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July 29, 2021
USATF Tokyo Olympic Preview - Women
USATF Tokyo Olympic Preview - Women
*All times Eastern
Women's 100m
1
st
round:
July 29, 10:40 p.m ET
Semis:
July 31, 6:15 a.m. ET
Final:
July 31, 8:50 a.m. ET
Team USATF:
Javianne Oliver (Clermont, Florida / USATF Florida), Teahna Daniels (Austin, Texas / USATF Texas Southern), Jenna Prandini (Pflugerville, Texas / USATF Central California)
OG Medal History:
18 medals
-
9G, 7S, 2B
Last Gold:
1996 - Gail Devers
Last Medal:
2016 - silver, Tori Bowie
Oliver is the fastest U.S. entrant with a best of 10.96 set at the Trials, and she will face a formidable task in getting on the podium in an event currently dominated by Jamaicans. She was a semifinalist at the 2018 World Indoors in the 60m after winning that event at the Toyota USATF Indoor Championships and has tallied three sub-11 second clockings already this season in the 100m. Daniels, the 2019 national champion, was a finalist at the 2019 Worlds in Doha, placing seventh, and she took bronze on the U.S. 4x100m relay there. Her personal best of 10.99 was set at the NCAA West meet in 2019, and she has a season best of 11.02. Prandini was an Olympian at 200m in 2016 and a Worlds silver medalist in the 4x100m relay in 2015. She has a best of 11.11 in 2021, and a PR of 10.92 set in 2015 at the Mt. SAC Relays, the year she won the NCAA title for Oregon.
Women's 200m
1
st
round:
Aug. 1, 9:30 p.m. ET
Semis:
Aug. 2, 6:25 a.m. ET
Final:
Aug. 3, 8:50 a.m. ET
Team USATF:
Gabby Thomas (Austin, Texas / USATF Texas Southern), Jenna Prandini (Pflugerville, Texas / USATF Central California), Anavia Battle (Inkster, Michigan / USATF Michigan)
OG Medal History:
12 medals
-
6G, 3S, 3B
Last Gold:
2012 - Allyson Felix
Last Medal:
2016 - bronze, Tori Bowie
A historic performance at the Trials rocketed Thomas to the top of the list of favorites for gold in Tokyo, as her 21.61 made her the second-fastest woman ever behind only world record-holder Florence Griffith-Joyner. Thomas, who set three straight lifetime bests at the Trials, was the NCAA indoor champion for Harvard in 2018 and is making her first international championship appearance in an individual event after representing Team USATF at the 2019 World Relays in the 4x200m. Prandini was a semifinalist at the 2015 Worlds and 2016 Games in the 200m and also set her lifetime best at the Trials with a 21.89, matching Thomas's feat of three PRs in a row. An Ohio State senior, Battle was third at the NCAA meet before taking third at the Trials in 21.95 and chopping .33 off her lifetime best. Reigning Olympic champ Elaine Thompson-Herah leads a strong Jamaican trio, and 2019 world champion Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Rio 400m gold medalist Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas make this one of the most anticipated and competitive events of the Games.
Women's 400m
1
st
round:
Aug. 2, 8:45 p.m. ET
Semis:
Aug. 4, 6:30 a.m. ET
Final:
Aug. 6, 8:35 a.m. ET
Team USATF:
Quanera Hayes (Hope Mills, North Carolina / USATF North Carolina), Allyson Felix (Los Angeles, California / USATF Southern California), Wadeline Jonathas (West Columbia, South Carolina / USATF South Carolina)
OG Medal History:
7 medals
-
2G, 2S, 3B
Last Gold:
2012 - Sanya Richards-Ross
Last Medal:
2016 - silver, Allyson Felix
A rematch of the Rio final could be in the offing as reigning champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas has entered the 400m as well as the 200m. She has the fastest time of the year in the field at 49.08, but Hayes won the Trials in 49.78, her second-fastest time ever, and also dipped under 50 at Miramar in April. Hayes was the 2016 World Indoors bronze medalist and picked up gold in the 4x400m at the 2017 Worlds and 2016 and 2018 World Indoors. Felix was the silver medalist behind Miller-Uibo in 2016 and is the most decorated U.S. woman in Olympic track and field history with nine medals, six of them gold. She was second at the Trials in 50.02 and has a PR of 49.26 that was set in winning the 2015 World gold. Jonathas was the top U.S. finisher at the 2019 Worlds, taking fourth in a lifetime best 49.60, and was only .01 behind Felix at the Trials. She anchored the U.S. 4x400m relay to gold in Doha and was the 2019 NCAA champion for South Carolina. Stephenie Ann McPherson of Jamaica will also be a gold medal threat with a PR of 49.61 set at her national championships.
