U.S. Olympic Track and Field: Tokyo 2020 Team USA Women's Roster

Published July 16, 2021 04:00AM

The U.S. Olympic Track and Field roster is set for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, and it combines an exciting group of veterans (like five-time Olympian Allyson Felix) teamed up with 81 first-time Olympians (like rising star Athing Mu).

In total, there are 613 members of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team, which is the second-largest delegation ever for Team USA. The complete roster features a record number of women at 329, making up 53.7 percent of the total group.

The track and field team, specifically, boasts 13 defending medalists from the 2016 Rio Games, six defending 2019 World Champions, and eight 2021 NCAA Division I Champions.

The Tokyo Olympics track and field program (referred to broadly as “athletics”) is set to begin on Friday, July 30 at 9 a.m. (Japan standard time). It will comprise 25 running events on the track (20 individual, five relays), 16 field events and two combined events (10-event decathlon, seven-event heptathlon) at Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium, as well as three race-walking events and two marathon events at or near Sapporo’s Odori Park on Hokkaido.

Team USA Track & Field: Women’s Running Events

Women’s 100

With Trials winner Sha’Carri Richardson out of the games because of a one-month suspension for marijuana use, Jenna Prandini, fourth at the trials, will take her spot. Prandini was the 2015 NCAA National Champion at the distance, and will also compete in the 200m at the Games. Javianne Oliver, a former Kentucky star, has had more success at shorter sprints indoors but looked superb in the prelims and the final of the 100 with a new PR of 10.83 (wind-aided). Teahana Daniels has had a breakout season with PRs in every distance from 60m to 300m indoors and both the 100m (10.84) and 200m (22.54) outdoors.

How They Stack Up: Richardson, ranked No. 2 in the world, will be missed; there are four Jamaican runners who have run 10.87 or faster, so it should be an exciting Olympic final.

Women’s 200

Gabby Thomas is a Harvard graduate who is working toward a master’s degree in epidemiology and, now, after her Trials-record-setting final, the second-fastest 200-meter runner in history, trailing only the late Florence Griffith-Joyner (21.34). Jenna Prandini earned her second straight spot on the U.S. Olympic team in the 200 after making it to the semifinals of the Rio Olympics. Ohio State senior Anavia Battle has come on strong after placing third at the NCAA Championships in early June.

How They Stack Up: If Thomas continues her ascension, she’ll be hard to beat in Tokyo, even though Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (21.79) and Shericka Jackson (21.82) will be in the hunt for gold.

Women’s 400

Quanera Hayes, who started her career at NCAA Division II HBCU Livingstone College, has been running her best since her strongest years of 2016-2017. She earned a bronze medal at the World Indoor Championships in 2016 and was eighth in the U.S. Olympic Trials final later that year. She stepped away from competition in 2018-2019 while welcoming her son, Demetrius, into the world, but has come back strong this year, punctuated by her near-PR 49.78 win at the Olympic Trials. Meanwhile, legendary sprinter Allyson Felix is hungry for more — specifically a record-tying 10th Olympic medal — and showed she’s back to top form after giving birth to daughter Camryn into 2018. Haitian-born Wadeline Jonathas made huge progress in the 400 in 2019 — dropping her lifetime best from 52.81 to 49.60 in a single season at the University of South Carolina — capped by a fourth-place finish at the Doha World Championships.

How They Stack Up: All three currently rank in the top dozen in the world by times, and Felix, of course, knows how to medal. But they’ll face strong competition from sprint powers Bahamas, Namibia and Jamaica.

Women’s 100 hurdles

It’s been a long five years for Keni Harrison, who finished a disappointed sixth at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials after hitting a hurdle. She regrouped to set a world record a week later (12.21), went on to win the 60m hurdles at the 2017 World Indoor Championships, then earned the silver medal in the 100m hurdles at the 2019 World Championships. Christina Clemons eeked her way onto to the Olympic team by edging the fourth-place finisher Gabbi Cunningham by 0.005 seconds in the Olympic Trials final. Cunningham was the 2020 indoor national champion at the 60m hurdles, and ran her personal best 12.53 at the trials. Brianna McNeal, the 2016 Olympic champion, took second in the trials, but is facing a five-year doping ban and lost her appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport on July 3.

How They Stack Up: Harrison, ranked No. 3 in the world, clearly has unfinished business to take care of in Tokyo and is positioned to come home with hardware.

