The 2023 USA Track & Field (USATF) championships will be held July 6–9 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. It’s the most important meet of the year for most elite U.S. track and field athletes.
Below, you’ll find three key details for each day of the meet—TV and streaming info, the race schedule, and the three most enticing races of the day. We’ll update these categories every day of the meet so that you’re set to enjoy that day’s action. Of course, you’ll also want to follow our coverage, which will include flash results, videos, analysis, and break-out stories on the most interesting athletes and developments of the meet.
Here’s what you need to know.
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What’s at Stake?
In addition to determining this year’s national champions, the meet serves as the qualifier for the World Athletics World Championships, to be held August 19–27 in Budapest, Hungary. In most events, the top three finishers will be named to the U.S. roster for the world meet.
In some events, however, one or more of the top three finishers might lack a world championship qualifying standard, which can be achieved either with a fast enough time (in races) or mark (in field events), or a high enough World Athletics ranking in the event. The World Athletics ranking system is too complex to briefly address in this meet overview, so in our daily coverage we’ll go into detail as warranted by events.
If a top-three finisher lacks a world championship standard, USATF’s stated guidelines for completing the team roster appear to give athletes until August 2 to achieve a world qualifying standard (again, either by time or ranking). If a top-three finisher doesn’t achieve a world standard by then, USATF will fill the roster with the highest-placing finisher or finishers at the national meet who have the world standard.
Note: Defending world champions receive a bye to the world meet; USATF doesn’t require them to contest the event at the national championships. For example, Athing Mu won’t race the 800 meters and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won’t race the 400-meter hurdles in Eugene. Countries can send four athletes in events in which one of the team members is the defending world champion.
How to Watch the USATF Outdoor Championships (Day 2/July 7)
Day 2 action will be split among Peacock, CNBC, and USATF.tv. The main racing of the day will be broadcast live on Peacock and CNBC between 10 p.m. and midnight Eastern/ 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Pacific. (You can purchase a Peacock subscription for $4.99 a month.) Races occurring at other times and all field events will be streamed live on USATF.tv, which requires a subscription that you can sign up for here.
Full Race Schedule (Eastern Time)
8:53 p.m.—Women’s 100-meter hurdles, first round
9:16 p.m.—Men’s 400-meter hurdles, first round
9:39 p.m.—Women’s 400-meter hurdles, first round
10:14 p.m.—Women’s 100 meters, semi finals
10:29 p.m.—Men’s 100 meters, semi finals
10:44 p.m.—Men’s 800 meters, semi finals
10:59 p.m.—Women’s 800 meters, semi finals
11:14 p.m.—Men’s 400 meters, semi finals
11:29 p.m.—Women’s 400 meters, semi finals
11:45 p.m.—Women’s 100 meters final
11:54 p.m.—Men’s 100 meters final
Three Key Races Thursday
Women’s 800 meters, semi finals (10:59 p.m. ET)
The women’s 800 meters has one of the deepest fields at these championships. Fourteen entrants have qualifying marks under 2:00—and that’s not counting Olympic gold medalist Athing Mu, who as the defending world champion has an automatic entry into the world meet and is running the 1500 meters in Eugene. Semifinals in this event are always brutally competitive as some runners go all-out to make the eight-women final. Look for one or more top names to not make the cut.
Women’s 100-meter final (11:45 p.m. ET)
The eight-women field for this showcase final won’t be set until the semifinals earlier in the evening. The main storyline is whether a resurgent Sha’Carri Richardson can win her first national title. She was stripped of her 2021 Olympic Trials victory after a positive in-competition test for marijuana, and struggled to regain that form through 2022. But she was on fire in early-season meets this year and is eager to reassert herself as the fastest woman in the United States.
Men’s 100-meter final (11:54 p.m. ET)
Here, too, we won’t know the entrants until after today’s semifinals. One man who won’t line up is defending world champion Fred Kerley, who has an automatic entry to the world meet. We’re most interested in how two-time world 200-meter champion Noah Lyles will fare. Nobody can match his top-end speed once he gets going. But he’ll need a great start to be close enough to 100-meter aces such as Christian Coleman and Trayvon Bromell to be able accelerate past them in the final 20 meters.
Contributing Writer
Scott is a veteran running, fitness, and health journalist who has held senior editorial positions at Runner’s World and Running Times. Much of his writing translates sport science research and elite best practices into practical guidance for everyday athletes. He is the author or coauthor of several running books, including Running Is My Therapy, Advanced Marathoning, and Meb for Mortals. Scott has also written about running for Slate, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, and other members of the sedentary media. His lifetime running odometer is past 110,000 miles, but he’s as much in love as ever.
