Two of this year's fastest Americans and the defending USATF champion line up for dash supremacy. Aleia Hobbs, who set an American indoor record in the 60m in February, sits second on the yearly national list with a best of 10.86 and is the fastest woman in the field this year. Another sub-11 entrant is Morolake Akinosun, an Olympic gold medalist in the 4x100m relay at Rio in 2016 and owner of a 10.95 best. In her first year as a pro, Melissa Jefferson comes in with a season best of 11.07 and will be looking to regain the form that saw her clock 10.82 in 2022 on the way to winning the U.S. title in a windy 10.69. Gabby Thomas, the 200m bronze medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, is trying the 100/400 double and brings a lifetime best of 11.00 into the first and shorter of her two events.
Reigning national champion Abby Steiner sped to a 21.77 in 2022 to top the U.S. list, and she has already won three races at her specialty distance this year, including a season best of 22.23. She was second at the Paris Diamond League meet to Gabby Thomas but finished ahead of two of the other entrants here. Jenna Prandini is a two-time Olympian and two-time World Championships semifinalist and picked up gold in the 4x100m relay at the World Championships last summer. Her PB of 21.89 makes her one of five women in the field to have cracked the 22-second barrier and is second fastest behind Steiner. Another Tokyo Olympian, Anavia Battle, has run 22.47 in 2023 and has a PB of 21.95. Sixth at the World Championships last year, Tamara Clark opened with a 22.86 for seventh at Paris and has had an abbreviated season.
One of the most anticipated matchups of the day features 400m hurdles world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone going up against Gabby Thomas, a versatile sprinter who is the only other woman in the field to have dipped under 50 seconds in 2023. McLaughlin-Levrone, who shattered her own WR in the 400H last year with a 50.68 to win the world title, opened her 2023 campaign at Paris, running a lifetime best 49.71. Thomas cruised to a 49.68 at Austin in April and is doubling up in the 100m here. Tokyo 4x400m relay gold medalist Lynna Irby-Jackson, who earned that medal running in the heats, has a PB of 49.80 from 2018 and has run 50.38 this year. Irby-Jackson's Tokyo 4x400m teammate Kendall Ellis, who also earned relay golds at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships, has a 2023 best of 51.37 and a PB of 49.99 from 2018. Former Texas A&M star Charokee Young is the top Jamaican in the field with a PB of 49.87 and a season best of 50.45.
An all-American affair sees the top two women on the 2023 U.S. list atop a group of seven athletes who have lifetime bests faster than 2:00. Reigning World Indoor champion Ajee' Wilson is the former American record holder and leads the national list with a 1:58.16 from her runner-up finish at the Paris Diamond League meet on June 9, her only loss in nine races across all distances this year. In that Paris race, Sage Hurta-Klecker set a season best of 1:59.01 to take seventh, and she has a PB of 1:57.85 from 2022. Allie Wilson and Olivia Baker were fourth and fifth, respectively, at the 2022 USATF Championships and have similar personal bests at 1:58.05 and 1:58.09. Wilson has run 1:59.24 this season and was the USATF Indoor Championships silver medalist, while Baker made the World Indoor team in 2022. 2017 World Championships seventh-place finisher Charlene Lipsey ran her lifetime best of 1:57.38 that year and has run 1:59.26 already in 2023. Dropping down in distance, 2022 World Indoor Championships 1,500m seventh-place finisher Heather MacLean sports a 1:59.72 PB and has gone sub-4:00 in the metric mile.
American record holder and Olympic silver medalist Keni Harrison has already zipped to a 12.35 in 2023, the fastest time by an American. Right on her heels is Alaysha Johnson, the USATF Indoor 60m hurdles champion in February and a 12.41 performer this season. Johnson was the runner-up to Harrison at last summer's USATF Championships in a PB 12.35 to put her at No. 6 on the all-time U.S. performer list. Tonea Marshall just missed on a trip to the World Championships last year after taking fourth at the USATF Championships. She has already run nine meets this season and was fifth at the Doha Diamond League meet in May. Her PB is 12.44, a time she came close to in winning a meet in Florida two weeks ago with a season best 12.47. International challengers include Jamaica's Megan Tapper, who was the bronze medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, as well as Britain's Cindy Sember, fifth at the 2022 World Championships and fourth at the 2016 Olympics. 2015 world champion Danielle Williams of Jamaica is still a threat and has a season best of 12.59 to go with her PB of 12.32.
