2B Last Gold: 2019 – Donavan Brazier Last Medal: 2019 - gold, Donavan Brazier Battling against time to fully recover from a nagging injury, reigning world champion and American record holder Donavan Brazier needs to be in 1:43 form to have any hope of regaining the title he won with a 1:42.34 AR in Doha. He won his heat at the USATF Championships in 1:46.49 and was second in the 400m at the USATF Indoor Championships. World Indoors bronze medalist Bryce Hoppel won the USATF title in a season best 1:44.60, the fastest time by an American this year, and he has a 1:43.23 personal best from two years ago. Hoppel won NCAA indoor and outdoor titles in 2019 before placing fourth in the World Championships final at Doha. USATF runner-up Jonah Koech, a former NCAA All-American for UTEP, knocked almost a second off his lifetime best with his 1:44.74 and outkicked this year’s NCAA indoor champion, Brandon Miller. Miller, who was also third in the NCAA outdoor meet, has a best of 1:44.97 from last year’s collegiate outdoor championships. Britain’s Max Burgin is a prodigious talent at 20 and leads the 2022 world list at 1:43.52. He will need every bit of his championship racing experience to contend with Olympic champion Emmanuel Korir of Kenya and Korir’s teammates, Wycliffe Kinyamal and Emmanuel Wanyonyi. Algeria also has a trio of up-and-coming stars who have all run better than 1:44.2 this season. Marco Arop of Canada ran 1:43.26 at Monaco last summer and won at the Birmingham Diamond League meet in May.
1st round: July 16, 6:30 p.m. Semis: July 17, 7:00 p.m. Final: July 19, 7:30 p.m. Team USATF: Cooper Teare (Alameda, California/USATF Oregon), Josh Thompson (Hillsboro, Oregon/USATF Oregon), Johnny Gregorek (Somerville, Massachusetts/USATF New York) WC Medal History: 6 medals - 1G, 2S, 3B Last Gold: 2007 – Bernard Lagat Last Medal: 2013 - silver, Matthew Centrowitz Heavily favored coming into the meet, Norway’s Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen ran a world indoor record 3:30.60 in February and came back with a 3:46.46 mile to win the Oslo Diamond League in June. He will be tough to beat, but Kenya’s reigning world champion and Tokyo silver medalist, Timothy Cheruiyot, has a 3:28.28 lifetime best and is always in the running to mount the podium. This event could turn into a kicker’s race off a slow early pace, and that would open it up to a swarm of sub-3:35 men who have withering finishing sprints. Britain’s Josh Kerr earned bronze at Tokyo and is among the sub-3:30 crowd, while Kenya’s Abel Kipsang has the fastest outdoor time in the world in 2022 at 3:31.01. Two-time World Indoor champion Samuel Tefera of Ethiopia won this year’s gold in 3:32.77 at Belgrade. Cooper Teare is the top American, bringing in a best of 3:34.81 to go with his USATF title, while Josh Thompson and Johnny Gregorek need perfect tactical efforts to be in with a chance of a berth in the final.
1st round: July 15, 5:15 p.m. Final: July 18, 7:20 p.m. Team USATF: Hillary Bor (Colorado Springs, Colorado/USATF Colorado), Evan Jager (Portland, Oregon/USATF Oregon), Benard Keter (Colorado Springs, Colorado/USATF Colorado) WC Medal History: 1 medal - 0G, 0S, 1B Last Gold: none Last Medal: 2017 - bronze, Evan Jager Two men have run faster than 8:00 already this year and the grapple for gold is likely between them. Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco raced to gold in Tokyo and has a best of 7:58.15 to rank tenth on the all-time world performer list. Two spots behind him is the man who took silver at the Games, Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia. Girma set his lifetime best of 7:58.68 in Ostrava this year and has two other sub-8:00 clockings to his credit. Kenya’s reigning world champion, Conseslus Kipruto, is a mercurial talent who is coming back into top form with an 8:08.76 for a season best. Six men have dipped under 8:10 thus far in 2022, so it will be a steep hill to climb for the three Americans. Hillary Bor, the USATF Championships winner, is ranked eighth on the entry list with a 2022 best of 8:12.19 and he has run 8:08.41 in his career, while American record holder Evan Jager comes in at 8:17.29. Jager is the only U.S. athlete to have earned a medal in this event, and he would need a return to the 8:00.45 speed that got him the AR to be on the podium. Benard Keter was the only American in the Tokyo final, taking 11th.