Women’s 400 hurdles

Still only 21, Sydney McLaughlin was the youngest athlete on the U.S. Olympic team in 2016, even though she didn’t advance to the finals that year in Rio. She went on to a brief, record-setting stint at Kentucky, where she won an NCAA title in 2018 before turning pro and earning the silver medal at the 2019 World Championships. Her 51.90 finish on the final evening of the U.S. Olympic Trials set a new world record and marked the first time a woman had broken the 52-second barrier. Dalilah Muhammad, the former world record-holder, was the 2016 Olympic champion, the 2019 world champion and the runner-up at the world championships in 2013 and 2017. USC senior Anna Cockrell, the Pan Am Games silver medalist in 2019, says she was suffering from depression and ready to quit the sport two years ago but she re-immersed in training and won NCAA titles in the 100m and 400m hurdles in June before earning her first Olympic berth.

How They Stack Up: This will undoubtedly be an exciting event for Team USA. Expect McLaughlin and Muhammad to make the Olympic final — and the podium. Will McLaughlin challenge for the gold medal and Muhammad the silver, or the other way around?

Women’s 800

Athing Mu is an international superstar in the making. At the end of June, she’s the world leader in the 800m (1:56.07) and No. 4 in the world in the 400m (49.57) — and could have likely contended for gold in both events if the Olympics schedule had made it possible. She won the NCAA title in the 400 two weeks ago to conclude her first and only season for Texas A&M. (After turning pro and signing with Nike, Mu says she’ll continue to be coached by Al Jennings, who has guided her progress since she was five years old.) She looked smooth and effortless in each of her three 800 races at the Olympic Trials, especially during her dominating win in the final. Raevyn Rogers won three straight NCAA 800m titles at Oregon and was the silver medalist at the 2019 World Championships. Last year, Rogers started running with Pete Julian’s group in Portland, Ore., after leaving Derek Thompon’s Philadelphia-based group, where she trained with Ajeé Wilson. Wilson, the American record-holder (1:55.61) and a two-time bronze medalist at the world championships, secured her second trip to the Olympics, where she’ll aim to improve on her experience in Rio when she failed to advance to the final.

How They Stack Up: This is by far the deepest and fastest women’s 800m trio the U.S. has ever had, and they could all make the finals in Tokyo. With her closing speed, Mu looks to be hard to beat for the gold.

Elle Purrier St. Pierre has been on a steep upward trajectory since 2019. She’s one of only a handful of U.S. runners to have broken 2:00 in the 800, 4:00 in the 1500 and 15:00 in the 5,000, and she’s been in commanding, record-setting form in 2021. That was especially evident in the 1,500 final at the U.S. Olympic Trials, where she ran away from a strong field to win in a meet record 3:58.03. Corey McGee made her first Olympic team in her third Olympic Trials and has vastly improved since moving to Boulder two years ago to join Team Boss. Heather MacLean, like Purrier St. Pierre, has excelled with Team New Balance Boston coached by Olympian Mark Coogan.

How They Stack Up: Purrier St. Pierre is the most likely finalist and medal contender in Tokyo. Even though her 3:58 ranks her No. 6 in the world this year as of June 27, she’s still several seconds from the 3:53’s posted by the likes of Sifan Hasson and Faith Kipyegon.

Emma Coburn seems to be getting better every year. She’s a nine-time U.S. steeplechase champion, the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, 2017 world champion and 2019 world championships silver medalist, the latter two since being coached by her husband, Joe Bosshard. She’s spent more time training at altitude in the past couple of years and hasn’t lost a step speed wise, based on the 9:08.22 she ran at the Diamond League meet in Doha in late May and her strong performance at the Olympic Trials. Although she’s often a runner-up to Coburn, Courtney Frerichs is the American record-holder in the steeplechase (9:00.85), not to mention the silver medalist at the 2017 World Championships and the sixth-place finisher in 2019. Val Constien is young and inexperienced, but she’s made a big improvement this year and comes from a strong pedigree at the University of Colorado. (She’s the fifth Olympian coached by Mark Wetmore and Heather Burroughs since 2008, following in the path of Jenny Simpson, Billy Nelson, Emma Coburn and Shalaya Kipp.)

How They Stack Up: Coburn and Frerichs should be finalists and medal contenders, given that they’re ranked No. 5 and No. 6 in the world, respectively, as of June 27.

