Olympic Track and Field is just about here! It started with race walking today and events in the stadium start tomorrow. I’m going to take a break from my usual training focused posts to share some thoughts on enjoying Olympic Track and Field.
I’ll highlight a handful of events (and one athlete) that I’m especially looking forward to but I’d encourage you to watch all of them. Yes, I got my Peacock 1 month subscription so I can immerse myself in the Olympics and it’s a pretty small investment if you really want to go deep. So far, their coverage has been impressively comprehensive.
Women’s 400 meter hurdles: I took the photos above at the Olympic Trials about a month ago where I got to see a living legend break her own world record. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is, in my opinion, by far the greatest of all time at her event. However, she’s going up against Femke Bol, who if not for Sydney would have a solid claim to the greatest of all time title. Sydney was both the first woman under 52 seconds and the first under 51 seconds. There have only been 3 times a woman has run under 51 seconds: Sydney ran 50.68 two years ago and 50.65 a month ago, breaking her own world record both times. This month, Bol ran 50.95. I don’t predict world records but Sydney has set a world record in the last 5 championship hurdles races she’s run and she might need a world record to beat Bol. I think Sydney will win but Bol will push her to a possibly historic time. In my opinion, this has the greatest chance of being the race that those of us who see it live will remember years, if not decades, later.
Women’s 1500 meter run: Faith Kipyegon seems to be in a league of her own. The only woman to ever go under 3:50, she lowered her own world record to 3:49.04 earlier this month. However, she’s not completely in a league of her own. Gudaf Tsegay ran 3:50.30 this spring and Jessica Hull ran 3:50.83 earlier this month (in the same race that Kipyegon ran the world record) before going on to set a 2000 meter world record of her own. If the race is fast, this could be your podium. However, if it goes tactical, there will be others who could make themselves a factor.
Men’s 1500 meter run: Jakob Ingebrigtsen vs. Josh Kerr. It’s become quite a rivalry. Ingebrigtsen runs incredibly fast times but Kerr seems to have his number in championship races that don’t have rabbits. Can Ingebrigtsen figure out how to counter Kerr’s finish? Can Kerr continue holding off Ingebrigtsen? Can someone else slip in there? From the American perspective, there are three very good runners. Can one of them get in the mix? Yared Nuguse would be the most likely candidate but don’t count out Hobbs Kessler or Cole Hocker.
Men’s 400 meter hurdles: Karsten Warholm, Rai Benjamin, Alison dos Santos. A three way battle with three of the greatest of all time. We haven’t had the opportunity to see all three of them at the top of their game in the same race. Will this be the time? I hope so. Even if two of the three are running their best, though, it will be a great race.
Men’s marathon: So many storylines. The biggest in my mind and I’m sure many others is the greatest of all time. There’s no doubt in my mind that Eliud Kipchoge is the greatest of all time. He’s also the two time defending Olympic champion. He’s taken the marathon to another level. However, he’s not the same as he used to be. There was a time when he was unbeatable. He’s not that runner anymore. Can he pull off a historic third consecutive Olympic marathon championship? Can he win a medal in his fifth consecutive Olympics?
Sifan Hassan: Not an event but an athlete in a LOT of events. Hassan is tripling, running the 5000, 10,000 and marathon. At the time I originally wrote this, she was planning to also run the 1500 but she has decided to drop that. Obviously, she’s going against great competition in all of these events. It will be interesting how she holds up with this kind of schedule. Even though she’s the defending champion in the 5000 and 10,000, it would seem her best medal chance would be in the marathon but how will her legs be on the final day of the Olympics after all that racing in the other events? I love how she’s always willing to challenge herself but is she giving up medals by doing this? Can she overcome this schedule to do something historic?
I’m leaving so much out. Can Noah Lyles win the 100/200 double? Will Sha’Carri Richardson back up her world championship in the 100 with an Olympic 100 title? What will the loaded American team do in the men’s 200? What can Ryan Crouser do in the shot put? What can Mondo Duplantis do in the pole vault? And so many story lines in basically every event. Enjoy this 11 days of track and field.