Women's 800m
1
st
round:
July 29, 8:55 p.m. ET
Semis:
July 31, 7:50 a.m. ET
Final:
Aug. 3, 8:25 a.m. ET
Team USATF:
Athing Mu (Trenton, New Jersey / USATF New Jersey), Raevyn Rogers (Houston, Texas / USATF Gulf), Ajee' Wilson (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania / USATF Mid-Atlantic)
OG Medal History:
3 medals
-
1G, 1S, 1B
Last Gold:
1968 - Madeline Manning
Last Medal:
1988 - bronze, Kim Gallagher
It has been more than 50 years since an American woman won the Olympic 800m, and more than 30 since a medal of any color was won. That could all change with 19-year-old
wunderkind
Mu coming into the Games as the fastest woman in the world at 1:56.07, a time she ran to win the Trials in dominant fashion. Mu won the NCAA 400m title for Texas A&M in 49.57 before returning to her favorite event to storm through the Trials and set a meet record and better her own American U20 mark. Trials runner-up Rogers set a lifetime best of 1:57.66 in that final and will look to match or improve on the silver she won at Doha two years ago. A prodigy in her own right after clocking 2:06.90 as a 13-year-old, she won three straight NCAA golds for Oregon from 2015-17 and added two indoor collegiate titles. Wilson enjoyed several years as the top-ranked American, winning 11 national titles overall, and still holds the AR at 1:55.61 from 2017. She was a semifinalist at Rio and raced to bronze at the 2017 and 2019 Worlds, adding World Indoor silvers in 2016 and 2018. The average of her top top-10 career performances is an eye-watering 1:57.05, a time only she and five other U.S. women have ever bettered. Top challengers for the medals include Cuba's Rose Mary Almanza, a 1:56.28 performer this year, and 2019 world champion Halimah Nakaayi of Uganda. Britain's Keely Hodgkinson, who is three months older than Mu, and Jemma Reekie are also strong contenders.
Women's 1,500m
1
st
round:
Aug. 1, 8:35 p.m. ET
Semis:
Aug. 4, 6:00 a.m. ET
Final:
Aug. 6, 7:50 a.m. ET
Team USATF:
Elle Purrier St. Pierre (Brighton, Massachusetts / USATF New England), Cory McGee (Boulder, Colorado / USATF New England), Heather MacLean (Brighton, Massachusetts / USATF New England)
OG Medal History:
1 medal
-
1B
Last Gold:
none
Last Medal:
2016 - bronze, Jenny Simpson
Purrier St. Pierre ran away with the Trials title, winning by more than 2.5 seconds in 3:58.03, a personal best that moved her to No. 6 on the all-time U.S. performer list. A World Championships finalist in the 5,000m in 2019, Purrier St. Pierre won the 2018 NCAA indoor mile gold for New Hampshire. She set the American indoor mile record of 4:16.85 to win the Millrose Games in 2020 and first went sub-4 in the metric mile with a 3:58.36 to win the USATF Golden Games at Mt. SAC in May. McGee also smashed her personal best at the Trials, clocking 4:00.67 for second. She was a 2013 World Championships team member and was fourth at the 2015 Pan American Games. In May she had her first venture under 2:00 in the 800m with a 1:59.17 at Portland. MacLean was one of the surprises of the Trials, placing third in a lifetime best 4:02.09 to qualify for her first international team, and also has sub-2 800m speed. This will be one of the toughest podiums to make at Tokyo, with Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands and Kenya's reigning Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon, the 1-2 finishers at Doha two years ago who have both run under 3:52, as well as Britain's Laura Muir, the fifth-place finisher at the last Worlds.