1st round: July 21, 6:10 p.m. Final: July 24, 6:05 p.m. Team USATF: Grant Fisher (Portland, Oregon/USATF Oregon), Woody Kincaid (Portland, Oregon/USATF Oregon), Abdihamid Nur (Phoenix, Arizona/USATF Arizona) WC Medal History: 4 medals - 1G, 2S, 1B Last Gold: 2007 – Bernard Lagat Last Medal: 2017 - bronze, Paul Chelimo Doubling back after the 10,000m will be a test for USATF champion Grant Fisher, but his stellar season puts him in good stead to mount a challenge for a medal in either event. Fisher clocked 13:03.86 to win the USATF Championships by almost three seconds, and he had a 12:53.73 indoors in February to better the American indoor record. Woody Kincaid was en fuego over the final lap of the USATF Championships race and sprinted to a runner-up spot in 13:06.70, while collegiate record setting Abdihamid Nur of Northern Arizona claimed the third berth with a 13:08.63. Kincaid’s lifetime best is 12:58.10 from 2019, while Nur’s 13:06.32 PB came in May. World record holder Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda won the Tokyo gold ahead of Canada’s Moh Ahmed, and his challengers can’t forget that Cheptegei has 12:35.36 speed at this distance. Kenya’s Nicholas Kipkorir missed out on the medals at Tokyo with a fourth-place finish but leads the world list in 2022 at 12:46.33, less than a half second ahead of teammate Jacob Krop. Those two set their season bests at the Rome Diamond League meet and are among the medal favorites. Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi steamed to a 7:26.20 indoor 3,000m and then won the Pre Classic 5,00m in 12:50.05. He may be able to count on fellow Ethiopians Yomif Kejelcha and 2019 Doha silver medalist Selemon Barega to help control the pace and tactics and set up a great finish for all three men. Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway, the 1,500m favorite, is a spoiler at this distance with his superior speed.
Final: July 17, 1:00 p.m. Team USATF: Joe Klecker (Boulder, Colorado/USATF Colorado), Grant Fisher (Portland, Oregon/USATF Oregon), Sean McGorty (Beaverton, Oregon/USATF Oregon) WC Medal History: none Last Gold: none Last Medal: none Could Grant Fisher break the long medal drought for Team USATF in this one? He has the leading time this year, a 26:33.84 that bettered the American record, but there are four other entrants who have also broken 27:00 in 2022. Canada’s Moh Ahmed is less than a half second off Fisher’s world-leading time, and Olympic champion Selemon Barega has chopped his PB to 26:44.73. Barega’s Ethiopian countrymen, Tadese Worku and Berihu Aregawi, are the other sub-27 runners this season. Joe Klecker won the USATF Championships race and will need the effort of his life to be in the medal hunt, with Sean McGorty also hoping for a big improvement on his 27:18.15 PB. Who else could top the victory stand? Maybe world record holder and reigning world champion Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda? Cheptegei’s WR is 26:11.00, which almost looks like a typo, but he has stunning talent and will be running his first 25-lapper of the year. His Uganda teammate, Jacob Kiplimo, has a career best of 26:33.93 and wouldn’t be a surprise if he medals.
Final: July 17, 6:15 a.m. Team USATF: Galen Rupp (Portland, Oregon/USATF Oregon), Elkanah Kibet (Colorado Springs, Colorado/USATF Colorado), Colin Mickow (Oswego, Illinois/USATF Illinois) WC Medal History: 2 medals - 1G, 0S, 1B Last Gold: 1993 – Mark Plaatjes Last Medal: 1993 – gold, Mark Plaatjes Almost 30 years ago in Stuttgart, Mark Plaatjes ran an inspired race to win Team USATF’s only gold in World Championships marathon history. Can local favorite Galen Rupp make that magic happen again on what is virtually a hometown course for him? Rupp is a University of Oregon track legend, and his marathon career includes a bronze at the Rio Olympics in 2016. With a 2:06:07 lifetime best, he may not be at the same time level as the sizable contingent of 2:03-2:04 men who are also entered, but the marathon is known for producing storybook efforts. Kenya’s Lawrence Cherono is the eighth fastest man in history with a PB of 2:03:04, but Ethiopia has the top two entry times for 2022 at 2:04:14 for Tamirat Tola and 2:04:43 for Mosinet Geremew. Tola was the 2017 World Championships silver medalist, and Geremew assumed that honor in 2019 at Doha. The man who beat Geremew, teammate Lelisa Desisa, is also entered but has not run a marathon in 2022. Elkanah Kibet and Colin Mickow are 2:11 men who give the U.S. squad talented depth. Kibet was ninth at Boston in April and placed fourth at New York last November, while Mickow was sixth at Chicago last October and lowered his half marathon PB to 61:41 at Houston in January.