Elise Cranny and Karissa Schweizer have made a smooth transition from record-setting collegiate runners to world-class professionals. While they have limited international experience, they’ve both dropped their PRs from 800m to 10,000m since training under Jerry Schumacher and Shalane Flanagan in the Nike Bowerman Track Club. They set their 5,000m PRs at a private meet on the Nike campus last year —14:26.34 for Schweizer and 14:48.02 for Cranny — but those times can be competitive if they can hang with the tactics they’ll encounter on the Olympic track. Rachel Schneider has had a breakthrough season this year as she’s moved up from the 1,500m to race longer distances. Her 14:52.04 PR race in May followed a world-class effort (31:09) in the 10,000m last December.

How They Stack Up: All three U.S. women could make the final and be in the mix, but top-tier runners in the 5,000 will dictate a race that could possibly wind up in the sub-14:20 range.

Emily Sisson was severely disappointed in not making the U.S. Olympic team in the marathon at the 2020 trials race in Atlanta — she dropped out at mile 21 — but she regrouped and put all of her energy into making the team in the 10,000. Sisson, still guided by college coach Ray Tracey, was 10th in the 2019 World Championship but spent the next year focusing on the marathon. This year, she got faster and lowered her 5,000 PR by 17 seconds to 14:53.84, then ran a commanding race in searing heat to win the Olympic Trials with negative splits (15:49, 15:12). After an impeccable collegiate career at Missouri, Karissa Schweizer joined the Nike Bowerman Track Club in 2018 and, at 25, has become one of the premier American distance runners. In her first Olympic Trials, she earned qualifying spots in the 5,000 and 10,000, joining Molly Huddle (2016), Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher (2008) and Elva Dryer (2000) as the only women to pull off that feat since the 10,000 became an Olympic event for women in 1996. Alicia Monson isn’t yet a household name, but she’s a former NCAA 5,000 champion at Wisconsin and coach Dathan Ritzenhein has been raving about her development for six months. She ran her heart out in the trials, to the point of being hospitalized and needing an IV after the race.

How They Stack Up: The women’s 10,000 has gotten considerably faster the last few years, but especially so in recent weeks. Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey lowered the world record to an astonishing 29:01.03 on June 9, just two days after Ethiopian-born Dutch runner Sifan Hassan had lowered it to 29:06.82. In both cases, that’s 4:41 mile pace, considerably faster than the 4:57 pace of the PRs of Schweizer (30:47) and Sisson (30:49). Those two plus the fast-rising Monson (31:10) could be contenders for medals if they lower their PRs again — just the way Flanagan did when she took silver in 2008 (30:22) — as medals for the last three Olympics have been earned in the 29:17-30:30 range.

A lot has changed for Aliphine Tuliamuk since she won the women’s race at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon, most notably that she gave birth to her daughter, Zoe Cherotich Gannon, in mid-January. The Kenyan-born runner been back in training since February and appears to be in marathon form, as evidenced by her 12 x 1-mile workout at 5:40 mile pace on June 23 with the Northern Arizona Elite squad under the guidance of coach Ben Rosario. Molly Seidel has shown she’s in form recently: She placed fifth at the New York Mini 10K on June 12 in 32:13 about two weeks after running a 32:02 10,000m on the track in Portland, Ore. Sally Kipyego, meanwhile, spent time living back in her native Kenya after the Covid-19 pandemic struck. She placed 13th at the Gate River Run/U.S. 15K championships in March and clocked a 31:30.25 in the 10,000m at the Sound Running meet on May 14 in Irvine, Calif.

How They Stack Up: Tuliamuk (2:26:50 PR in 2019) and Kipyego (2:25:10 in 2019) have each run several marathons since their 2015 debuts, while Seidel has only run one — her sterling Olympic Trials debut of 2:27:31. None of the American women have elite, sub-2:20 PRs, but they can be in the competitive mix in a tactical championship race, considering the past three women’s Olympic marathons have been won in the 2:23-2:26 range, while the past three World Championships were slightly slower in 2:27-2:32.

Winning her first U.S. title with a time of 1:35:13, Robyn Stevens defeated eight-time U.S. outdoor champion and defending Trials champ Maria Michta-Coffee by more than 4 minutes. Stevens, 38, was the 2020 indoor champion in the 3,000-meter walk. In 2016, Stevens was 11th in the 20K race walk with a time of 1:52:08. Stevens competed for San Jose State on the cross country team in 2003, retired from the sport in 2004 and returned five years ago. She did not meet the Olympic standard of 1:31:00, but qualified for the Olympic Games based on her world ranking.

