WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND: USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships | Women's Events, Athletes and Storylines to Follow

Your guide to all of the women's action at this weekend's U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Jun 23, 2022

This is the CITIUS MAG Newsletter by Chris Chavez. If you’ve been forwarded this email or stumbled upon a link online, you can sign up and subscribe here:

Track and field’s postseason is finally here! I’ve made it to Eugene, Oregon and the rest of the CITIUS MAG squad is coming through.

We’ll have a full team of boots on the ground for every minute of the action in and around Hayward this weekend, so make sure to follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok, and YouTube for expert analysis, live commentary, post-race interviews and more.

Most importantly, we’re excited to be launching CHAMPS CHAT, a daily podcast through the CITIUS MAG feed giving you an inside look at the championships with fan favorites like Kyle Merber, Mac Fleet, Jasmine Todd, and Dana Giordano. Hit subscribe so you don’t miss it!

If you’re in Eugene, join us for our morning runs from the Adidas Hub at 1440 E 19th Ave. We’ll be running at 9 a.m. on Thursday and Friday and then at 8 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. We’ll be giving away some t-shirts, shoes and more. If you want to buy us coffee or beers for our coverage, our Venmo is @CITIUSMAG.

Here’s a complete preview of every women’s event at this weekend’s USATF Outdoor Championships. The meet will be broadcast live on CNBC (Thursday 10 pm-12 am EST), NBC (Friday 4-6 pm EST, Saturday 4-5 pm EST, Sunday 2-3:30 pm EST) and USA (Saturday 5-6 pm EST). You can also follow along with entries and live results, streaming info, and the meet schedule online.

My colleague David Melly and I put together the following in-depth feature on the athletes and storylines to watch across all the events taking place this weekend. The men’s preview is coming soon.

THE SPRINTS

Women’s 100 Meters (1st round Friday, 8:15 p.m. EST):

This was the race that catapulted Sha’Carri Richardson to stardom last year. She won the U.S. Olympic Trials only to be disqualified after testing positive for marijuana. This year, she looks to recapture her first U.S. title and qualify for her first global championship team. She enters with a 10.85 season’s best, which puts her at No. 5 in the world for the year. Richardson ran that when she finished second to fellow LSU alum Aleia Hobbs (10.83, fastest by an American in 2022) at the NYC Grand Prix earlier this month. Former North Carolina A&T star Cambrea Sturgis is the third-fastest American of the year with a 10.87 personal best from April. Teahna Daniels, who ran 10.81 at last year’s Prefontaine Classic, is looking to show up again on the championship stage.

Because we’re in June, it’s easy to overlook some early 2022 performances like Mikiah Brisco and Mary Beth Sant-Price taking silver and bronze at the World Indoor Championships and Brittany Brown’s wind-aided 10.66. However, they’re names to also watch as dark horse contenders for the team.

Women’s 200 Meters (1st round Saturday 3:10 p.m. EST):

There is lots to be excited about in this race as we get to see a clash between Olympic bronze medalist Gabby Thomas and NCAA champion, collegiate record holder and current world leader Abby Steiner. The Kentucky star shattered the NCAA record with a 21.80 victory at Hayward Field two weeks ago. Thomas is the fifth-fastest woman in the world right now and the second-fastest American with her 21.98 to win the Doha Diamond League in May. She has not lost a final to another American woman since April 2021. Steiner did not contest last year’s U.S. Olympic Trials due to an Achilles injury.

2019 world championship silver medalist Brittany Brown missed last year’s Olympic team but has come back to form. She heads into the U.S. Championships with a fresh personal best of 21.99 set in Tennessee on June 5.

Sha’Carri Richardson is also doubling with the 200m. She ran her first 200m race since September 2021 and clocked a 22.38 to win the NYC Grand Prix. The time puts her as the sixth-fastest in the field behind Thomas, Steiner, Brown, Kynnedy Flannel, and Anavia Battle.

Women’s 400 Meters (1st round Thursday 10:11 p.m. EST):

Super-moms Allyson Felix and Quanera Hayes, who melted hearts in Eugene last year by taking victory laps with their children after making the Olympic team, have the two fastest entries in the meet, but neither is coming into the meet in top form. Felix, at 36 years young, did notch a 50.71 season’s best in Poland earlier this month, and with two of the women ahead of her on the 2022 list (Athing Mu and Britton Wilson) entered in other events, she has the third-fastest mark in the field this year. If she makes another team, it would only extend a career that many already consider the greatest women’s sprint resume of all time. Hayes has struggled a bit more this year, running only 52.31 way back in January, but don’t count her out completely.

