Track and Field Preview
USA Track & Field is coming off world-leading performances at the Olympic Games Rio 2016, where Team USA won the most medals at 32, and the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, where the U.S. again led in medals with 29.
That momentum continued at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials earlier this summer, when U.S. athletes came back from a mostly lost 2020 to claim their spots on the Olympic team with some record-breaking performances. From Sydney McLaughlin’s world record time in the 400-meter hurdles to Noah Lyles posting the world-leading time in the 200, U.S. athletes showed that they’re ready for Tokyo.
The winningest country in the history of Olympic track and field, Team USA brings medal potential across the board, with a strong mix of veterans and newcomers all looking to make their mark in the Japanese capital. The team includes 13 returning medalists from Rio, six reigning world champions and eight NCAA national champions from the 2021 season. Eighty-one athletes will be making their Olympic debuts.
Reigning Olympic gold medalists Matthew Centrowitz (1,500), Ryan Crouser (shot put) and Dalilah Muhammad (400 hurdles) return for Tokyo, along with several other Rio medalists including Paul Chelimo (5000), Will Claye (triple jump), Emma Coburn (steeplechase), Allyson Felix (400), Sam Kendricks (pole vault), Joe Kovacs (shot put), Sandi Morris (pole vault), Clayton Murphy (800), Brittney Reese (long jump) and Galen Rupp (marathon).
They will be bolstered by defending world champions seeking their first Olympic medals, including Grant Holloway (110 hurdles), Noah Lyles (200) and DeAnne Price (hammer throw), as well as other rising stars such as high jumper Vashti Cunningham, hurdler Sydney McLaughlin, sprinter Michael Norman and 800-meter runners Raevyn Rogers and Ajeé Wilson.
Updated on July 7, 2021. For more information, contact the sport press officer here.