Final: July 15, 3:10 p.m. Team USATF: Nick Christie (Vacaville, California/USATF Southern California), Dan Nehnevaj (Beckley, West Virginia/USATF North Carolina) WC Medal History: none Last Gold: none Last Medal: none Japan has had a good record in the past two global championships, earning silver and bronze at the Tokyo Games and gold at Doha in 2019. They hope to add to that success with 2022 list leader Koki Ikeda and Eiki Takahashi, who comes in with the third fastest mark on the yearly list. Ikeda was the silver medalist last summer at Tokyo and has a lifetime best of 1:17:25, with Takahashi only a second behind him on the career best list at 1:17:26. Yamanishi beat Ikeda at the World Team Championships in Oman in March. Caio Bonfim of Brazil and 2019 bronze medalist Perseus Karlstrom of Sweden are medal possibilities as they and four other men are also in the sub-1:20 club this season. Reigning champion Toshikazu Yamanishi of Japan also earned bronze in last summer’s Olympics, but has only walked 1:22:52 this year. China’s Kaihua Wang took over the No. 3 spot on the all-time world performer list with his 1:16:54 last year but is six minutes off that pace in 2022. U.S. champion Nick Christie slashed his lifetime best to 1:22:44 at Podébrady, moving to No. 6 on the all-time American performer list, one spot ahead of Dan Nehnevaj, who had a big improvement to 1:23:10 in that race. The highest placing ever by an American in this event is 18th.
Final: July 24, 6:15 a.m. Team USATF: Nick Christie (Vacaville, California/USATF Southern California) WC Medal History: none Last Gold: none Last Medal: none A new event that takes the place of the 50K distance, the 35K gives former 20K specialists an option to move up more easily. Japan has the top three entrants, led by Masatora Kawano, who has walked 2:26:40 to move to No. 9 on the all-time world performer list that is dominated by Russian athletes from 10 or more years ago. Daisuke Matsunaga and Tomohiro Noda are less than 40 seconds behind teammate Kawano, with Spain’s Miguel Angel Lopez also sub 2:28. Sweden’s Perseus Karlstrom won the World Team Championships race in March. Two places in front of Lopez, and Italy’s Olympic 20K champion, Massimo Stano, won at Dudince in 2:29:09. Mexico’s Jose Luis Doctor took second at Dudince in 2:29:24, 11 seconds in front of China’s Xianghong He. Nick Christie is doubling back a week after the 20K event and is the American record holder. He has a best of 2:38:16 in his career and easily won the USATF title in January in 2:48:48.
1st round: July 16, 11:25 a.m. Semis: July 17, 5:05 p.m. Final: July 17, 7:30 p.m. Team USATF: Daniel Roberts (Griffin, Georgia/USATF Georgia), Trey Cunningham (Winfield, Alabama/USATF Florida), Devon Allen (Annapolis, Maryland/USATF Potomac Valley), Grant Holloway (Gainesville, Florida/USATF Florida) WC Medal History: 23 medals - 10G, 5S, 8B Last Gold: 2019 – Grant Holloway Last Medal: 2019 - gold, Grant Holloway Team USATF has been incredibly successful in this event, winning 10 golds over the course of World Championships history, but Grant Holloway’s Doha 2019 win was the first since 2013. The Olympic silver medalist has plenty of company clamoring for spots on the Eugene podium, and those are just his U.S. teammates. Daniel Roberts came away with the USATF Championships title in Holloway’s absence, notching a season best 13.03 to top NCAA champion Trey Cunningham of Florida State and NFL wide receiver signee Devon Allen. Cunningham hit 13.00 on the nose to win the collegiate title and has been remarkably consistent under 13.20 this season. Allen gave the performance of the year thus far with a 12.84 to win the USATF NYC GP, making him the third fastest man in history. He has signed a free agent contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. Olympic champion Hansle Parchment of Jamaica is ready to add world gold to his resumé and has run 13.09 this season, but many eyes will be on France’s wunderkind, Sasha Zhoya, the 20-year-old marvel who has already clocked 13.17 after a U20 career that saw him demolish that age group world record.