Women's 3,000m Steeplechase
1
st
round:
July 31, 8:40 p.m. ET
Final:
Aug. 4, 7:00 a.m. ET
Team USATF:
Emma Coburn (Boulder, Colorado / USATF Colorado), Courtney Frerichs (Beaverton, Oregon / USATF Oregon), Val Constien (Boulder, Colorado / USATF Colorado)
OG Medal History:
1 medal
-
1B
Last Gold:
none
Last Medal:
2016 - bronze, Emma Coburn
This will be only the fourth time the women's steeplechase has been contested at the Olympic Games, and Team USATF looks well-set to add to and upgrade the bronze won by Coburn at Rio. The world champion in 2017 and silver medalist at Doha, Coburn has shown the ability to race at almost any pace and has a top-10 performance average of 9:06.18. She set her lifetime best of 9:02.35 at Doha two years ago and has already notched three sub-9:10 efforts in 2021. Frerichs, the American record holder at 9:00.85 and the silver medalist behind Coburn in 2017, raced to a season best 9:11.79 at the Trials. She was sixth at Doha in 2019. Newcomer Constien sliced more than seven seconds off her personal best to place third at the Trials in 9:18.34 and had a pair of top-six NCAA finishes for Colorado in her collegiate career. World record holder and reigning world champion Beatrice Chepkoech of Kenya hasn't neared the form that saw her run 8:44.32, but she is a threat for gold alongside countrywoman and Rio silver medalist Hyvin Jepkemoi. Winfred Yavi of Bahrain was fourth at the most recent Worlds and lowered her PR to 9:02.64 this year.
Women's 5,000m
1
st
round:
July 30, 6:00 a.m. ET
Final:
Aug. 2, 8:40 a.m. ET
Team USATF:
Elise Cranny (Beaverton, Oregon / USATF Oregon), Karissa Schweizer (Urbandale, Iowa / USATF Oregon), Rachel Schneider (Flagstaff, Arizona / USATF Arizona)
OG Medal History:
none
Last Gold:
none
Last Medal:
none
Cranny and Schweizer ran together for much of the Trials final and finished within .3 of each other, with Schneider a clear third. Schweizer, who was ninth at the 2019 Worlds and is the second-fastest American ever with a best of 14:26.34, has put together two very solid seasons in a row that included an American indoor record in the 3,000m last year. The 2017 and 2018 NCAA indoor and outdoor champion for Missouri, she is also entered in the 10,000m. Cranny has a lifetime best of 14:48.02, set in 2020, while Schneider has the fastest 2021 time of the trio at 14:52.04. Schneider was on the Doha team in 2019, finishing eighth in her heat. The top three entrants from Ethiopia, led by Gudaf Tsegay, have all run faster than 14:16 this season and it will be tough to break into that group, with Kenya's Rio silver medalist Hellen Obiri the most likely candidate. If Hassan also runs this distance, she can't be counted out.
Women's 10,000m
Final:
Aug. 7, 6:45 a.m. ET
Team USATF:
Emily Sisson (Phoenix, Arizona / USATF New England), Karissa Schweizer (Urbandale, Iowa / USATF Oregon), Alicia Monson (Boulder, Colorado / USATF Colorado)
OG Medal History:
2 medals - 1S, 1B
Last Gold:
none
Last Medal:
2008 - silver, Shalane Flanagan
Sisson's performance was one of the most impressive of the Trials as she broke the meet record in spite of the scorching temperatures, pushing the pace early to clock 31:03.82. Sisson was 10
th
at Doha after a ninth-place finish in 2017, and she set her personal best of 30:49.57 two years ago. She won the NCAA indoor/outdoor double in the 5,000m for Providence in 2015. Schweizer will double back from the 5,000m and has a PR of 30:47.99 from February, the fastest of the three Americans. In only her third 10K of her career, Monson grabbed the third spot at the Trials, and she has a best of 31:10.84 set last December. She was the NCAA indoor 5,000m champion for Wisconsin in 2019 and added a runner-up finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships that fall. Ethiopia's Letesenbet Gidey set a world record of 29:01.03 earlier this year and seems almost unbeatable on paper, with Hassan of the Netherlands the only woman within six seconds if she does the distance triple. This leaves at least one step on the podium wide open in what should be a fascinating tactical affair.