Team USA Track & Field: Women’s Relay Pools

While the top four finishers in the 100 meters and 400 meters at the Trials are automatically members of the relay pool, Team USA has designated other athletes as well. Additional athletes already on the team could also run on relays.

Women’s 4x100m Relay Pool

Women’s 4x400m Relay Pool

4x400m Mixed Relay Pool

Team USA Track & Field: Women’s Field Events

Women’s Long Jump

Four-time world champion, 2012 gold medalist, and 2016 silver medalist Brittney Reese won her fourth straight U.S. Olympic Trials to head to her fourth and final Olympics. “It’s bittersweet,” she said after her victory in Eugene. The eight-time U.S. champion took the lead on her first jump of the final and her best jump was her fourth, 7.13 meters (23-4 ¾), which ranks No. 3 on the world list. Not to be missed in her white cowboy hat, NCAA champion Tara Davis made her first Olympic team with a leap of 7.04 meters (23-1 ¼) while her boyfriend, Paralympian Hunter Woodhall, cheered from the stands. In 2021, Davis won NCAA indoor and outdoor long jump titles and became the collegiate indoor and outdoor record-holder. Quanesha Burks has been on the world scene since 2014, when she was fifth at the world under-20 world championships. She finished eighth in the 2015 Pan American Games. At the 2016 Olympic Trials, Burks placed ninth. A personal best of 6.96 meters (22-10) on her fifth jump helped her move from sixth place into the third spot and make her first Olympic team.

How They Stack Up: Reese knows how to compete at the highest level, and is currently ranked fourth in the world. Don’t count her out to leave Tokyo with one more medal for her collection.

Women’s Triple Jump

No American woman has ever reached the Olympic podium in the triple jump, but American record holder Keturah Orji could help change that. Orji won her second straight Olympic Trials and fifth straight national title with a meet record of 14.52 meters (47-7 ¾). After finishing fourth at the 2016 Rio Olympics, missing a medal by 3 centimeters, she said she is “going to expect more from myself” in Tokyo. Tori Franklin qualified for her first Olympic team after a best attempt of 14.36 meters (47 1-1/2) on her sixth leap at the Trials. Franklin is the former American record holder outdoors and current record holder indoors. Coming off her NCAA performance in which she was second in the triple jump and third in the long jump, University of Georgia sophomore Jasmine Moore leaped 14.15 meters (46-5 ¼) to make her first Olympic team. Moore, 20, was the SEC indoor champion in 2020 before the pandemic ended the season prior to the NCAA meet.

How They Stack Up: As mentioned, no American woman has ever medaled in this event at the Olympic level. Orji, currently sixth in the world rankings, could be the country’s strongest shot.

Women’s High Jump

Vashti Cunningham broke a pretty significant streak when she jumped 1.96 meters (6 feet, 5 inches) at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials: becoming the first female high jumper other than Chaunte Lowe (nee Howard) to win since 2004. The 23-year-old, who is coached by her father, former NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham, tied for 13th in Rio as an 18-year-old but is “really hoping to peak at the Olympics” this year in Tokyo. Rachel McCoy was one of only two athletes in the 12-woman final with the Olympic qualifying standard—and one of only three in the whole competition. She finished fourth with a jump of 1.93 meters (6-4), which was the same height jumped by the second and third place finalists, however neither had the Olympic qualifying standard of 1.96 (6-5). And although she did not make the final at the Olympic Trials, Ty Butts-Townsend qualified for Team USA based on her world ranking. The 31-year-old will head to Tokyo along with her husband Roderick Townsend, who qualified for his second U.S. Paralympic team.

Women’s Pole Vault

After a bout with Covid-19 in December that left her with lingering “brain fog,” Katie Nageotte is now thriving and heading to her first Olympic Games. Already the world leader going into the Trials, she cleared 4.95 meters (16-2 ¾) in two vaults to set a new world-leading mark and Trials record. After placing fourth at the 2016 Olympic Trials, Morgann LeLeux cracked the top three to earn her first Olympic berth. “I felt like I finally manifested my destiny and that I’m ready to represent the U.S.,” said LeLeux. Finally, reigning Olympic silver medalist Sandi Morris cleared only 4.60 (15-1), but secured the third Olympic spot based on fewer misses. Morris, 29, was second at the 2016 Olympic Trials before going on to win the silver medal in Rio.