1st round: July 16, 1:20 p.m. Semis: July 17, 6:03 p.m. Final: July 19, 7:50 p.m. Team USATF: Rai Benjamin (Mount Vernon, New York/USATF New York), Trevor Bassitt (Bluffton, Ohio/USATF Ohio), Khallifah Rosser (Fontana, California/USATF Southwestern) WC Medal History: 15 medals - 7G, 5S, 3B Last Gold: 2009 - Kerron Clement Last Medal: 2019 - silver, Rai Benjamin Medal prognostication in this event depends on the condition of Karsten Warholm’s injured hamstring. The Norwegian star ran what was certainly one of the most shocking times in any event in track history with his 45.94 world record for gold at Tokyo, but in his first and only outing this year he pulled up early at the Rabat Diamond League meet. If he’s not fully healthy, it will still be a scintillating final with Olympic silver medalist and American record holder Rai Benjamin and Brazil’s Alison dos Santos, the 2022 world leader. Benjamin’s 46.17 at Tokyo was almost as shocking as Warholm’s WR, but lost a bit in the hubbub was dos Santos clocking 46.72 for the bronze, a time that was better than the world record coming into 2021. Dos Santos has looked fantastic thus far and sped to a 46.80 at the Stockholm Diamond League meet, the sixth fastest performance ever. Ashland University’s Trevor Bassitt keeps proving that NCAA level isn’t everything, as the many-time Division II national champion dropped his PB to 47.47 to finish as runner-up at the USATF Championships and move to 11th on the all-time U.S. performer list. Khallifah Rosser, another NCAA II veteran, also raced to a big lifetime best at the USATF meet, placing third in 47.65. Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands is a 47.08 lifetime performer and was fourth at the Olympics, while Estonia’s Rasmus Magi has improved to 47.82 in 2022 and was seventh at Tokyo.
Qualifying: July 15, 10:10 a.m. Final: July 18, 5:45 p.m. Team USATF: Shelby McEwen (Abbeville, Mississippi/USATF Southern), JuVaughn Harrison (Baton Rouge, Louisiana/USATF Southern), Darius Carbin (San Jose, California/USATF Pacific) WC Medal History: 4 medals - 2G, 1S, 1B Last Gold: 2011 – Jesse Williams Last Medal: 2011 - gold, Jesse Williams Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim won gold on home soil at Doha in 2019 and then shared gold with Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi in Tokyo after both declined to have a jump-off. Both men are back, though not in the role of list leader for 2022. That honor goes to South Korea’s Sanghyeok Woo, who scaled 2.36m/7-8.75 indoors in February and went on to win World Indoors gold in March. Woo won the Doha Diamond League meet at 2.33m/7-7.75. The ban on Russian and Belarussian athletes removed a segment of medal contenders, opening a path for Shelby McEwen, the USATF champion, and JuVaughn Harrison, an Olympian in the high jump and long jump at Tokyo. McEwen soared over 2.33m/7-7.75 to win the USATF Championships over Harrison, who went over a season best 2.30m/7-6.5. Georgia’s Darius Carbin was second at the NCAA Championships and earned the third Eugene berth by world ranking. There’s a passel of jumpers with season bests at the 2.30m/7-6.5 level, so medal positions may depend more than ever on who misses the fewest times on the way to the final heights. New Zealand and Switzerland have never had a finisher in the top eight, but Hamish Kerr and Loic Gasch have a good chance of erasing that distinction.