Women's Marathon
Final:
Aug. 6, 6:00 p.m. ET
Team USATF:
Aliphine Tuliamuk (Flagstaff, Arizona / USATF Arizona), Molly Seidel (Boston, Massachusetts / USATF New England), Sally Kipyego (Eugene, Oregon / USATF Oregon)
OG Medal History:
2 medals - 1G, 1B
Last Gold:
1984 - Joan Benoit
Last Medal:
2004 - bronze, Deena Kastor
It has been a long wait for the Team USATF marathoners, 17 months of training and patience since the Trials in Atlanta in February 2020 just before the world shut down for Covid. Tuliamuk won the Trials in 2:27:23, the second-fastest time of her career, eight seconds ahead of Seidel. She was the NCAA silver medalist at 10,000m for Wichita State in 2012-13 and also finished in the top five in the 5,000m both years. Seidel was the NCAA 10,000m champion for Notre Dame in 2015 and also won the national cross country gold for the Fighting Irish that fall. She has a marathon best of 2:25:13 from her sixth-place finish at London in 2020 and ran to a 1:08:29 half marathon PR at Atlanta in February. Kipyego is an Olympic veteran with a silver medal from the 10,000m in 2012 representing Kenya and a fourth-place finish in the 5,000m at London that year. She also picked up Worlds silver in the 10,000m in 2011 and was fifth in 2015. She ran a 2:28:52 to earn her spot on Team USATF last year, and has a PR of 2:25:10. With the marathon almost a national treasure in Japan, Mao Ichiyama will have a heavy weight on her shoulders as the favorite coming in with a 2:21:11 best this year. Israel's Lonah Salpeter has the fastest lifetime best of all entrants with a 2:17:45, while Kenya's Ruth Chepngetich was the 2019 world champion in Doha.
Women's 20K Race Walk
Final:
Aug. 6, 3:30 a.m. ET
Team USATF:
Robyn Stevens (Vacaville, California / USATF Pacific)
OG Medal History:
none
Last Gold:
none
Last Medal:
none
Stevens dominated at the Trials, winning by more than four minutes in 1:35:13. She was 12
th
at the 2019 Pan American Games and has a best of 1:33:34. A three-time U.S. champion at various distances, Stevens is making her first appearance at a global senior championship. She was a member of the U.S. teams for the world U20 championships in 2000 and 2002. China is heavily favored to sweep the medals, with a margin of more than two minutes over the next fastest entrant, but anything can happen in the heavily officiated event. The best Olympic finish by a U.S. athlete was 17
th
in 2000 by Michelle Rohl.
Women's 100m Hurdles
1
st
round:
July 30, 9:45 p.m. ET
Semis:
Aug. 1, 6:45 a.m. ET
Final:
Aug. 1, 10:50 p.m. ET
Team USATF:
Keni Harrison (Pflugerville, Texas / USATF Texas Southern), Christine Clemons (Lawrence, Kansas / USATF Missouri Valley), Gabbi Cunningham (Holly Springs, North Carolina / USATF North Carolina)
OG Medal History:
14 medals
-
5G, 4S, 5B
Last Gold:
2016 - Brianna Rollins
Last Medal:
2016 - gold, Brianna Rollins (U.S. swept medals)
World record holder Harrison was sixth at the Trials in 2012 and missed out on an Olympic berth, but she came back with a vengeance and is poised to pick up her first medal at the Games. After missing out on the Rio team, Harrison romped to a 12.20 at London in July 2016 to take down the WR, and she was the 2018 World Indoor gold medalist in the 60mH before taking silver outdoors at Doha in 2019. She swept the NCAA sprint hurdles golds for Kentucky in 2015 and has won five U.S. titles. Clemons is another Olympic debutante after clocking 12.53 in the Trials final. She was the silver medalist behind Harrison at the 2018 World Indoors and was fifth in the 100mH at the 2017 Worlds. Cunningham won the Toyota USATF Indoors gold in the 60mH last year and ran a PR 12.53 at the Trials to nab her first international berth. Another former Kentucky star, Puerto Rico's Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, is the world leader this year at 12.32 and has won seven finals. One other former NCAA start to watch is Nigeria's Tobi Amusan, who was fourth at Doha in 2019 and has a PR of 12.48.
