Running, Jumping and Throwing to Tokyo

I've got plenty to say about Shelby Houlihan, but that'll have to wait until another day.  Because the Olympic Trials are about to start!  Ridiculously, Houlian was still entered in both the 1500 and 5000 at Trials until the USOPC stepped in and said no.  (The fact that someone who literally just received a doping suspension was going to be allowed to compete for a spot on the Olympic team was preposterous, and I'm glad it won't happen.)

Houlihan's not the only big name who won't be at Trials.  Christian Coleman and Brianna McNeal are also serving doping suspensions, while Christian Taylor, Shannon Rowbury and Molly Huddle are injured.  Which isn't to say Trials will be lacking star power, though.  Not by a long shot.

Allyson Felix will be there, looking to make her fifth Olympic team...and her first as a mother.  She's evidently only running the 200, which I think is a mistake because her chances aren't only better in the 400 individually, but the 400 also has extra spots for the relay.  And, frankly, I don't think she makes the team in the 200!  Finishing in the top six in the 400, though, would definitely be possible.

Noah Lyles, meanwhile, stands to become the breakout star of the Tokyo Games.  Track fans know him, but the world will soon be introduced.  If you're looking for Usain Bolt's successor, he might just be that guy.  Lyles ran away with the 200 at the 2019 World Championships and anchored the U.S. 4x100 relay.  With Coleman suspended, he'll also be the favorite in the 100 at the Olympics.  But he, of course, needs to make the team first.

Ask Keni Harrison about that.  In 2016, she didn't make the team, then set the world record in London a week after Trials.  But she had to sit at home and watch three other American women sweep the podium in Rio.  And the women's 100 hurdles is still one of the most competitive events out there.  She could just as easily not make the team as she could win gold in Tokyo.

That's why Trials are so great.  The stars are just as likely to dominate as they are to miss the team entirely.  And random people who are completely off the radar will end up becoming unlikely Olympians.

Trials are once again being held at Hayward Field...expect Hayward Field is now a completely new facility, having been entirely rebuilt for next year's World Championships (which were originally supposed to take place in a few weeks).  It hosted the NCAA Championships last week, so those collegians haven't left and have already taken part in a major competition on this track.  That's a huge advantage.

There were some outstanding performances at the NCAA Championships, too.  LSU's JuVaughn Harrison won both the high jump and long jump, and he could quite possibly make the team in both events this week.  Tara Davis from the University of Texas, meanwhile, had the world-leading mark in the women's long jump.  It'd be a shock if three women beat her.

Harrison and Davis are just two examples of people who might not have made the team if the Olympics were held last year as originally scheduled.  As was the case with swimming, the delay helped some athletes and hurt some athletes.  And the team we'll be picking over the next 10 days is definitely not the same as it would've been at this time last year.

This is the first Olympics where qualifying is different, too.  It's still first three go to Tokyo.  That hasn't changed.  However, you also need to already have the Olympic standard or get it at Trials.  That isn't really different, either.  What is different, though, is that World Athletics now has the world ranking list, which will be used to complete the field if not enough athletes have the standard.  They used to just base it on the world list.  Not anymore!  If you don't have the standard and your world ranking isn't high enough, you aren't going even if you finish in the top three.  (And fourth or fifth-place can replace you.)

Fortunately, enough Americans have the standard in enough events that this won't be an issue.  In fact, there are so many Americans with the standard in some events that no one will even have to worry about the clock and it'll be all about the racing.  Because this is what it's all about.  The Olympics are the pinnacle, and everybody had to wait an extra year for them.  Now's their chance to make Team USA for Tokyo.

Here's who I've got earning those tickets.  The US has enough people either with the standard or high enough in the world rankings to send a full three-person team in every event except the 20 kilometer walks.  The runners in the mixed 4x400 relay, meanwhile, will be taken from the regular 4x400 relay pools...

Men
100: Noah Lyles, Trayvon Bromell, Justin Gatlin
200: Noah Lyles, Kenny Bednarek, Terrance Laird
400: Fred Kerley, Michael Norman, Michael Cherry
800: Donavan Brazier, Bryce Hoppel, Clayton Murphy
1500: Matthew Centrowitz, Craig Engles, Hobbs Kessler
5000: William Kincaid, Paul Chelimo, Emmanuel Bor
10,000: Lopez Lomong, Ben True, Shadrack Kipchirchir
110 Hurdles: Grant Holloway, Daniel Roberts, Freddie Crittenden
400 Hurdles: Rai Benjamin, TJ Holmes, Amere Lattin
Steeple: Hillary Bor, Andy Bayer, Mason Ferlic
Long Jump: Jeff Henderson, Isaac Grimes, Marquis Dendy
Triple Jump: Will Claye, Omar Craddock, Chris Benard
High Jump: JuVaughn Harrison, Shelby McEwen, Trey Culver
Pole Vault: Sam Kendricks, Chris Nilsen, KC Lightfoot
Shot Put: Ryan Crouser, Joe Kovacs, Darrell Hill
Discus: Sam Mattis, Mason Finley, Reggie Jagers
Hammer Throw: Rudy Winkler, Sean Donnelly, Conor McCullough
Javelin: Michael Shuey, Curtis Thompson, Riley Dolezal
Decathlon: Garrett Scantling, Harrison Williams, Solomon Simmons
20K Walk: (Nick Christie)
4x100 Relay: Mike Rodgers, Cravon Gillespie, Marvin Bracy
4x400 Relay: Vernon Norwood, Bryce Deadmon, Nathan Strother

Women
100: Sha'Carri Richardson, Aleia Hobbs, Javianne Oliver
200: Angie Annelus, Cambrea Sturgis, Gabrielle Thomas
400: Phyllis Francis, Wadeline Jonathas, Shakima Wimbley
800: Ajee Wilson, Raevyn Rogers, Hanna Green
1500: Elinor Purrier, Jenny Simpson, Kate Grace
5000: Karissa Schweizer, Vanessa Fraser, Rachel Schneider
10,000: Emily Sisson, Emily Infeld, Elise Cranny
100 Hurdles: Keni Harrison, Anna Cockrell, Chanel Brissett
400 Hurdles: Dalilah Muhammad, Sydney McLaughlin, Shamier Little
Steeple: Emma Coburn, Courtney Frerichs, Colleen Quigley
Long Jump: Tara Davis, Brittney Reese, Sha'keela Saunders
Triple Jump: Keturah Orji, Tori Franklin, Jasmine Moore
High Jump: Vashti Cunningham, Rachel McCoy, Jelena Rowe
Pole Vault: Sandi Morris, Katie Nageotte, Olivia Gruver
Shot Put: Chase Ealey, Maggie Ewen, Raven Saunders
Discus: Valarie Allman, Whitney Ashley, Laulaga Tausaga
Hammer Throw: Deanna Price, Gwen Berry, Brooke Andersen
Javelin: Maggie Malone, Kara Winger, Ariana Ince
Heptathlon: Erica Bougard, Kendell Williams, Annie Kunz
20K Walk: Robyn Stevens (Maria Michta-Coffey, Miranda Melville)
4x100 Relay: Twinasha Terry, Tamara Clark, Kayla White
4x400 Relay: Quanera Hayes, Kendall Ellis, Lynna Irby