Qualifying: July 22, 5:05 p.m. Final: July 24, 5:25 p.m. Team USATF: Chris Nilsen (Vermillion, South Dakota/USATF Dakotas), Luke Winder (Oak Park, Illinois/USATF Illinois), Andrew Irwin (Mount Ida, Arkansas/USATF Arkansas) WC Medal History: 6 medals - 3G, 1S, 2B Last Gold: 2019 – Sam Kendricks Last Medal: 2019 - gold, Sam Kendricks Doha 2019 gold medalist Sam Kendricks withdrew due to injury, so the world title is up for grabs. Well, not really. Unless Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis, the Tokyo gold medalist, runs into real trouble he is a very strong favorite for gold. Duplantis won the World Indoors with a world record 6.20m/20-4 effort and recently went 6.16m/20-2.5 outdoors to win the Stockholm Diamond League meet in front of adoring fans. Chris Nilsen has been on a hot streak, too, bettering the American indoor record twice and increasing his PB to 6.05m/19-10.25. Nilsen also went over 6.00m/19-8.25 outdoors on his home track in South Dakota and would love to move up a step on the podium from the silver he earned at the Games last summer. Brazil’s Thiago Braz, the 2016 Olympic gold medalist, is rounding back into top form and earned silver at the World Indoors with a 5.95m/19-6.25, his highest since 2016. Ernest John Obiena of the Philippines is a contender for one of the medals and has raised his national record to 5.92m/19-5. Winds at Hayward Field can be unpredictable, so the experience gained by Luke Winder and Andrew Irwin at the USATF Championships cannot be overstated. Winder had the meet of his life to place second, with Irwin third. Both can make a strong case for a berth in the final. Norway doesn’t have a history in the event to speak of, but now has three men who could make the final, led by Pal Haugen Lillefosse, who has navigated 5.86m19-2.75. Sondre Guttormsen won the NCAA title for Princeton and his brother, Simen, was fourth.
Qualifying: July 15, 6:00 p.m. Final: July 16, 6:20 p.m. Team USATF: Steffin McCarter (Copperas Cove, Texas/USATF Southwestern), Will Williams (Jonesboro, Arkansas/USATF Arkansas), Marquis Dendy (Ocala, Florida/USATF Florida) WC Medal History: 19 medals - 8G, 6S, 5B Last Gold: 2011 – Dwight Phillips Last Medal: 2019 – silver, Jeff Henderson Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece took gold at Tokyo and is atop the 2022 world list with a best of 8.55m/28-0.75 to win World Indoors. His toughest challenge may come from decathlete Simon Ehammer of Switzerland, who had a leap of 8.45m/27-8.75 to set a combined events world record at Götzis and chose the long jump over the ten-eventer here. Thobias Montler of Sweden was the silver medalist at the World Indoors, and India’s Murali Sreeshankar may give his country its first ever finalist or medalist as he has jumped 8.36m/27-5.25 this season. Steffin McCarter was the runner-up at the USATF Championships and was an Olympian last year. Will Williams finished fourth in those Championships, with Marquis Dendy making the team despite finishing 10th. Dendy, the World Indoors bronze medalist, has the best PB among that trio at 8.42m/27-7.5 and is incredibly explosive. Cuba’s Maykel Masso took bronze at Tokyo and shouldn’t be discounted.
Qualifying: July 21, 6:20 p.m. Final: July 23, 6:00 p.m. Team USATF: Donald Scott (Ypsilanti, Michigan/USATF Michigan), Will Claye (Buckeye, Arizona/USATF New York), Chris Benard (Chula Vista, California/USATF San Diego-Imperial), Christian Taylor (Jacksonville, Florida/USATF Florida) WC Medal History: 15 medals - 7G, 4S, 4B Last Gold: 2019 - Christian Taylor Last Medal: 2019 - gold, Christian Taylor; silver, Will Claye Tokyo gold medalist Pedro Pablo Pichardo of Portugal has a monster jump just waiting to emerge and comes into the meet with a lifetime best of 18.08m/59-4, making him one of four men in the field to have ever surpassed the 18m barrier. The entry list is led by Cuba’s Lazaro Martinez with an indoor 17.64m/57-10.5, but two of his countrymen who have the best outdoor jumps of the year, Jordan A. Diaz and Andy Diaz, are not entered, taking some of the shine off the event. China’s Yaming Zhu bounded to Tokyo silver last summer, and Hugues Fabrice Zango of Burkina Faso is a huge threat with his indoor PB of 18.07m/ 59-3.5. Donald Scott and Will Claye went 1-2 at the USATF Championships and Claye is one of the most decorated triple jumpers in U.S. history with two Olympic silvers, two World Championships silvers and two World Indoors titles. Scott earned bronze at the World Indoors in March and is a very steady competitor who has medal potential. Chris Benard, the USATF third-place finisher, is also capable of a top-six finish. Four-time world champion Christian Taylor has been a dominant force for many years and is reaching the end of an amazing career. Returning from a devastating injury, American record holder Taylor has one more chance to show off his supreme talent, this time in front of his home country fans.