Women's 400m Hurdles
1
st
round:
July 30, 8:00 p.m. ET
Semis:
Aug. 2, 7:35 a.m. ET
Final:
Aug. 3, 10:30 p.m. ET
Team USATF:
Sydney McLaughlin (Playa Vista, California / USATF Southern California), Dalilah Muhammad (Fort Worth, Texas / USATF Southern California), Anna Cockrell (Waxhaw, North Carolina / USATF Southern California)
OG Medal History:
9 medals - 1G, 5S, 3B
Last Gold:
2016 - Dalilah Muhammad
Last Medal:
2016 - gold, Dalilah Muhammad
Three championship finals in a row, three world records in a row. What more can you say about the rivalry between reigning Olympic and world champion Muhammad and newly minted world record holder McLaughlin? Muhammad won the 2019 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships in a then-WR 52.20 and followed up with a 52.16 at Doha to lower her own record. Reversing the placings at the Trials last month, McLaughlin became the first woman to break 52, clocking a stunning 51.90. Those two will battle it out again in Tokyo and only a fool would discount the chances of yet another world record being run. Cockrell swept the 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles for USC at the NCAA Championships and came back a week later at the Trials to lower her 400H PR to 53.70 to earn a Tokyo ticket. All three Team USATF entrants have legitimate claims to a podium spot, but Femke Bol of the Netherlands could break up the party on the strength of her PR 52.37 that moved her to No. 4 on the all-time performer list.
Women's High Jump
Qualifying:
July 30, 8:00 p.m. ET
Final:
Aug. 3, 10:30 p.m. ET
Team USATF:
Vashti Cunningham (Las Vegas, Nevada / USATF Nevada), Rachel McCoy (Austin, Texas / USATF Texas Southern), Ty Butts-Townsend (Louisville, Kentucky / USATF Kentucky)
OG Medal History:
9 medals - 4G, 2S, 3B
Last Gold:
1988 - Louise Ritter
Last Medal:
2012 - silver, Brigetta Barrett
An Olympic finalist and World Indoor champion at age 18, a World Championships silver medalist at 21, so perhaps Team USATF's first Olympic champion in more than 30 years at 23? Cunningham has all the tools to make it so. A prodigious talent under the guidance of her father, NFL star Randall Cunningham, she has progressed to the point where each time she steps on the runway she is a threat to medal or break a record. Cunningham set an indoor PR of 2.00m/6-6.75 in early February, then upped her outdoor best to 2.02m/6-7.5 at Chula Vista in late May to move to No. 4 on the all-time U.S. performer list outdoors. That height would have medaled at every Olympic Games. McCoy has improved to 1.96m/6-5 this season and was fourth at the 2014 World U20 Championships, while Butts-Townsend was eighth at the last World Championships and has a best of 1.93m/6-4. Ukraine's Yaroslava Mahuchikh tops the entry list with a personal best of 2.06m/6-9 and was the silver medalist at Doha behind Russia's Mariya Lasitskene, who has the same lifetime best as the Ukrainian.
