Hello again track and field fans! As opposed to the Olympic Trials, which stretch out over a week, athletes at USAs are packing their heats, finals, and attempted doubles into just four condensed days of racing. We can expect even more unexpected outcomes in already highly volatile events like the men’s and women’s 800m, but we did our best to make sense of the madness and lay out how to watch each race below. 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 Bee Keeper 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!

Men's 10,000m

Schedule + How To Watch

Final: Thursday, July 31st at 8:30 p.m. ET (Watch it on USATF.TV)

Last year's Olympic team: Grant Fisher, Woody Kincaid, and Nico Young

Who has the World Championship qualifying standard or is in the World Rankings quota: Fisher, Young, Graham Blanks, and Kincaid have run under the World Championships standard of 27:00.00.

Top Contenders: Grant Fisher, Nico Young, and Graham Blanks are the men to beat here. They’re the fastest by PB (26:33.84, 26:52.7, 26:57.30, respectively) and they’ve simply run better across all events than anyone else in the 20-man field over the past year. 

Only Woody Kincaid has the standard outside of this trio. He dabbled on the roads this winter and has slowly rounded back into track sharpness—his last race was a 1500m heat two victory at Adrian Martinez in 3:37.47. Wily Woody shouldn’t be counted out, especially if the pace languishes and he’s close enough to the podium to unleash his Hayward-famous kick.

Dark Horses: Nobody else has the standard or is in the quota. The targeted field size for this event at Worlds is 27 and the highest ranked American outside the four men mentioned is Casey Clinger, at 41st. Ahmed Muhumed has run closest to the World standard of 27:00—he went 27:03.19 at The Ten. 

With a top-three finish, anybody in the race can technically chase the standard, but this late in the summer, fast 10,000m don’t grow on trees.

One Good Stat: It’s easy to forget that, before last year, Grant Fisher had never won a national title in the 10,000m. Kincaid is the only multiple-time champ in the field, with wins in 2023 and 2021.

Women's 10,000m

Schedule + How To Watch

Final: Thursday, July 31st at 7:45 p.m. ET (Watch it on USATF.TV)

Last year's Olympic team: Weini Kelati, Karissa Schweizer, and Parker Valby

Who has the World Championship qualifying standard or is in the World Rankings quota: The U.S. doesn’t have any women who have run under the World Championships standard of 30:20.00. Kelati, Schweizer, and Valby are in the World Rankings quota. 

Top Contenders: As per annual custom, Chris Chavez wrote about 2,000 words about the women’s 10,000m at USAs and what needs to play out for the athletes not in the quota to rep Team USA in Tokyo. (You can check out our deep dive into qualification scenarios here.) Parker Valby announced she won’t be competing, due to injury, so Weini Kelati and Karissa Schweizer have the easiest path to qualification, as they are the only women in the field in the quota currently. Every other runner needs to boost their World Ranking points. Elise Cranny is best positioned to be the third qualifier, given that she’s the U.S. leader and a top-three placement, as long as she doesn’t run slower than 32:27.90, ought to get her in.

Dark Horses: Emily Infeld—who won World Championship bronze in this event in 2015—should never be counted out at U.S. championships. In her first season as a Brooks sponsored athlete, she’s been running well while bouncing back and forth between the roads and the track. Amanda Vestri or Taylor Roe could conceivably finish top three as well. NC State’s Grace Hartman is out with an injured plantar.

One Good Stat: If this race were run on the roads as opposed to the track, Taylor Roe likely wouldn’t complain. Her personal best in the 10,000m, 30:58.66 set this year at The Ten, is nearly identical to her fastest time over 10km, 30:58, run a few months later at the New York Mini 10K in Central Park.

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