Qualifying: July 15, 6:55 p.m. Final: July 17, 6:27 p.m. Team USATF: Ryan Crouser (Redmond, Oregon/USATF Oregon), Joe Kovacs (Powell, Ohio/USATF New York), Josh Awotunde (Franklinville, New Jersey/USATF New Jersey), Tripp Piperi (Austin, Texas/USATF Texas Southern) WC Medal History: 20 medals - 9G, 7S, 4B Last Gold: 2019 – Joe Kovacs Last Medal: 2019 - gold, Joe Kovacs; silver, Ryan Crouser The last two Olympic Games have had the same order of finish, and the 2019 World Championships had the same three guys on the podium, just in a little different order. Could it happen one more time in Eugene? World record holder and two-time Olympic champion Ryan Crouser has been a force of nature at Hayward Field, smashing a long-standing world record last summer with a 23.37m/76-8.25 blast at the U.S. Olympic Trials and then putting together the best series in history at this year’s USATF Championships. He will be performing in front of a home state crowd and that should be a tiny bit frightening to his fellow throwers. Reigning champion Joe Kovacs is also in tip-top form and appears ready to blow past the 23m barrier, so putting those two together in front of a raucous crowd could produce fireworks. New Zealand’s Tom Walsh is the third man in the medal triangle, earning bronze at Rio, Doha and Tokyo, and he has a PB of 22.90m/75-1.75. Proving Crouser isn’t necessarily invincible, Brazil’s Darlan Romani beat him for the World Indoors title in March with a 22.53m/73-11 toss and could throw his way onto the podium. Josh Awotunde and Tripp Piperi are steadily moving up the rankings and Piperi won the NCAA title for Texas in the Hayward Field ring in June.
Qualifying: July 17, 5:05 p.m. Final: July 19, 6:33 p.m. Team USATF: Andrew Evans (Portage, Michigan/USATF Kentucky), Sam Mattis (East Brunswick, New Jersey/USATF New York), Brian Williams (Mesa, Arizona/USATF Arizona) WC Medal History: 3 medals - 1G, 1S, 1B Last Gold: 1999 – Anthony Washington Last Medal: 2017 – bronze, Mason Finley Two giants and an upstart with discus royalty in his lineage make this a fascinating event to look forward to. Sweden’s Daniel Stahl is the reigning Olympic and world champion and has a season best of 71.47m/234-5, but Slovenia’s Kristjan Ceh has been almost unbeatable this year, winning at the Birmingham, Rabat, Rome and Stockholm Diamond League stops. He hit his PB of 71.27m/233-10 to win at Birmingham and has lost only once in 13 outings. The new kid on the block is Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania and the University of California. Alekna’s dad, Virgilijus, won two Olympic golds and two world titles and has the second farthest throw in history at 73.88m/242-5. The 19-year-old son won the NCAA title and smashed the collegiate record before finishing second at the Stockholm Diamond League meet with a PB 69.81m/229-0. Andrew Evans has returned after a few years off and won the USATF Championships. He has a best of 66.74m/218-11, but the U.S. leader is Sam Mattis, who was third at the Championships. Mattis sailed one out to 68.69m/225-4 at the USATF Throws Festival, the sixth best mark on the entry list. Brian Williams has also improved his lifetime best, throwing 66.14m/217-0 at Fullerton, California, on May 6.
