A big question remaining to be answered is if Christian Taylor will heal well enough to use his triple jump Wild Card. (JIRO MOCHIZUKI/PHOTO RUN)
PEERLESS PROGNOSTICATION by Dave Johnson — as of June 01
With the exception of the 10,000, 20K Walk & multis, which had their own separate selection meets earlier in the year, Team USA for July’s World Championships will be chosen at the USATF Championships (Eugene, June 23–26).
With 12 days from the end of the men’s NCAA to the start of the Trials, collegians will have more time for recovery than they had last year.
Three weeks away from the start of the Trials, here’s our Top 10 charting for each event. The listing of an athlete in a discipline doesn’t guarantee he’ll contest that event (or events). In fact, there is a small number of athletes listed who have yet to compete outdoors this year, and very few people have filed meet entries at this point. That all points to a great deal of conjecture as to which events people will consider their focus and contest in three weeks’ time — including the three who made the 10,000 team (Joe Klecker, Grant Fisher and Sean McGorty).
Note that athletes who won individual golds at the ’19 WC and those who won Diamond League titles in ’21 have earned Wild Cards for this summer and need put in only a token appearance (event doesn’t matter) at the Nationals.
The 8 Wild Card holders: Christian Coleman (100), Noah Lyles (200), Michael Cherry (400), Donavan Brazier (800), Grant Holloway (110H), Sam Kendricks (PV), Christian Taylor (TJ), Joe Kovacs (SP). With USATF giving primacy to world champs, there are 4 DL winners from last year who won’t have a Wild Card: Fred Kerley (100), Kenny Bednarek (200), Devon Allen (110H), Ryan Crouser (SP).
Asterisked athletes are those who have achieved the WC qualifying standard.
Here’s our Top 10 charting for each event at 3+ weeks out. We will have a final update on the eve of the meet. The number in the right-hand column represents the athlete’s placing in last year’s U.S. Rankings.
