First four days of U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field start with a bang at Hayward Field

Photo by Evan Poulsen

By Sophie Fowler

June 21st kicked off the first four days of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field, where the country’s best athletes compete to represent the United States in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris this August. Over 900 athletes descended upon Hayward Field to try to claim their spot. Some highlights:

Noah Lyles won the men’s 100m with a personal best time of 9.83 seconds. This will be Lyles' second Olympics appearance, having won bronze in the men’s 200m in the Tokyo Olympic Games. Kenny Bednarek placed second this weekend with a personal best time of 9.87 seconds. Bednarek took home silver from Tokyo in the men’s 200m. Fred Kerley came in third with a time of 9.88 seconds. Kerley won silver in Tokyo in the men’s 100m. 

“It’s amazing to finally be here,” Lyles told NBC News following his race. “In Tokyo, I felt like I had blown a huge opportunity. The more I look back at it, the more I’m like, ‘Wow, if I never had that moment happen, I never would have produced what I have done up until now.’ I don’t think there would be the drive in me as much as it has the last couple of years.”

In the women’s 800m, Nia Akins placed first with a personal best time of 1:57.36. Allie Wilson placed second with a time of 1:58.32, and Stanford sophomore Juliette Whittaker placed third with a personal best of 1:58.45. This is Akins, Wilson and Whittaker’s first time representing the U.S. in the Olympic Games. 

Ryan Crouser won the men’s shot put with a distance of 22.84m (73 - 11 ¼). This is Crouser’s third time making Team USA, previously winning gold in both the Rio and Tokyo Olympic Games. Joe Kovacs placed second with a distance of 22.43m (73 - 7 ¼), also taking him to the Olympic Games for the third time. Kovacs won silver in Rio and Tokyo. Payton Otterdahl placed third to qualify for the Paris Games with a distance of 22.26m (73 - 0 ½). 

Quincy Hall had an impressive finish in the men’s 400m to finish first with a personal best time of 44.17 seconds. Michael Norman placed second with a time of 44.41 seconds, and Chris Bailey placed third with a personal best time of 44.42. Norman represented Team USA in Tokyo, where he won gold in the 4x400m relay. 

Sha’Carri Richardson placed first in the prelims, semi-finals and finals–finishing with a time of 10.86 seconds to claim her spot on her first Olympic team. Melissa Jefferson placed second in the finals with a personal best of 10.87 seconds, and Twanisha Terry placed third in 10.89 seconds. These three training partners will represent Team USA next month in the 100m. 

“The trials have shown us what we already know and what we’ve been preparing for,” Richardson said in a press conference following her race. “We knew this moment would be possible if we put our minds, bodies and spirits into it … We got the job done today.” 

The U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field resume on June 27th, where the rest of Team USA will be selected to compete in Paris next month. Tickets and VIP upgrades are available at TrackTown24.com.