Qualifying: July 15, 9:05 a.m. Final: July 16, 12:00 p.m. Team USATF: Daniel Haugh (Marietta, Georgia/USATF Georgia), Rudy Winkler (Ithaca, New York/USATF New York), Alex Young (LaVergne, Tennessee/USATF Pacific) WC Medal History: none Last Gold: none Last Medal: none USATF champion Daniel Haugh is a strong candidate to become the first U.S. medalist in this event at the World Championships after becoming the sixth American member of the 80m club with his winning throw of 80.18m/263-1. There are four other gentlemen with similar medal aspirations, led by the Polish duo of Wojciech Nowicki and Pawel Fajdek. Nowicki won the Olympic title, while Fajdek is the reigning world champion. Frenchman Quentin Bigot was the Doha 2019 silver medalist and fifth at Tokyo, while Eivind Henriksen of Norway earned silver at the Games last summer. American record holder Rudy Winkler is as capable as Haugh of making the podium, bringing in a PB of 82.71m/271-4 that earned him the 2021 Olympic Trials title, and Alex Young is a lethal combination of balance and explosion with a PB of 78.32m/256-11. Hungary’s Bence Halasz, the Doha bronze medalist, is only 2 cm away from his PB of 79.88m/262-1 this season, while Ukraine’s Myhaylo Kokhan is coming close to fulfilling the promise he showed when shattering world age group records.
Qualifying: July 21, 5:05 p.m. Final: July 23, 6:35 p.m. Team USATF: Ethan Dabbs (Charlottesville, Virginia/USATF Virginia), Curtis Thompson (Florence, New Jersey/USATF New Jersey), Tim Glover (McLean, Virginia/USATF Potomac Valley) WC Medal History: 2 medals - 0G, 1S, 1B Last Gold: none Last Medal: 2007 - bronze, Breaux Greer One burning question awaits an answer – which athlete will break the U.S. all-comers record of 91.29m/299-6 that was set in 2007 by Breaux Greer? Grenada’s Anderson Peters, the reigning world champion, has been having an awesome season, surpassing 90m three times with a best of 93.07m/305-4 to win the Doha Diamond League meet. Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra of India would love to win his nation’s first World Championships men’s medal and a big throw would be icing on the cake. One other man besides Peters has a 90m+ effort this season, Jakub Vadlejch of Czechia at 90.88m/298-2. Three others have done that in their career, including 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Kenya’s 2015 world champion, Julius Yego. Virginia’s Ethan Dabbs upgraded his NCAA silver medal with a USATF Championships win and he has thrown 82.92m/272-0. The best throw by an American this year is Curtis Thompson’s 87.70m/287-9 at the JavFest last week, moving him to third on the all-time U.S. performer list. Tim Glover has revived his career and has a best of 82.81m/271-8 in 2022.
Day 1: July 23, 9:50 a.m. Day 2: July 24, 9:35 a.m. Team USATF: Kyle Garland (Athens, Georgia/USATF Georgia), Zach Ziemek (Sun Prairie, Wisconsin/USATF Wisconsin), Steven Bastien (Ann Arbor, Michigan/USATF Michigan) WC Medal History: 11 medals - 9G, 1S, 1B Last Gold: 2015 - Ashton Eaton Last Medal: 2015 - gold, Ashton Eaton Eugene has hosted some pretty good decathlons in the past 10 years, including a world record 9,039-point display by that guy who has a concession stand in Hayward Field named for him – Ashton Eaton. This World Championships could elicit something that comes close to matching that level of excellence, as Olympic champion Damian Warner of Canada moved to fourth on the all-time world list with his 9,018 to win gold at Tokyo. Warner has great speed and power and if he can fend off the injury gremlins, he may just top 9K again. USATF runner-up Kyle Garland of Georgia set a collegiate record of 8,720 at that meet and has more in the tank. He is a superb hurdler and high jumper and very good in the shot put. His collegiate nemesis, NCAA champion Ayden Owens-Delerme of Arkansas and Puerto Rico also has great upside potential with sprinter speed and could add 100+ points to his PB of 8,528. Zach Ziemek was sixth at Tokyo and has only gotten better, upping his PB to 8,573 at the USATF Championships to rank third on the entry list. Ziemek’s Olympic teammate, Steven Bastien, needs to return to the form that saw him score 8,485 last year to secure a top-six spot. World record holder Kevin Mayer of France is a question mark, but could become an exclamation point if healthy. 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.