8 US track and field athletes who could win Olympic gold: Noah, Sha'Carri, Sydney and more
Team USA is bringing another strong track and field squad to the Olympics.
The men’s team is headlined by sprinter Noah Lyles and shot put world-record holder Ryan Crouser. They need to rebound from a disappointing Tokyo Olympics that resulted in two total gold medals, the fewest ever by a U.S. men’s track and field team at the Olympics.
The women’s team features 400-meter hurdles world-record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and defending 100 world champion Sha'Carri Richardson. The U.S. women brought home five gold medals at the previous Olympics.
The US. track and field team as a whole won 26 medals at the Tokyo Olympics. How many Olympic medals will be won in Paris? USA TODAY Sports identifies eight U.S. track and field athletes to watch. All of them are expected to bring home some hardware.
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Noah Lyles
Events: 100, 200, 4x100
Noah Lyles is the reigning world champion in the 100 and 200 and won both events at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials in June. Lyles has six world championship gold medals but has never been on top of the Olympic podium. He won bronze in the 200 at the Tokyo Olympics.
Lyles is one of the most recognizable track and field athletes in the world. He’s motivated to add Olympic champion to his resume.
Lyles’ 19.53 in the 200 is the top time in the world this year. His season-best 9.83 in the 100 ranks fourth in the world.
Carl Lewis is the last American to win the Olympic sprint double in 1984.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone
Events: 400 hurdles, 4x400
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is perhaps the most dominant American track and field athlete. She seemingly threatens her own world record every time she steps out on the track to run the 400-meter hurdles.
McLaughlin-Levrone ran a world-record 50.65 in the 400-meter hurdles at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials. She was the only woman in history to run sub-51 seconds in the event until Netherlands’ Femke Bol posted a 50.95 in July. Bol is McLaughlin-Levrone’s chief competition, but the world-record holder is still the favorite.
McLaughlin-Levrone has a chance to be the first woman to win two Olympic gold medals in the 400-meter hurdles.
Ryan Crouser
Event: Shot put
The most decorated Olympian on the men’s side, Ryan Crouser has a chance to win his third consecutive Olympic gold medal in the shot put. He could become the first man ever to win three Olympic gold medals in the event.
Crouser’s lifetime best throw of 77 feet, 3¾ inches is the world record. Crouser owns the top four throws in the history of the event. A third Olympic gold medal will cement Crouser’s legacy as the best shot putter of all time.
Sha'Carri Richardson
Events: 100, 4x100
Sha'Carri Richardson has had an impressive turnaround on and off the track after she was suspended for one month right before the Tokyo Olympics. Richardson won her first world championship gold medal in the 100 at the 2023 world championship and she was also part of the gold-medal winning 4x100-relay team. She then won the 100 at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials in June.
Now Richardson is aiming for her first ever Olympic medal, and she’s hoping it’s gold. Richardson is entering the Paris Olympics as the favorite in the 100. Her season-best time of 10.71 is ranked No. 1 in the world this year. She’ll also be on Team USA’s 4x100-relay squad.
Richardson could become the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in the 100 since Gail Devers did it at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
Grant Holloway
Event: 110 hurdles
Grant Holloway is eyeing his first Olympic gold medal after placing second in the 110-meter hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics.
Holloway ran a world-leading time of 12.86 at the US. Olympic track and field trials to qualify for the Olympics. It’s the second fast time he’s ever run in the event.
The world record in the 110-meter hurdles is 12.80 seconds, which was set by Aries Merritt in 2012. Holloway could threaten the mark in Paris.
Gabby Thomas
Events: 200, 4x100
Gabby Thomas is coming off a world-leading time of 21.78 in the 200 at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials. The Harvard product won bronze in the 200 and was part of Team USA’s 4x100-relay team that placed second at the Tokyo Olympics.
Thomas is a candidate to be on top of the podium in Paris. However, the favorite in the event is two-time 200 world champion Shericka Jackson of Jamaica.
Rai Benjamin
Events: 400 hurdles, 4x400
Rai Benjamin finished second in the 400-meter hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics. He is trying to cross the finish line first in Paris.
Benjamin is running in top form coming into this year’s Olympics. He has a world-leading time of 46.46 in the 400-meter hurdles entering the Games. He’s run three of the five fastest times in the world this year in the event.
Benjamin’s main competition in the event is expected to be Brazil’s Alison dos Santos and defending Olympic champion and world-record holder Karsten Warholm of Norway.
Valarie Allman
Event: Discus
Valarie Allman is the reigning Olympic champion is the women’s discus. She is aiming to become the first American woman to win two Olympic gold medals in the event.
Allman’s season-best throw of 232 feet, 7 inches at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials is the No. 2 mark in the world this year. She won the trials by over 20 feet.
The Stanford product won silver in the discus at the 2023 world championships.
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