Dominating the U.S. scene since 2016, Vashti Cunningham has won 12 national titles and has made every major global championship since capturing the World Indoor gold as an 18-year-old. Cunningham won the USATF Indoor Championships with a 2.00m/6-6.75 clearance and has gone over 1.98m/6-6 outdoors. She was the runner-up at Paris in her first Diamond League appearance since 2021. Closest to her are Jelena Rowe, who has a PB of 1.96m/6-5, and Amina Smith has a PB of 1.91m/6-3.25.
A small but power-packed field brings together the top three Americans in 2023, topped by reigning world champion Chase Ealey and this year's world leader, Maggie Ewen. Ealey won world and Diamond League titles in 2022 and was the World Indoor silver medalist. She set her lifetime best of 20.51m/67-3.5 to win the world title, and she is the co-holder of the American indoor record. Ewen uncorked a huge lifetime best of 20.45m/67-1.25 to win the Los Angeles GP at the end of May and moved to third on the all-time U.S. performer list behind Michelle Carter and Ealey. She was second at the Oslo Diamond League meet after taking third at Paris. Four-time NCAA indoor and outdoor champion Adelaide Aquilla is in the pro ranks now after ending her collegiate career with an NCAA Indoor gold in March for Ohio State. She was on Team USATF for the Tokyo Olympics and last year's World Championships and has a PB of 19.64m/64-5.25. Jamaica's Danniel Thomas-Dodd was the 2019 World Championships silver medalist and has improved her own national record to 19.77m/64-10.5 in 2023.
Coming off a fourth-place finish at the Paris Diamond League meet, Lagi Tausaga-Collins faces 2019 world champion, Yaime Perez, and Nigerian record holder Chioma Onyekwere. Tausaga-Collins has a best of 64.49m/211-7 that she set in placing second at last year's USATF Championships, and her season best is 63.92m/209-8. Perez has the best PB in the field at 69.39m/227-8 and has hit 66.97m/219-8 in 2023. World Championships qualifier Veronica Fraley is third on the U.S. list in 2023 at 62.84m/206-2, a mark that won the Southeastern Conference title in May. Runner-up at the 2021 Olympic Trials, Micaela Hazlewood is rounding back into form after injuries cut her 2022 season short.
Maggie Ewen and Annette Echikunwoke are both 75m+ throwers, sitting fourth and fifth on the yearly U.S. list, and both have World Championships experience. Two-time USATF Indoor Championships 20-pound weight throw winner Janeah Stewart boasts a PB of 75.43m/247-5 from 2019, and recent collegiate stars Alyssa Wilson and Jillian Shippee cannot be discounted.
Former American record holder Maggie Malone and three-time World Championships team member Ariana Ince will engage in head-to-head competition. Malone tops the U.S. list in 2023 at 62.28m/204-4 and has a PB of 67.40m/221-1 from 2021. Ince, the 2019 Pan American Games bronze medalist, set her PB of 64.38m/211-3 last September.
Returning to defend the title he won in 2022, Christian Coleman has four other sub-10 performers to contend with, including the man who was second to him last year, Jamaica's Ackeem Blake. Coleman, the 2019 world champion, clocked 9.92 to win here last year and has run a wind-legal 9.91 in 2023 as well as a windy 9.78 to win at the USATF Bermuda GP. Blake dropped his PB to 9.89 to win the USATF Los Angeles GP and was the NACAC champion in 2022. Last year's fourth-place finisher, Kendal Williams, was the 60m runner-up at the USATF Indoor Championships in February and has a 100m legal best of 10.03 so far. Former NCAA champion Terrance Laird, who won the 2021 collegiate title for LSU, is back at top speed after dealing with nagging injuries and has run a wind-aided 9.94 this year. Laird won the 200m at the USATF Los Angeles GP.
