Hayward Field is about to take center stage once again as the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships kick off on Thursday, with four days of racing that will decide the U.S. team for the World Championships in Tokyo this fall.
While some of the sport’s biggest names already have punched their tickets thanks to world titles in Budapest last year, most athletes will need to finish in the top three and meet the standard to punch their ticket to Japan.
And in many events, that podium will be fiercely contested.
Sha’Carri Richardson is one of those with a guaranteed spot, but she’s still entered in both the 100m and 200m.
The reigning world champion in the short sprint has barely competed in 2025, and her best time this season, 11.19, ranks 96th in the world. That might not sound like the form of a global medalist, but it’s hard to know what to expect.
Her training partner Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, on the other hand, has had a breakout year, running 10.73 at the Philadelphia Grand Slam meet, the fastest by any American this season. The 200m won’t be any easier, with Olympic champion Gabby Thomas entered and looking sharp. With JaMeesia Ford and McKenzie Long also doubling, the sprints on the women’s side could see an unexpected shuffle.
The men’s sprints are similarly packed.
Noah Lyles, the reigning world champ in both the 100m and 200m, doesn’t need to compete this weekend, but he is. After a bumpy start to the outdoor season caused by tendon inflammation, he looked sharp in Monaco with a 19.88 200m and followed it up with a 10.00 flat 100m in London.
Still, he’ll have to deal with Fred Kerley, Christian Coleman, Kenny Bednarek, and Trayvon Bromell, all of whom are doubling.
Erriyon Knighton, meanwhile, is entered in the 200m only after not racing since April.
His status has been clouded by an unresolved doping case involving a positive test for trenbolone, which his legal team claims was the result of cross-contamination from meat and tied to WADA’s controversial handling of other recent cases. He remains one of the biggest question marks in the field.
One of the biggest surprises heading into the meet was Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s decision to skip the 400m hurdles entirely. She doesn’t have a bye in that event, Femke Bol is the reigning world champion, and instead, McLaughlin-Levrone will run the flat 400m, an event she nearly won last year before withdrawing from Worlds with a knee injury.
Her 49.43 season’s best ranks third among Americans this year, but she’ll need to bring something closer to the 48.74 she ran in 2023 to beat rising stars like Aaliyah Butler, who’s gone 49.09 this year, and Alexis Holmes.
On the men’s side, the absence of Olympic champ Quincy Hall opens the door for one of the most exciting young athletes in the sport.
Quincy Wilson, still just 17, has already rewritten the U20 world best this year with a 44.10 and is poised to make a second senior national team after anchoring the Olympic 4x400m relay in Paris. With no Hall in the way, Wilson suddenly looks like a legitimate contender to win the whole thing.
Middle-distance fans will have plenty to keep their eyes on, too.
Donovan Brazier, back from years of injuries and surgeries, looks sharp again. He opened with a 1:44.7 and recently clocked 1:43.81, showing he’s close to the form that made him a world champion in 2019. But the men’s 800m has moved on since then. Josh Hoey is having the season of his life with a 1:42.01, and Bryce Hoppel isn’t far behind at 1:43.11. Add in Brandon Miller and Jonah Koech, and this event may be the most brutal to make the team.
Athing Mu waited until the last possible moment to enter, and her lone race so far, a 2:00.42 in Memphis, has left a lot of questions. She’s the Olympic champion, but this isn’t 2021. She’ll face Sage Hurta-Klecker, who ran 1:58.89 recently, and high school standout Natalie Dumas, who has a 2:00.11 PB and is fresh off winning three events at New Balance Nationals. There’s a real chance Mu doesn’t make the team unless she’s holding something special in reserve.
The 1500m fields might be even tougher to predict. On the men’s side, Yared Nuguse, Cole Hocker, and Hobbs Kessler all bring Olympic credentials. Nuguse has been the most consistent American miler in recent years, but Hocker is attempting a 1500m/5000m double, and Kessler is going all-in on the metric mile. NCAA stars Ethan Strand and Liam Murphy are in the mix, along with Sam Prakel, Marco Langon, and Gary Martin, any of whom could find themselves in the final and ready to surprise.
Shelby Houlihan’s return to championship racing is one of the most watched storylines on the women’s side.
After serving a four-year doping ban, she’s quietly returned to elite form, clocking 4:02 in the 1500m and 14:45 in the 5000m. She’s expected to attempt the double in Eugene, but this isn’t 2019 anymore.
Nikki Hiltz, Sinclaire Johnson, Heather MacLean, and Emily Mackay have all gone under 4:00 this season, and Elise Cranny and Karissa Schweizer are also doubling.
The 5000m, meanwhile, features Josette Andrews, whose 14:25.37 leads all Americans this year, and Alicia Monson, the national record holder. Parker Valby, one of the breakout stars of the past year, announced on Instagram that she’s not racing as her foot still hasn’t fully healed.
Grant Fisher, fresh off double bronze in Paris, is attempting the 5K/10K double again, along with Nico Young, Woody Kincaid, and Graham Blanks. Abdihamid Nur is entered in just the 5000m as he continues his return from injury, while Drew Hunter, Parker Wolfe, and Sean McGorty round out a long list of names with realistic team hopes.
The U.S. selection policy remains simple, for most events, finish top three and have the standard.
Reigning world champions already have a spot, and Diamond League winners can potentially earn one later this summer. But for the vast majority of athletes in Eugene, this weekend is their shot.
No second chances.
The 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships run July 31 through August 3, streaming live on NBC and USATF.TV. From star-studded showdowns to comeback bids, it’s shaping up to be four days of chaos, heartbreak, and, for a lucky few, redemption on the path to Tokyo.