Women's Pole Vault
Qualifying:
Aug. 2, 6:20 a.m. ET
Final:
Aug. 5, 6:20 a.m. ET
Team USATF:
Katie Nageotte (Powder Springs, Georgia / USATF New York), Morgann LeLeux-Romero (New Iberia, Louisiana / USATF Southern), Sandi Morris (Fayetteville, Arkansas / USATF Arkansas)
OG Medal History:
4 medals - 2G, 2S
Last Gold:
2012 - Jenn Suhr
Last Medal:
2016 - silver, Sandi Morris
Winner of six straight outdoor competitions and atop the world list for 2021 with a personal best 4.95m/16-2.75, Nageotte has the paper edge and her consistency will help push her toward the top of the podium. She was the 2019 Pan American Games silver medalist and finished seventh at the Worlds that year. Rio silver medalist Morris won the World Indoor title in 2018 and holds the U.S. outdoor record at 5.00m/16-4.75. She is coming off a win at the Gateshead Diamond League meet and also has two world outdoor and one world indoor silvers to her credit. A surprise of sorts at the Trials, LeLeux-Romero is in her first international championship since placing fifth at the 2009 World U18 meet. She set a personal best of 4.70m/15-5 at the Trials to take second and was runner-up at the 2016 NCAA Championships for Louisiana-Lafayette. Russia's 2019 world champion Anzhelika Sidorova has the same lifetime best as Nageotte and Britain's Holly Bradshaw has cleared 4.90m/16-0.75 in 2021. Rio gold medalist Ekaterini Stefanidi of Greece will need to find at least 10 more centimeters to defend her title.
Women's Long Jump
Qualifying:
July 31, 8:50 p.m. ET
Final:
Aug. 2, 9:50 p.m. ET
Team USATF:
Brittney Reese (Chula Vista, California / USATF San Diego-Imperial), Tara Davis (Agoura Hills, California / USATF Southern California), Quanesha Burks (Baton Rouge, Louisiana / USATF Southern)
OG Medal History:
9 medals - 3G, 3S, 3B
Last Gold:
2016 - Tianna Bartoletta
Last Medal:
2016 - gold, Tianna Bartoletta
Since 2009, Team USATF athletes have won seven of the eight major global golds on offer, with five of those going to Reese. The 2012 Olympic champion and winner of the 2009-13 and 2017 world titles, Reese has to rank as one of the greatest women's long jumpers ever. She won the Trials with a season best 7.13m/23-4.75 and is the No. 2 American ever with a personal best of 7.31m/23-11.75. Davis has blasted onto the world scene this year, setting collegiate indoor and outdoor records for Texas, topped by her 7.14m/23-5.25 at the Texas Relays that took down Jackie Joyner Kersee's outdoor CR. She was the world U18 champion in 2015 and a world U20 bronze medalist in 2018. Burks, the 2015 NCAA champion for Alabama, leaped to a lifetime best of 6.96m/22-10 at the Trials. She was fourth at the 2018 World Indoors after qualifying for the 2017 Worlds team and took fifth at the 2014 world U20 meet. Germany's reigning world champion Malaika Mihambo isn't quite in the form that saw her span 7.30m/23-11.5 two years ago, but she is a medal threat, while Nigeria's Ese Brume has the best mark of the year overall at 7.17m/23-6.25.
Women's Triple Jump
Qualifying:
July 30, 6:05 a.m. ET
Final:
Aug. 1, 7:20 a.m. ET
Team USATF:
Keturah Orji (Atlanta, Georgia / USATF Georgia), Tori Franklin (East Lansing, Michigan / USATF New York), Jasmine Moore (Athens, Georgia / USATF Georgia)
OG Medal History:
none
Last Gold:
none
Last Medal:
none
Since the event was introduced to the Olympic schedule at Atlanta in 1996, no American woman has won a medal of any color, with Orji's fourth place in 2016 the highest finish ever. Orji and Franklin have traded the American record over the past few seasons, but Orji now holds both the indoor and outdoor bests. Her 14.92m/48-11.5 at Chula Vista in April is the No. 4 mark coming into the Games, and the four-time NCAA champion for Georgia has her eyes on the first U.S. medal. Franklin, a three-time U.S. champion, is another explosive performer who has bounded 14.84m/48-8.25 in her career, and she was ninth at Doha in 2019. Moore is the newcomer to the senior level, sporting a best of 14.39m47-2.5 set in winning the Southeastern Conference title for Georgia, but she was a finalist in the long jump and triple jump at the 2018 world U20 meet. Barring disaster, the gold is already headed for the neck of Venezuela's Yulimar Rojas, the dominant competitor in the event with a 15.43m/50-7.5 that is just off the world record. Shanieka Ricketts of Jamaica and Cuba's Liadagamis Povea are strong medal contenders.
