Over the next few days, CITIUS MAG and Trials of Miles Racing will be unveiling some of the key athletes registered for next month’s Texas Qualifier meet happening on Feb. 26 and 27th.

The first night of the meet will be aimed for athletes to achieve the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials qualifying marks. The second night of action will get faster with some of the sport’s top stars aiming for Olympic qualifying times that would have them set for the Summer Games in Tokyo.

Race organizers plan to have strict COVID-19 protocols in place that will require athletes to get tested before the meet and implement social distancing and mask requirements before and after the race.

There will be a FREE broadcast of the meet available on The CITIUS MAG YouTube Channel. Subscribe now. If you are interested in sponsoring a race at the meet, please contact race organizer Cooper Knowlton via email – cooper@trialsofmilesracing.com

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Women’s 800 Meters

Siofra Cleirigh Buttner, 2:01.67 PB

The 25-year-old from Ireland set her personal best in 2019. She is a two-time national champion and was a standout runner at Villanova.

Charlene Lipsey, 1:57.38 PB

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Charlene Lipsey race due to injury. Last summer, she wrote on Instagram: “Oftentimes I find myself so obsessed with the idea of getting back to running 1:57 but the truth is I have to remain focused and dedicated to the process regardless of the end results.”

Her last race was Sept. 2, 2018 from a season in which she finished fifth at the U.S. championships and also ran personal bests of 4:04.98 for the 1,500 meters and 4:27.28 for the mile. She has run under 1:58 twice in her career with her 1:57.38 coming at the 2017 Lausanne Diamond League. She was seventh at the 2017 World Championships 800 meter final.

Hannah Segrave, 2:00.18 PB

At 25 years old, Seagrave is a British Olympic team hopeful. She set her 2:00.18 personal best at the 2019 London Diamond League. Last summer, she ran 2:01.89 at a small meet in Columbia, South Carolina. She has been training under coach Chris Layne in Johnson City, Tennessee.

Ajeé Wilson, 1:55,61 PB and American Record

The last time Ajeé Wilson was seen racing she captured her 11th U.S. national title with a win at the U.S. Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico. After the pandemic shut down races in the spring, Wilson continued training under coach Derek Thompson but never showcased her fitness. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Wilson also started helping out at Sankofa Healing Studio (a Philly-based nonprofit that addresses trauma associated with mass incarceration) in 2020.

Wilson has the fastest personal best in the field and is the most decorated athlete with her two world indoor silver medals (2016 and 2018) and her two world championship bronze medals (2017 and 2019).

Raevyn Rogers, 1:57.69 PB

Rogers managed to beat Wilson for the first time in her career at the 2019 world championships in Doha for the silver medal behind Uganda’s Halimah Nakaayi. Last summer, the five-time NCAA champion out of Oregon made a major coaching switch by leaving Thompson’s group in Philadelphia for Pete Julian’s Nike training group. She raced a few times in 2020 and finished the year with a 2:01.02 season’s best in the 800 and 2:37.10 personal best in the 1,000 meters after a brief European racing season.

Kendra Chambers, 2:00.76 PB

If you’re looking for someone with a possible hometown edge in the race, look no further than Kendra Chambers. The Oiselle middle-distance runner was a star for the Texas Longhorns but also works as an Administrative Associate in the African and African Diaspora Studies Department at The University of Texas at Austin. She’s always been an 800 runner with no fear of dipping down to the 200 and 400. Her personal best of 2:00.76 was set in Lignano, Italy in July 2016.

Ce’Aira Brown, 1:58.01 PB

Brown made the most of her 2019 season when she missed the U.S. Championships final but then earned a spot on the national team for the world championships in Doha because just three women in the U.S. final had the world championship qualifying time and because Wilson won the Diamond League final so Brown ended up on the team. She went on to finish eighth in the world. Her personal best of 1:58.01 was set in Karlstad, Sweden in July 2018.

Sammy Watson, 2:00.65 PB

The former high school star who turned pro with Adidas after her sophomore season at Texas A&M is looking to get back toward her 2:00.65 personal best form that she ran in 2017. Last summer, she clocked a season’s best of 2:02.41 for the 800.

Kate Grace, 1:58.28 PB

The 2016 Olympian has not raced since running a 1,000 meter personal best of 2:35.49 on Feb. 28, 2020. The pandemic shut down races and then she missed the Bowerman Track Club’s summer intrasquad races due to injury. Grace recently announced that she is still sponsored by Nike but is no longer training with the Bowerman Track Club. While working with coach Jerry Schumacher, she improved as one of the best 1,500-meter runners in the country. She set personal bests of 4:02.49 for 1,500 meters and 4:20.70 for the mile. Her last 800 was a 2:00.66 runner-up finish at the Zurich Diamond League in 2019.

Adelle Tracey, 1:59.86 PB

Tracey is also among the Great British crop of middle-distance runners vying for their first Olympic team in 2021. She had a full season in 2020 with nine 800 races and finished the year with a 1:59.87 at the Doha Diamond League. In 2018, she was third at the British national championships in the 800 meters and then went on to take fourth at the European championship.