Capping off the meet, this event pits reigning world champion and American record holder Noah Lyles against rising star Elijah Morrow. Lyles is the fastest in the world this year with a 19.67 and won here in 2022 with a sizzling 19.61. Running a PB of 20.15 at Waco in April, Morrow was third at the USATF Los Angeles GP in 20.22 and won in Hungary two weeks ago. In 2017 Morrow ran on Texas A&M's 4x100m relay at the NCAA Championships, handing off to future world 100m champion Fred Kerley.
Trevor Stewart and Noah Williams are the fastest men in the field based on PBs, but Jamaica's Sean Bailey has improved dramatically this season and won the USATF Los Angeles GP in a PB 44.43. Stewart was sixth at LA but has a 44.92 best so far in 2023 to go with his 44.25 PB from 2019. He collected gold as part of the U.S. 4x400m relay at Tokyo and nabbed a bronze in the mixed 4x400m. The 2021 NCAA indoor champion for LSU, Williams set his PB of 44.30 that year. He was fourth here last year and has a best of 45.22 in 2023. Another Jamaican up-and-comer, Zandrion Barnes, ran 44.90 at the Racers GP in Kingston earlier this month.
Can you say loaded? This event features the reigning U.S. and NCAA champions along with an Olympic bronze medalist, and you can throw in an NCAA indoor champion for good measure. Bryce Hoppel won here in 2022 and went on to take the USATF title, and his PB of 1:43.23 from 2020 made him the No. 7 all-time U.S. performer. Hoppel earned bronze at the 2022 World Indoor Championships and swept the 2019 NCAA indoor and outdoor crowns. This year's fastest American is NCAA champion Will Sumner of Georgia. The freshman phenom rolled to a stunning 1:44.26 to take that title in Austin, chopping almost two seconds off his previous best. Former NCAA indoor champion Brandon Miller was third at the USATF Championships last year and earned a spot at the World Championships. His PB of 1:44.97 earned him silver at the 2021 NCAA outdoor meet, and he has run 1:45.30 this season. World Indoor Championships seventh-place finisher Isaiah Harris sports a 1:45.41 yearly best and has run 1:44.42 in his career.
The metric mile will have a large field that includes last year's runner-up, Eric Holt, and an array of men with solid credentials. Holt's 2023 best is 3:37.57, and he will have to step it up against the likes of Henry Wynne, a 3:34.08 man who has clocked 3:35.45 this season and placed second at the USATF Indoor Championships. Veteran Craig Engels has the fastest PB in the field at 3:33.64, while Drew Hunter went 3:34.86 last year and was the 2019 USATF Indoor Championships two mile winner.
Who can forget the amazing 12.84 Devon Allen ran here last year to win and vault himself to No. 3 on the all-time U.S. performer list? That performance put him .22 ahead of eventual world champion Grant Holloway and clipped .15 off his previous best. Allen, fourth at the Tokyo Olympics, has run 13.12 this season and was fourth at the Rabat Diamond League meet and third at Florence. Last year's World Championships silver medalist and NCAA champion, Trey Cunningham, doesn't have a lot of races yet in 2023 but his PB of 13.00 makes him a consistent threat. Robert Dunning and Jamal Britt have been on a tear in 2023, and 2021 NCAA champion Dunning dropped his PB to 13.09 at the Atlanta City Games to finish right behind Holloway. Britt has been busy this year, running in seven 110H finals already, and has a best of 13.14. He was third at the Paris Diamond League meet and fourth at Florence and has a PB of 13.08 that earned him NACAC silver in 2022. Reigning USATF champion Daniel Roberts ran 13.03 to win that title in 2022, and he also won the national crown in 2019. He has a PB of 13.00 and tied for third with Britt at Paris earlier this month.