Women's Shot Put
Qualifying:
July 30, 6:25 a.m. ET
Final:
July 31, 9:35 p.m. ET
Team USATF:
Jessica Ramsey (Boynton Beach, Florida / USATF Florida), Raven Saunders (Tuscaloosa, Alabama / USATF South Carolina), Adelaide Aquilla (Westlake, Ohio / USATF Lake Erie)
OG Medal History:
2 medals - 1G, 1B
Last Gold:
2016, Michelle Carter
Last Medal:
2016, gold - Michelle Carter
It will be tough to top Michelle Carter's heroics at Rio, but Team USATF has a dynamic duo who are capable of at least matching her efforts. Ramsey and Saunders fought it out for the Trials title and came away as the No. 4 and No. 5 all-time U.S. performers, with Ramsey becoming only the fourth American woman ever to top 20m. Ramsey's 20.12m/66-0.25 puts her second on the entry list and Saunders is third at 19.96m/65-6. The Pan American Games bronze medalist in 2019, this is Ramsey's first global championship meet, while Saunders is an Olympic veteran after placing fifth at Rio. A four-time NCAA indoor and outdoor champion for Southern Illinois and Mississippi, Saunders was also the silver medalist at the 2014 world U20 championships and placed 10
th
at the 2017 Worlds. Aquilla won the NCAA indoor and outdoor golds for Ohio State this year and has a best of 19.12m/62-8.75. China's Lijiao Gong is a heavy favorite with a personal best of 20.43m/67-0.5 and two straight Worlds golds, and New Zealand's Val Adams, the two-time Olympic champion and Rio silver medalist is back in action and looming as a medal threat.
Women's Discus
Qualifying:
July 30, 8:30 p.m. ET
Final:
Aug. 2, 7:00 a.m. ET
Team USATF:
Valarie Allman (Austin, Texas / USATF New York), Rachel Dincoff (Las Cruces, New Mexico / USATF New Mexico), Kelsey Card (Madison, Wisconsin / USATF Wisconsin)
OG Medal History:
5 medals - 2G, 3S
Last Gold:
2008, Stephanie Trafton-Brown
Last Medal:
2008, gold - Stephanie Trafton-Brown
American record holder Allman has the top three performances in U.S. history and two of those came at the Trials. Her 69.92m/229-5 to win the final was a meet record and solidified her as the top Olympic medal threat since Trafton-Brown won in Beijing. Allman is ranked No. 2 coming in behind Arizona State's Jorinde van Klinken of the Netherlands, but the Dutch woman's best throw came in almost perfect wind conditions and she hasn't been within 14 feet of it in other competitions. The seventh-place finisher at the 2019 Worlds, Allman was the silver medalist at the 2014 world U20 championships. Dincoff improved her lifetime best to 64.41m/211-4 and is making her international debut, while Card was the 2016 NCAA champion for Wisconsin and made the trip to Rio. Card is also a veteran of two Pan American Games, placing seventh in 2015 and 2019. Sandra Perkovic of Croatia is the two-time defending Olympic champion with a personal best of 71.41m/234-3 and is tough to beat when she is on, and Cuba's Yaime Perez won the 2019 Worlds.
