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. We’ve broken down each event in obscene detail below, and highlighted when and how to watch each race.
And 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 women's 400mH at the U.S. Championships:
Schedule + How To Watch
Heats: Friday, Aug. 1st at 3:03 p.m. PT (Watch it on USATF.TV)
Semifinals: Saturday, Aug. 2nd at 1:19 p.m. PT (Watch it on NBC, Peacock)
Final: Sunday, Aug. 3rd at 1:34 p.m. PT (Watch it on NBC, Peacock)
Last year's Olympic team: Anna Cockrell, Jasmine Jones, and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone
Who has the World Championship qualifying standard or is in the World Rankings quota: McLaughlin-Levrone, Cockrell, Jones, Dalilah Muhammad, Rachel Glenn, Akala Garrett, Shamier Little, and Anna Hall have run under the World Championships standard of 54.65; Cassandra Tate and Bianca Stubler are in the World Rankings quota.
Top Contenders: This year’s 400H is an event defined by who is—and isn’t—competing. Notably absent, of course, is world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, as well as three of the other seven women with the standard, as Shamier Little, Rachel Glenn, and Anna Hall are no-shows (Hall is the favorite in the heptathlon).
But on the bright side, 35-year-old Dalilah Muhammad is singing one helluva swan song in her final professional season, running her fastest times in years. She’s actually the fastest American entered by season’s best at 52.58. It would be quite the feel-good story to see Muhammad make one last team, and now it looks like she might even win one last national title, which would be her fifth total but first since 2019.
Kevin Morris / @kevmofoto
Olympic silver medalist Anna Cockrell will put up a good challenge, however, as the only other sub-53 woman of 2025, and as Jasmine Jones comes back into form after an early-season injury, she’ll have the firepower to take the win as well.
Dark Horses: 20-year-old Akala Garrett was the NCAA runner-up behind Canadian Savannah Sutherland, and she’s one of only four entrants under 54 seconds this season.
At the other end of the experience spectrum, 34-year-old Cassandra Tate hasn’t run quite up to her past standards this year with only a 55.59 season’s best, but the 2015 World bronze medalist has plenty of championship experience under her belt and could be saving her best stuff for August.
One Good Stat: An American has medaled at every World or Olympic final in this event going back to 2007, so even in the absence of SML, statistically speaking someone from the top three in Eugene will be very likely standing on the podium in Tokyo as well.
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.
