By David Melly
June 22, 2023
With no Diamond League races or national championships on the calendar this weekend, sports fans will surely be asking themselves… what do I watch this weekend? Look no further: We’ve pulled together previews of the best professional track and field (and road racing) coming up this weekend for your viewing and cheering pleasure at meets from Portland, Oregon, to Ostrava, Czech Republic.
Get up to speed on the competitions coming up this weekend and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok, and YouTube for live updates, interviews, and behind-the-scenes content on all things track and field.
NYC Grand Prix
When: Saturday, June 24. Pro events start at 12:50pm E.T.
Watch: Live on NBC (or Peacock with a subscription) 1pm-3pm
Results: Entries & live results
Tell your friends: Many of the biggest American track stars are competing in a domestic race that will serve as an exciting preview of who’s fit and sharp two weeks before the U.S. championships.
Event to Watch: Women’s 800m
The two-hour pro window in this race is full of intriguing matchups, including Devon Allen vs. Trey Cunninham (110m hurdles), Christian Coleman vs. Michael Norman in the men’s 100m, Chase Ealey vs. Maggie Ewen in the women’s shot put, Jenna Prandini vs. Abby Steiner in the women’s 200m, and closely-matched competitive races in the men’s 800m and 1500m. Aleia Hobbs is back in action in the women’s 100m after withdrawing from the final of the same race in Los Angeles, so hopefully we’ll see her return healthy and fit. But the women’s 800m is perhaps the most intriguing as it features a stacked lineup of athletes with different sets of racing tools: 800m specialists Ajee’ and Allie Wilson (no relation) take on middle-distance rivals Sage Hurta-Klecker, Nikki Hiltz, and Heather MacLean. At 1:58.16, Ajee’ Wilson has the fastest season’s best of the Americans by almost a full second, but her fitness will be put to the test by late addition Athing Mu, who is finally opening up her season in the event where she won World and Olympic titles. Mu has to be the favorite as she’s yet to lose an 800m race as a pro, but how fast the field goes and how the places shake out will be must-watch racing.
Athlete to Watch: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone
When Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone finished 2nd earlier this month to Marileidy Paulino in the 400m at the Paris Diamond League, fans were left with more questions than ever before about the enigmatic star’s racing plans and priorities for 2023. Will she continue to focus on the flat 400m, or return to the “safe” territory of the hurdles? Was 49.71 close to her ceiling, or does she have more time to drop? Why did she go out at world record pace in Paris?
With intrigue swirling, it was great to see McLaughlin-Levrone entered in another flat 400m at the USATF NYC Grand Prix. For starters, it’s impactful when huge American stars like McLaughlin-Levrone lend their clout to building up the U.S. pro scene by appearing in races like this one. And she and coach Bobby Kersee deserve credit for sticking with the challenge of the 400m rather than retreating into her specialty event. McLaughlin-Levrone fans would point to her bold first 200 meters in Paris as a sign she and Kersee think her fitness is nearing world-record caliber rather than a tactical error, and this race will provide more insight into her capabilities. She’s not the fastest entrant in the event, with Gabby Thomas coming off a 49.68 season’s best earlier this spring, but Thomas is expected to be doubling back from the 100m an hour earlier so she may not be competing at 100 percent freshness.
Stumptown Invitational
When: Saturday, June 24. High Performance events begin at 2pm E.T.
Watch: PPV will be available on tracklnd.com. The meet will also be streamed for free on Tracklandia's YouTube channel.
Results: Meet schedule and live results.
Tell your friends: A few West Coast pros chasing World Championships standards and sharpening up before USAs are headed to Portland.
Event to Watch: Men’s 800m
2016 Olympic 1500m champ Matthew Centrowitz is dropping down in distance to test his racing skills against a field that includes U.S. champ Cole Hocker and Brooks Beasts Henry Wynne and Devon Dixon. With Wynne, Centro, and Hocker in the race, the two-lapper will likely serve as a sneak preview as to who’s got the top-end foot speed needed to be a factor in the 1500m final at USAs.
Athlete to Watch: Sinclaire Johnson
Reigning U.S. 1500m champ Sinclaire Johnson has had a fairly quiet season so far, but she’s undefeated on the track over four races indoors & out and is coming off a 2:01 800m/4:05 1500m double-victory last weekend in Eugene. Johnson already has the World standard in the 1500m from last year’s Monaco Diamond League, so as she looks to defend her U.S. title in a few weeks this race will likely be more about keeping the racing sense sharp.
B.A.A. 10K
When: Sunday, June 25. Races begin at 8am E.T.
Watch: No live stream, so book your ticket to Boston!
Results: Live results available on BAA racing app.
Tell your friends: Boston Marathon fan favorites including Molly Seidel and Hellen Obiri are back in town to throw down fast times over 10km.
Race to Watch: Americans vs. the record book
The U.S. men’s and women’s 10km road records should both be within reach this weekend if the weather cooperates. In 2022, Leonard Korir won the men’s race in 28:00, just 12 seconds off the American record of 27:48, and he’s back to defend his title Sunday. American Teshome Mekonen, who represented Ethiopia until this year, is entered and has run 27:50 on the roads, but that was way back in 2015 so we’ll have to see if the speed is still there as he trains for the marathon. On the women’s side, Emily Sisson is coming off a 31:16 victory at the New York Mini-10k, which is 1 second under Weini Kelati’s women’s only 10km road national record, but the start and finish of the Central Park course are just far enough apart to not be record-eligible. In favorable conditions she could even threaten the outright 10km record of 30:52 set by Shalane Flanagan at this race in 2016 (before they separated the pro women’s start from the field).
Athlete to Watch: Hellen Obiri
Reigning Boston Marathon champion Hellen Obiri may actually be better at the 10km distance than the marathon, with a 30:15 official road best and 29:59 best on a non-record eligible course. She finished second at the Mini-10k to Senbere Teferi, another extremely accomplished road racer, but Obiri is a fierce competitor and hasn’t lost two races in a row in almost 2 full years. She’ll have her work cut out for her with the talented international field assembled but it will take a truly special performance to knock Obiri off her game.
Ostrava Golden Spike
When: Tuesday, June 27. Main program begins at 12pm E.T.
Watch: The meet will be streamed for free on YouTube here.
Results: Entries
Tell your friends: One of the oldest and fastest European pro meets outside the Diamond League Circuit will provide some midweek entertainment and maybe even threaten some world records.
Event to Watch: All the field events
Tuesday’s festivities in the Czech Republic feature a long list of World and Olympic medalists, including Olympic 100H champ Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Olympic 200m champ Andre De Grasse, and new steeplechase world record holder Lamecha Girma dropping down to the 1500m. But it’s the field event entries that really catch your eye, including pole vault GOAT Mondo Duplantis, shot put GOAT Ryan Crouser, and reigning discus world champ Kristjan Čeh. Plus the home fans will be treated to a farewell of sorts from legendary Czech javelin thrower Barbora Špotáková, the 2x Olympic champ and 3x World champ who announced her retirement at age 41 last fall but is entered here.
Athlete to Watch: Ryan Crouser
Sporting a new technique that’s clearly working for him, Ryan Crouser has already redefined what’s possible in the men’s shot put this season, breaking his own world record by almost 20 centimeters. Any time he steps into the ring, we’re on world record watch as the World and Olympic champ inches closer and closer to the outer limits of the sectors wherever he competes.
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.