Women's Hammer
Qualifying:
July 31, 8:10 p.m. ET
Final:
Aug. 3, 7:35 a.m. ET
Team USATF:
DeAnna Price (Carbondale, Illinois / USATF New York), Brooke Andersen (Manhattan, Kansas / USATF Inland Northwest), Gwendolyn Berry (The Woodlands, Texas / USATF New York)
OG Medal History:
none
Last Gold:
none
Last Medal:
none
In the five Games where the women's hammer has been contested since 2000, the best finish by an American woman was sixth in 2016 by Amber Campbell. That should change this time with Price carrying the mantle of favorite after her superb performance at the Trials. The reigning world champion, Price twice broke her own American record in Eugene, and she has the top season best by more than three feet with an 80.31m/263-6. Trials runner-up Andersen is No. 2 on the entry list at 78.18m/256-6, with Berry holding the No. 4 spot. All three women are solid medal contenders, and this is an event where the U.S. could pick up more than one piece of hardware. Andersen was the Pan American Games silver medalist in 2019, finishing one place behind gold medalist Berry, and she was on the Doha team. Berry has a lifetime best of 77.78m/255-2 from 2018 and made the last two World Championships squads. Two-time defending Olympic champion and world record holder Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland is returning from injury and is still a bit of an unknown in 2021 with the third-best yearly mark.
Women's Javelin
Qualifying:
Aug. 2, 8:20 p.m. ET
Final:
Aug. 6, 7:50 a.m. ET
Team USATF:
Maggie Malone (Vestavia Hills, Alabama / USATF Gulf), Kara Winger (Colorado Springs, Colorado / USATF New York), Ariana Ince (Chula Vista, California / USATF San Diego-Imperial)
OG Medal History:
3 medals - 1G, 2B
Last Gold:
1932, Babe Didrikson
Last Medal:
1976, bronze - Kate Schmidt
A long medal drought could come to an end if Malone keeps progressing at the same rate she has throughout the year. Five times the 2016 NCAA champion from Texas A&M has improved her lifetime best this season, twice breaking the American record. Her latest big throw came at the JavFest in Pennsylvania on July 18, where she sailed the spear 67.40m/221-1 to come into Tokyo with the No. 3 entry mark. Malone was on the Rio team in 2016 and has won the last two Trials titles. Winger, the former American record holder, is a three-time Olympian and finished fifth at the 2019 Worlds after winning the Pan American Games gold. She has eight U.S. titles on her resume and is a veteran of five Worlds. Returning from injury this year, she has a best of 61.47m/201-8 and a lifetime best of 66.67m/218-8. Ince was the bronze medalist behind Winger at the 2019 Pan American Games and has a personal best of 63.54m/208-5. She was on the Worlds team in 2017 and 2019. Poland's Maria Andrejczyk, the fourth-place finisher at Rio, has the top entry mark at 71.40m/234-3, and reigning world champion Huihui Lu of China comes in at No. 4.
Women's Heptathlon
Day 1:
Aug. 3, 8:35 p.m. ET
Day 2:
Aug. 4, 8:40 p.m. ET
Team USATF:
Annie Kunz, Kendell Williams, Erica Bougard
OG Medal History:
4 medals - 2G, 2S
Last Gold:
1992, Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Last Medal:
2008, silver - Hyleas Fountain
Overcoming scorching conditions at the Trials, Kunz and Williams moved to No. 5 and No. 6 on the all-time U.S. performer list, and Bougard tallied her second-highest score ever to give Team USATF the top three entry marks for the Games. Kunz put together a magnificent string of individual event personal bests in Eugene to win with 6,703 points, while Williams was close behind at 6,683 and Bougard third at 6,667. This will be the first Olympic trip for Kunz, a former collegiate soccer player, but she was the 2019 Pan American Games silver medalist and finished 13
th
at the Worlds in Doha. Williams was fifth at Doha and took 17
th
at Rio, and she was twice a top-10 finisher in the pentathlon at the World Indoors. The 2014 world U20 gold medalist in the 100m hurdles, Williams was eighth in the heptathlon at the 2012 meet. Bougard is also making her Olympic debut after four straight appearances at the Worlds, capped by her fourth-place effort at Doha where she missed a medal by 90 points. Defending Olympic champion Nafi Thiam of the Netherlands is the top gold medal threat after a fine indoor season that saw her win the European pentathlon, and she has a lifetime best of 7,013. Britain's Katarina Johnson-Thompson was the 2019 Worlds gold medalist but has struggled with injuries.
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