By David Melly
July 28, 2025
Buckle up track and field fans. The most high-octane four-day stretch of sprinting and hurdling imaginable is set to get underway Thursday at increasingly historic New Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. If you just can’t get enough track and field coverage, there’s plenty more where that came from:
- Each day before the meet begins, tune in to Good Morning Track and Field (presented by Beekeeper Coffee), where Eric Jenkins and Aisha Praught-Leer give their takes on the action and happenings in Eugene. (Also available on the Off The Rails Podcast feed.)
- After each day at the track, tune in for CHAMPS CHATS—Chris Chavez, Eric, Aisha, Anderson Emerole, and Paul Hof-Mahoney will break down all of the results and offer up their analysis from each day’s competition. (Also available on the CITIUS MAG Podcast feed.)
- The CITIUS MAG Newsletter will be hitting your inbox daily with a recap of results and a round-up of the best content from the day.
- And for those in Eugene, we’ll be hosting two group runs with New Balance, Saturday and Sunday at 8 a.m. PT, meeting in front of Agate Alley on 1461 E. 19th Avenue. There will be coffee, treats, free “I Love Track and Field” t-shirts and the chance to try out the new FuelCell Rebel v5 and FuelCell SuperComp Elite v5. It’s going to be a great time!
Without further ado, here’s your full preview of the top storylines and athletes to watch in the men's 400m at the U.S. Championships:
Quincy Wilson | Photo by Kevin Morris / @kevmofoto
Schedule + How To Watch
Heats: Thursday, July. 31st at 5:05 p.m. PT (Watch it on USATF.TV)
Semifinals: Friday, Aug. 1st at 5:41 p.m. PT (Watch it on USATF.TV)
Final: Saturday, Aug. 2nd at 1:11 p.m. PT (Watch it on NBC, Peacock)
Last year's Olympic team: Christopher Bailey, Quincy Hall, and Michael Norman
Who has the World Championship qualifying standard or is in the World Rankings quota: The U.S. has 13 men who have run under the World Championships standard of 44.85 and two men in the World Rankings quota.
Top Contenders: Could 2025 be the year we see “U.S. senior champion Quincy Wilson”? It’s more likely than you think. With Olympic champ Quincy Hall and 2022 World champ Michael Norman out with injuries, the list of athletes Wilson would have to beat is not nearly as long as it could be: the 17-year-old is the third fastest American on the year.
The U.S. leader is Kaleb McRae, who took a huge jump forward with a 43.91 at a somewhat-random meet in Canada in June. You can’t entirely dismiss that performance as an outlier, but his previous PB was 44.68 and his next race was a 44.45 at Pre, where he finished behind Jacory Patterson and Chris Bailey.
Maybe McRae will prove the doubters wrong, but based on resumes alone it’s more likely that Patterson or Bailey will be the strongest contenders for the win in Eugene. Bailey is the reigning World Indoor champ and has gotten better and better this season, most recently running a 44.15 PB at Pre for second behind Olympic silver medalist Matthew Hudson-Smith. Patterson is the only other sub-44 American this year alongside McRae, running 43.98 at the Miami GST, but he’s been more consistent, winning four of his five outdoor 400m races after a World Indoor bronze, including a Diamond League win.
Wilson, of course, has only gotten higher expectations since picking up an Olympic gold medal in the 4x400m last summer. Most recently, he broke his own U18 world record with a 44.10 victory over a pro field at the Ed Murphey Classic, placing him third on the entry list for USAs.
Dark Horses: Tied with Wilson on the entry list is fan-favorite Vernon Norwood, a veteran racer who’s been a stalwart relay leg on many a U.S. team. Most recently, he’s coming off a 44.34 fourth place finish (top American) at the London DL and should he recapture his 44.10 form from last summer he should have a decent shot at the team.
One Good Stat: 0 for 4. Being the fastest guy in the U.S. in the 400m has been something of a curse the last few years. None of the four fastest men on the year successfully competed at the following USAs: Hall, the fastest man of 2024, is out, Norman (2022) was injured all of 2023, and Randolph Ross (2021) had his USA result from 2022 disqualified for a WADA violation. Of course, the one exception is Rai Benjamin, the fastest American of 2023 in the event who simply didn’t contest the flat 400m because he’s an Olympic champion hurdler.
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David Melly
David began contributing to CITIUS in 2018, and quickly cemented himself as an integral part of the team thanks to his quick wit, hot takes, undying love for the sport and willingness to get yelled at online.