How They Stack Up: Morris is currently ranked third in the world, so look for her to be in medal contention again this time in Tokyo. Nageotte, currently ranked fifth, could also make some waves.

Women’s Javelin Throw

American record holder Maggie Malone made her second Olympic team and set a meet record of 63.50 meters (208-4) on her fifth attempt at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials. Malone also won the 2016 Trials, where she became the first female javelin thrower to win an NCAA title and the Olympic Trials in the same season. Kara Winger, 35, who trains at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, placed second with a throw of 61.47 meters (201-8) to make her fourth Olympic team. This was only her second competition of the season and came just 10 months after surgery for a torn ACL. Winge previously placed 41st at the Olympics in 2008, improved to 31st in 2012, and was 13th in Rio, missing the final by just one spot. Ariana Ince qualified for her first Olympic team based on world ranking, after placing fourth at the Olympic Trials with a throw of 57.49 meters (188-7).

How They Stack Up: Winger is currently ranked seventh in the world in the women’s javelin throw, while Ince is 15th and Malone is 16th.

Women’s Hammer Throw

To say DeAnna Price is having a strong year would be an understatement. The reigning world champion started the season by breaking her own American record, followed by setting two American and two meet records at the Olympic Trials to win her third straight national title and make her second Olympic team. With a toss of 80.31 meters (263-6) on her fifth attempt, Price became the second woman to throw over 80 meters. Brooke Andersen threw 77.72 meters (255-0) on her second attempt to secure her spot on Team USA and her highest finish at the U.S. nationals. 2019 Pan American Games champion Gwen Berry made her second Olympic team with a throw of 73.50 (241-2), which came on her first attempt in the final and held up for third place. The activist athlete was second at the 2016 Trials, but did not qualify for the final in Rio.

How They Stack Up: Price finished eighth at the 2016 Rio Olympics, but is currently ranked number 1 in the overall world rankings in the hammer throw, so watch for her to make some podium-worthy moves in Tokyo. Berry, currently ranked sixth, and Anderson, ranked seventh, could also be in medal contention.

Women’s Discuss

American record holder Valarie Allman, 26, set an Olympic Trials record of 70.01 meters (229-2) in qualifying, which was the second-best throw in the world this year and the second-best ever by an American. She recorded the third-best throw by an American (69.92/229-5) in the finals, and also had the five longest throws of the final. In seventh place going into her fourth throw, Rachel Dincoff pulled herself up into fourth, then throwing 60.21 (197-6) on her fifth throw to move into third place and earn her first Olympic berth. Finishing fourth at the Olympic Trials, Kelsey Card qualified for her second Olympic team based on her world ranking. Card, 28, was third in the discus at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials and did not advance past the qualifying round in Rio.

Women’s Shot Put

Jessica Ramsey set a personal best of 20.12 meters (66-0 ¼) to win the shot put and set an Olympic Trials record, becoming only the fourth U.S. woman to throw more than 20 meters and eclipsing the mark of 19.59 (64-3 ¼) set by Michelle Carter in 2016 (who went on to win gold in the event in Rio). She was pushed by Raven Saunders, her former training partner, who threw a personal best of 19.96 meters (65-6) on her third attempt to lift herself out of fifth place to eventually place second to make her second Olympic team. (Saunders placed fifth in Rio.) Rounding out the team is Ohio State senior Adelaide Aquilla, the NCAA indoor and outdoor champion who returned to Hayward Field just two weeks after the NCAA meet to throw 18.95 meters (62-2 ¼) on her first try. That mark held up for third place and her first Olympic berth.

Women’s Heptathlon

Despite brutal temps during the two-day event, which at one point forced a delay for the entire meet, Annie Kunz amassed 6,703 points to win Trials. Kunz ended up with personal bests in the 100 hurdles (wind-aided), high jump, long jump and 200 and had season bests in the javelin and 800. Seven-time NCAA champion for the University of Georgia Kendell Williams scored a personal best of 6,683 points to take second and earn her second Olympic berth. Williams, 26, was third at the 2016 trials and placed 17th in Rio. Two-time defending national champion and fourth-place finisher at the 2019 world championships Erica Bougard finished third with 6,667 points, just 16 points shy of second place, to make her first Olympic team.

How They Stack Up: Bougard is currently listed as fourth in the world rankings in the women’s heptathlon, while Williiams is listed as sixth.

Meet the Women Stacking the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Roster