An Olympian in 2021 and the fifth-place finisher at last summer's World Championships, Shelby McEwen has two 2.33m/7-7.75 clearances in his career and he won the USATF indoor title in February with a season best of 2.24m/7-4.25. His Tokyo teammate, Darryl Sullivan, has three lifetime clearances at the same height as McEwen's PB and was fourth at the USATF indoor meet. He placed 10 th at last year's World Indoor Championships. The best 2023 U.S. mark in the field is 2.25m/7-4.5 by Kyle Rollins, the Drake Relays winner and the 2022 NCAA Division III indoor and outdoor champion for St. John Fisher. Ageless wonder Donald Thomas of the Bahamas was the 2007 world champion and is still competitive internationally, bringing in a best of 2.26m/7-5 at age 38.
Three of the top six Americans in 2023 vie for top honors, with newly minted 22m thrower Roger Steen bringing in the best mark of the group this year at 22.08m/72-5.25. Steen was fourth at the USATF Indoor Championships and finished fifth at last summer's USATF outdoor meet. Blasting a lifetime best of 21.99m/72-1.75 for third at the USATF Los Angeles GP, Payton Otterdahl has Olympic experience after placing 10 that Tokyo, and he was the 2019 NCAA indoor champion. Rio 2016 Olympian and two-time World Championships finalist Darrell Hill won the 2017 Diamond League title with his PB of 22.44m/73-7.5 and ranks eighth on the all-time U.S. performer list. His 2023 best is 21.51m/70-7.
On paper, Alex Rose of Samoa is a heavy favorite with his 70.39m/230-11 PB that he set earlier this season, but reigning USATF champion Andrew Evans and this year's U.S. list leader Sam Mattis will provide stout opposition. Evans set his PB of 66.74m/218-11 at Tucson last year before winning the USATF title and competing at the World Championships in Eugene. Mattis was a World Championships finalist last summer and was eighth at the Tokyo Olympics. He has a PB of 68.69m/225-4 and set his season best of 67.49m/221-5 at La Jolla in April. Mattis placed third at the Doha Diamond League meet and fifth at Rabat. Josh Syrotchen and Brian Williams are also capable of 66m+ efforts, and Williams has two World Championships trips on his resume.
The first, fifth and seventh American all-time performers match up in a preview of next month's USATF Championships. Rudy Winkler is the American record holder and leads the U.S. list this year at 80.88m/265-4. He was sixth at the World Championships in Eugene and seventh at the Tokyo Olympics and took second at this year's Paris and Oslo Diamond League meets. Reigning national champion and World Championships eighth-place finisher Daniel Haugh is fifth all-time in the U.S. with his PB of 80.18m/263-1, set last summer to win the USATF crown. Haugh was the 35-pound weight champion at the USATF Indoor Championships in February, and this is only his second hammer outing of the year. 2019 Pan American Games bronze medalist Sean Donnelly sits at No. 7 on the national all-time list with a PB of 79.27m/260-1 and was sixth at the 2022 USATF meet. Alex Young was 12 th at the World Championships after a third-place effort at the USATF meet in 2022 and was an Olympian in 2021. Young also has three USATF 35-pound weight titles to his credit and has a hammer PB of 78.32m/256-11.
Rocketing up to No. 3 on the all-time U.S. performer list last year with a massive 87.70m/287-9, Curtis Thompson was the USATF runner-up and placed 11 th at the World Championships. He followed up with a NACAC gold and took fourth at the Diamond League final. Thompson was an Olympian in 2021. Reigning USATF champion Ethan Dabbs of Virginia tops the 2023 U.S. list at 80.82m/265-2 and was the NCAA runner-up in Austin. Last year's NCAA champion Marc Minichello set his lifetime best of 81.17m/266-3 to win that title for Penn, and he was fourth this year for Georgia after capturing the Southeastern Conference title. Three other American men in the field have surpassed 80m in their careers, including Michael Shuey, who is No. 5 on the all-time U.S. performer list at 85.67m/281-1. Shuey was an Olympian in Tokyo and won the 2019 USATF title.