The most interesting test will be to see how Talitha Diggs, the NCAA champion and only American under 50 seconds this year, fares against professional competition. She should be favored to make the team, but if the long NCAA season starts to take its toll, veterans like Lynna Irby, Kendall Ellis, or Wadeline Jonathas could step in and take the win.

Women’s 100m Hurdles (1st round Friday 8:10 p.m. EST):

The women’s 100-meter hurdles is one of the most densely-competitive events of the whole meet, with eight women entered between 12.40 and 12.59 seconds. Defending champion and Tokyo silver medalist Keni Harrison, who is also the world record holder, has only the 5th-fastest wind-legal mark among Americans in 2022, but she’s also thrice run under 12.50 in wind-aided races. The official U.S. leader is Alaysha Johnson, who turned heads at the USATF Grand Prix with her candid interview about competing as an unsponsored athlete, ran her personal best of 12.40 at the same meet.

Behind them, Tonea Marshall is U.S. No. 2 at 12.46, and a trio of Olympians (Christina Clemons, Gabbi Cunningham, and Nia Ali, who won silver in Rio) could all factor in. Ali, the defending world champion, gets a bye into Eugene ‘22, so this is another event where the Americans will get to send four athletes.

Women’s 400m Hurdles (1st round Thursday, 7:50 p.m. EST):

Dalilah Muhammad and Sydney McLaughlin have dominated this event at an unprecedented level for the last three years, and that doesn’t look to be changing any time soon. Muhammad, the 2019 World champion in Doha, has an automatic bid into Worlds as the defending champ and will not race this weekend. She obtained a waiver from USATF that assures her of her spot without competing.

McLaughlin is the favorite for this weekend since she basically jogged a 51.61 in her opener for the third-fastest mark of all time. NCAA champ Britton Wilson sits at No. 2 in the world with a 53.75. She’ll battle the likes of Anna Cockrell and Shamier Little for the remaining two slots on Team USA.

THE DISTANCE EVENTS

Women’s 800m (1st round Thursday, 7:25 p.m. EST):

While the women’s 800m is one of the most exciting events in the sport right now, we haven’t seen many big domestic matchups yet this season as reigning Olympic champion Athing Mu missed the Prefontaine Classic while recovering from COVID-19, which means we haven’t seen her go head-to-head with World Indoor champion Ajee’ Wilson since the final in Tokyo. And Wilson has only raced once against Tokyo bronze medalist and her former training partner Raevyn Rogers this season. Each woman, however, has proven her fitness already this season. While Mu is the clear favorite, it will be interesting to see how close the U.S.’s big medal threats will end up to one another.

In all likelihood, the podium will be some permutation of the three Tokyo Olympians but the women’s 800m is seriously deep this year with 11 American women cracking the two-minute barrier already in 2022. The biggest threat to upset the big three is likely Allie Wilson of Atlanta Track Club, who has had a banner year already, knocking nine seconds off her 1500m PB and running 1:58.18 in the 800m. Don’t count out the On Athletics Club’s Sage Hurta as she races well in championships and her 1500m strength will serve her well through three rounds.

Women’s 1500m (1st round Thursday 9:53 p.m. PST):

The women’s 1500m could be the marquee distance event of the whole championships. All three Tokyo Olympians - Elle Purrier St. Pierre, Cory McGee, and Heather MacLean - are back and healthy, as well as big names like Nikki Hiltz (who made the team in 2019), Helen Schlachtenhaufen (Trials 5th-placer with a 4:00 PB), and the resurgent Sinclaire Johnson (who made a splash by running 3:58.85 at the Prefontaine Classic). In the last few years, the possibility of someone running sub-4 at USAs and not making the team has become less and less far-fetched.

There are also a few intriguing double-entries on the entry list, as Elise Cranny, Karissa Schweizer, and Josette Norris are double-entered in the 5000m along with Purrier St. Pierre. The Bowerman duo of Cranny and Schweizer will likely scratch the shorter race so they don’t have to run three rounds of the 1500m before their specialty event but Purrier St. Pierre will almost certainly prioritize the shorter distance. Norris is probably a coin toss (she ran the 5000m at Trials last year, but is seeded higher in the 1500m), but either way, there will be a bit of gamesmanship involved as the heavy hitters try to maximize their chances of making the team.

