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!

Schedule + How To Watch

Final: Sunday, August 3rd at 2:31 p.m. ET (Watch it on NBC, Peacock)

Last year's Olympic team: Elise Cranny, Whittni Morgan, and Karissa Schweizer

Who has the World Championship qualifying standard or is in the World Rankings quota: The U.S. has nine women who have run under the World Championships standard of 14:50.00 and six women in the World Rankings quota.

Top Contenders: Of the 2024 Olympic contingent, Whittni Morgan isn’t competing as she’s pregnant with her first child, Elise Cranny is still looking to find her footing after a challenging, racing-intensive spring on the Grand Slam circuit, and Karissa Schweizer is similarly looking for things to click when they matter most. Both will be doubling back from the 10,000m.

It’s unusual for an athlete who has never made a U.S. team before to be considered the prohibitive favorite, but that’s just where Josette Andrews finds herself, thanks to a 14:25.37 breakthrough PB at the Rome Diamond League. No American has run within 14 seconds of that time in 2025—the closest athlete on the list is Weini Kelati, who will be doubling back from the 10,000m.

Behind this group, Shelby Houlihan and Emily MacKay appear to be the next women up, based on recent performances. Houlihan’s indoor season was highlighted by a silver medal in the 3000m at World Indoors, but she hasn’t looked quite as sharp outdoors. MacKay last raced a 5000m in March, and has instead focused on the 800m and 1500m outdoors, and has been a steady performer.

Dark Horses: Again, this feels like a cop-out—after all, she’s the American record holder in the event—but Alicia Monson was out for so long with injury that she doesn’t currently have the 14:50.00 standard, and given she’s only finished one race since February of 2024, she’s not in the quota. She opened up on July 12th with a 15:01.63 showing, after just two months of training. And she’s talented enough that lopping an additional 12 seconds off that time while closing the gap on her peers doesn’t feel like a stretch.

One Good Stat: Either Schweizer or Cranny has made every outdoor U.S. team in the 5000m since 2018.

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