The road to the Paris Olympics became a bit clearer for the American track stars after this past week’s USATF indoor championships. With some of the world’s fastest athletes competing for the same titles, the stakes have never been higher. With the Olympic Trials and the Paris Games right around the corner, the USATF Indoor Championships gave several athletes a final chance to perform on the big stage before the Games.
From the sprinters, newcomers and veterans had mere milliseconds to defend their titles and set new records. Aleia Hobbs, defending champion of the 60, held her title as she came roaring down the straightaway for a season-best 7.02 time. While the 60 event is not held at the Olympics, Hobbs may make an appearance for the 100 as she is currently ranked No. 19 in the world. The Paris qualifying time for the 100 has been set to 11.07 and Hobbs’s personal best is 10.81.
While Hobbs demonstrates some promise, chances are she will go directly against defending champions Teahna Daniels and Javianne Oliver if she makes it to Paris. Daniels earned a silver medal in the 2020 Tokyo Games for the women’s 4×100 relay and finished seventh in the women’s 100. As for Oliver, she also earned a silver in the 4×100 and finished 13th in the 100.
As for the 400, Alexis Holmes is showing promise. Holmes is currently a world record holder due to her performance in the women’s 4×400 and is making incredible strides in the open 400. Holmes is currently ranked No. 22 in the world in the 400 with a personal best of 50.32. As for her competition, she may be going directly against USA’s Allyson Felix, arguably the most decorated track and field female athlete with seven golds, three silvers and one bronze. In the 2020 Games, Felix ran a 49.46 and took home the bronze. While Holmes’ time is right behind her, one second makes all the difference in the sprinting game.
If Holmes ran her personal best in Tokyo, she would have taken home seventh place.
Brian Faust will be another contender to watch as he shattered a personal record in the men’s 400 with a 45.47 earning a first-place trophy and his first national title. Adidas athlete Jacory Patterson followed just one millisecond behind with a 45.48. Since every split second matters on the track, the two will need to put their nose to the grindstone as the top 2020 Tokyo finishers all ran about a second faster.
As for the longer distance races, the 800 was the event to watch with Bryce Hoppel leading the way. This was Hoppel’s fourth straight title as he has been a dominant player since 2020. In Tokyo, Hoppel finished fifth in the semifinals but was ultimately knocked out and did not make it to the finals. Although Hoppel’s Tokyo time is roughly two seconds faster than his most recent performance in the indoor championship, he remains No. 8 in the world.
If Hoppel keeps his times down and work ethic up, chances are he will be making an appearance in Paris for a chance at a top finish in the 800.
In the men’s 3000, Yared Nuguse had all eyes on him as he just narrowly beat out Olin Hacker by about one second. Nuguse, who is currently No. 2 in the world for the 1500 will be a hot contender in several events. The Notre Dame alumni earned bronze in the 2021 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for the 1500 and appears to be on a trajectory to success.
On the field, the pole vault put Katie Moon in the limelight. Moon, who is currently No. 1 in the world is arguably the strongest contender for the Paris Games. At the indoor championships, Moon vaulted a season-best of 4.80.
The 32-year-old made a stunning appearance in the Tokyo Olympics as she took home the gold with a 4.9 vault. Most likely, Moon will be returning to the Olympic Games for another chance at victory.
The men’s pole vault was equally as intense as Olympic silver medalist Christopher Nilsen took home the win with a 6.00 vault. Nilsen, currently No. 3 in the world, already has the Olympic Games on his resume as he took home the silver in Tokyo with a 5.97 vault.
As the Olympic Games hang in the back of all track and field athletes’ minds, they only have about four months left to prepare. The trials are scheduled for June 21-30 at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field.
For some, the indoor championships provided an opportunity to scope out the competition and for others, it sealed the deal for the Paris Games.