Women’s steeplechase (1st round Friday 9:05 p.m. EST):

This event has the potential to be very predictable or very intriguing depending on how you interpret race results from earlier in the season. The Prefontaine Classic was underwhelming for both Tokyo silver medalist Courtney Frerichs and Rio bronze medalist Emma Coburn, who ran 9:20.96 and 9:18.19, respectively, well off their personal bests of 8:57 and 9:02. Cause for alarm or early-season rust? If history is any indication, it’s almost certainly the latter, as both women have proven year in and year out to be among the best steeplechasers in the world. Frerichs ran 9:35.82 at the Portland Track Festival, but that result should be taken with a huge grain of salt as well as it was pouring rain and she fell on the final water jump. We could be seeing some cracks in the pair’s dominance of the event on the domestic stage, but the smart money is on both women to easily make the team, which would be Frerichs’s 5th and Coburn’s 8th.

Whether they’re joined by Tokyo Olympian Val Constien, NCAA champion Courtney Wayment, or someone else entirely is another question. Constien has had a relatively lowkey season, running only one steeplechase and winning the 1500m at the Stanford Invitational in 4:09.97, but if she runs close to her 9:18 personal best, she’ll be a threat to make her second team. Wayment is the U.S. leader in the event, and after finishing 4th at the 2021 Trials, she’s only gotten better in the last year. If the wear and tear of the NCAA season hasn’t taken its toll, she could even be a factor to win.

One name worth mentioning is Colleen Quigley, who snuck into the championship with a last-minute qualifier at the Portland Track Festival in 9:39.27 after a long road back from injury. She’s publicly said she’s still rebuilding her fitness, but it’s likely she won’t have to be in the shape to better her 9:10.27 PB to make the team - if she can manage a performance around 9:20 or just under, she could land on the podium.

Women’s 5000m (Final Sunday, 4:18 p.m. EST):

Unlike the Olympic Trials, the 5000m at USAs is a one-heat straight final, so the race will feel a bit like a conference meet, where the 5k’s location at the end of the program means that coaches throw their 10k, 1500, and steeplechasers in for a bonus race on the off chance someone picks up another couple points. As such, it’s a bit hard to predict who will be a factor in the 5000m, as several contenders may scratch after making the team in an earlier event and others may be running on tired legs. One such loss is Alicia Monson of On Athletic Club, who has chosen not to contest the 5000m after making the team in the 10,000m, despite running 14:31.11 just last week in Oslo. This clears the way for 10,000m champ Karissa Schweizer and her Bowerman teammate Elise Cranny to run away with two spots, as they’re the only runners entered with PBs under 14:40.

The third spot could go to any number of racers, including the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th placers from the 10,000m race at Pre. Emily Infeld, who missed the team by 0.24 seconds, will certainly be out for blood, and Weini Kelati, who looked absurdly strong winning the 5000m at the Portland Track Festival in 14:57.07, will be looking to make her first U.S. team. If the race is slow (which it rarely is, but the forecast is expected to be in the high 80s), big kickers like Taryn Rawlings, Emily Lipari, or Sarah Lancaster will become a factor. NCAA champion Katelyn Tuohy may not be quite ready to make a senior global team, but she could certainly threaten Jenny Simpson’s all-time NCAA best in the event of 15:07.64 if the race is right.

THE THROWS

Women’s Shot Put (Sunday 4 p.m. EST):

With Olympic silver medalist Raven Saunders still struggling a bit after coming back from surgery, it looks like the podium spots will be decided among the four women who’ve thrown over 19 meters so far this season: World Indoor silver medalist Chase Ealey, NCAA champ Adelaide Aquilla, Trials champ Jessica Ramsey, and U.S. indoor champion Maggie Ewen. Ealey is the only thrower over 20 meters this year, and she’s done it twice this season, so she’s likely the favorite. Rio Olympic gold medalist Michelle Carter, now 36 years old, is entered in the meet but hasn’t thrown yet this season, so it’ll be interesting to see how she fares against the up-and-coming crowd.

Women’s Discus Throw (Friday 9:45 p.m. EST):

The women’s discus has been the Valarie Allman show for months now, as the 2021 Olympic champion had a nine-month win streak going that was only snapped last week when she finished second to four-time World/Olympic champion Sandra Perkovic in Oslo. She shouldn’t have any trouble with domestic competition, however, as her 71.46m season’s and personal best from April is a solid 6 meters clear of the No. 2 U.S. mark this year. Rachel Dincoff, who also made the Tokyo team, has the second-best mark at 65.46m and looks to be well-positioned to make another global team as well. Michaela Hazlewood, the runner-up from Trials, is not on the start list so at least one member of the Eugene squad will be a fresh face.

Women’s Javelin Throw (Saturday 2:30 p.m. EST):

36-year-old Kara Winger will compete for her 9th(!) U.S. title in this event, but she’ll have to get through Trials champion Maggie Malone first. In 2021, Malone broke Winger’s American record with a haul of 67.40m, and she’s the 2022 world leader at 65.73m. These two legends-in-the-making will match up for the 11th time in their careers, and their head-to-head record is currently 6-4 Winger.

Women’s Hammer Throw (Thursday 8 p.m. EST):

2022 could be a big year for the American women in the hammer throw, as three-time Olympic champion Anita Wlodarczyk announced she is out for the season with injuries sustained during an attempted car theft (she caught the culprit!). That opens the door for world leader Brooke Andersen and world No. 3 Janee’ Kassanavoid to contend for the win in Eugene if they make the team. They’re both 4 meters clear of the next farthest seed, so that shouldn’t be a problem, and the third spot could go to Trials champ DeAnna Price or third-placer Gwen Berry.

THE JUMPS

Women’s Long Jump (Thursday 8:15 p.m. EST):

The story of the women’s long jump is the pros versus the collegians, as a number of seasoned veterans like Tara Davis, Quanesha Burks, Shakeela Saunders, and our very ownJasmine Todd will throw down with a talented crop of youngsters that includes NCAA 4x jumps champ Jasmine Moore, her Florida teammate Claire Bryant, and NCAA leader Monae’ Nichols of Texas Tech. The vacuum left at the top of this event by all-time great Brittney Reese has opened the door for another woman to claim the title of U.S. jumps queen, and there’s a large crowd of evenly matched candidates vying for the throne.

Women’s Triple Jump (Saturday 3:30 p.m. EST):

This is an event with a very clear top 3 already established, as Keturah Orji and Tori Franklin have traded the American record back and forth in recent years and NCAA champion Jasmine Moore already made the Tokyo Olympic team as a collegian. They’re the only women entered over 14 meters, and each of the big three has been consistently clear of the 14 meter mark in multiple competitions all season. The title could go to any of them, but the team is likely set.

Women’s High Jump (Friday 9:15 p.m. EST):

Vashti Cunningham is the undisputed queen of this event and will likely remain that way for the foreseeable future, as she’s racked up a whopping 11 national titles at only 24 years old and is undefeated against Americans this year. She’ll likely be looking for redemption at Worlds after “only” finishing 6th in Tokyo, but first she has to clear a few bars at USAs. Only two other U.S. women have cleared 1.90m this year, Rachel Glenn and Rachel McCoy, but if Inika Macpherson or Jelena Rowe can return to their 2021 form, they should contend for a spot on Team USA as well.

Women’s Pole Vault (Friday 8:55 p.m. EST):

On paper, this should be another big rematch between training partners and Olympians Sandi Morris and Katie Nageotte, but Nageotte, the reigning Olympic champion and World indoor silver medalist, has struggled outdoors so far this season. Nageotte is talented enough to make the team with sub-par form, but if injury holds her back from jumping at her best, that would be a big loss for Team USA. Morris, the U.S. leader, has been as consistent as ever and is looking to bounce back after getting injured during the competition in Tokyo. The reigning World indoor champion could very well make it an outdoor double. Emily Grove has the No. 2 mark in the U.S. this year and she competed at Worlds back in 2017, so she’ll be looking to get an updated Team USA kit this time around.

🙏 Thanks again for reading and sharing. Follow along on Twitter: @chrischavez and Instagram: @chris_j_chavez. Tell your friends to sign up for the newsletter to stay in the know on what and how to watch the best track and field action. Catch “CHAMPS CHATS” on the CITIUS MAG Podcast feed for recaps and analysis of all the events.