Postcards From Eugene ⏱️

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By David Melly, Paul Snyder, & Keenan Baker

Final Thoughts From A Crazy USAs 🤯

Wow. Where to begin?

The 2025 U.S. Outdoor Championships were held last weekend. A couple hundred of the world’s best runners, jumpers, and throwers schlepped to and from Eugene, Oregon, to make their bids for a spot on Team USA for next month’s World Championships. A lucky few athletes in each event will be heading to Tokyo; countless more are going home devastated.

But boiling down this weekend of track and field into a laundry list of results barely scratches the surface of everything that went down. This was truly one of the most zany, unpredictable track meets we can remember, and the fact that it happened at a national championship only makes the outcomes more mind-boggling.

Here’s a crazy stat: Only 11 of the 38 events saw the 2024 national champion defending their title. There was more predictability on the women’s side, but just four men (Noah Lyles in the 200m, Rai Benjamin in the 400m hurdles, Kenneth Rooks in the steeplechase, and Curtis Thompson in the javelin) won their events both years. Some of that is undoubtedly due to the ability of reigning World champs to exercise their wild card bye and skip the final, like Grant Holloway in the 110m hurdles and Sha’Carri Richardson in the 100m. But given how they looked in the rounds they did run, victory was far from assured even if they had toed the line.

We didn’t get any world records this time around (at least on the senior level—more on that soon) but fans both in-stadium and at home got something arguably better. Good ol’ fashioned, edge-of-your-seat, see-it-to-believe it sports drama, where the script-writers took the odds-makers to task and decided to deliver upsets, twists, and theatrics in droves. 

If all you watched this year was the Diamond League, you’d be shocked to learn that Josh Hoey, Trayvon Bromell, Addy Wiley, and Trey Cunningham all missed the team. And if all you watched was NCAAs, you’d be equally gobsmacked to see that T’Mars McCallum, Evie Bliss, and Ethan Strand did, given that they didn’t even win against collegiate competition one short month ago.

Despite putting out over 30,000 written words on USAs already across the CITIUS MAG channels, plus hundreds of social media posts, interviews, and literal days of podcasting, there’s plenty more to say, as the benefit of hindsight gives us a little more time to reflect and unpack a truly nutso weekend out West.

A little spice is good for the sport.

If any highlight from USAs spilled out into the broader sporting world, it was surely the physical and verbal altercation between 200m champ Noah Lyles and runner-up Kenny Bednarek. There’s a long backstory to this one that involves burner Twitter accounts, girlfriends, phone calls (or lack thereof), and a lot of “no comment” comments from the athletes themselves, but the official Lap Count take on all of this is: hell yes.

Generally speaking, it’s nice that track and field is a friendly sport full of friendly people. But the idea that the two fastest guys in the world this year can’t stand each other, but have to race a few more times this season—even as part of the same relay—is going to deliver tension, energy, and eyeballs to the sprints like never before. The Silesia Diamond League is bringing Lyles and Bednarek back together with the addition of Olympic silver medalist Kishane Thompson next week, and you can bet your last dollar all eyes in that stadium and millions (hopefully) around the world will be glued to that finish line.

It goes without saying that professional athletes really want to win, but wanting to win is very different from wanting to beat someone. And that kind of contentious vibe makes things more exciting where otherwise the narrative is simply Lyles going for his fourth straight World title.

Only two of ten distance races went according to form.

The distance events were particularly topsy-turvy this time around. Olympic medalists like Yared Nuguse, Grant Fisher, and Athing Mu-Nikolayev were all denied U.S. titles, and even Olympic 1500m champion Cole Hocker lost his signature event but picked up a somewhat-surprising victory in the 5000m instead. The most predictable events were the women’s 1500m, where Nikki Hiltz won their sixth straight U.S. title in the event just ahead of 2022 champ Sinclaire Johnson, and the steeplechase, where Olympic silver medalist Kenneth Rooks won his third straight title, albeit after a rocky start to the year.

But beyond that, chaos reigned. After last year and the start to the season he’s had, you’d think Grant Fisher would be a lock for at least one gold in the 10,000m and 5000m—but no, thanks to Nico Young and Cole Hocker’s respective kicks, Fisher went home with two silvers. It’s a bit wild to look at Fisher’s resume and realize he only has three career U.S. titles; he’s inarguably been the country’s best long-distance runner of the decade so far, but someone else always seems to show up at just the right time.

Speaking of 10ks, near misses, and timing it just right… how ‘bout the return of Emily Infeld?? It’s not every day that a 35-year-old wins her first national title in this sport, but Infeld did just that, beating former teammate Elise Cranny to the line in the 10,000m in 31:43.56. Infeld, like Fisher, has long been a presence on the U.S. and international distance running scene, even winning World bronze in 2015, but she’d never won at USAs and, after finishing 16th in the 5000m final at Trials last year, it looked like perhaps she never would. We’ve never been happier to be wrong.

The men’s 1500m was equally unpredictable, and while one expectation did come to pass—a record-breaking fast final, won in 3:30.17—no one expected Cole Hocker, Yared Nuguse, and Hobbs Kessler all to be taken down by both Jonah Koech and Ethan Strand. Koech and Strand have the talent to make the team, to be sure, but both provided reasons for doubt as well. In Koech’s case, it was a long strip of KT tape on his hamstring and a month away from racing, and in Strand’s, the fact that he couldn’t win a title against only NCAA competition just seven weeks earlier gave prognosticators pause. Team USA put three men in the top five for a reason in Paris: Hocker, Nuguse, and Kessler are savvy championship racers with plenty of talent of their own. But this time, it’ll only be Hocker on the Team (Diamond League final results notwithstanding).

Packed into the distance results were full-circle narratives about comebacks (Donavan Brazier from three years of injury and Shelby Houlihan from a four-year doping ban) and long-awaited moments (OAC teammates Josette Andrews and Sage Hurta-Klecker making their first outdoor teams). However, the story of the meet is the meteoric rise of young talent in the 800m—but we’re not talking about Roisin Willis, although it was great to see the NCAA champ win her second title of the summer at Hayward a few short days before her 21st birthday.

Steps behind Brazier’s triumphant return to the top of the 800m ranks in a personal best of 1:42.16, 16-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus came flying down the track with the fastest final 100m of the meet to set a new world U18 record of 1:42.27. One day earlier, Lutkenhaus was as shocked as anyone else just to make the final, but you wouldn’t know it by the way he vacuumed up the likes of Bryce Hoppel, Brandon Miller, and Josh Hoey on the homestretch. There are many insane stats about this race, but here’s some wide-angle perspective: Lutkenhaus, who will become the youngest member of Team USA to ever compete at a World Championship next month, is now the 18th-fastest 800m runner of all time.

Some of the best competition happened off the track.

…Off the track, and on the field that is. One of the most dramatic events of the meet was the women’s long jump final, where Olympic champ Tara Davis-Woodhall got through the first three rounds by the skin of her teeth after two fouls and then leapt a world-leading 7.12m to cement the win. Behind her, Claire Bryant claimed second with a fortuitous +2.1 wind. And the final spot on Team USA was decided by tiebreakers and final attempts, as both Quanesha Burks and Alyssa Jones recorded 6.90m jumps but Burks ended up third by virtue of a better second-best jump on her final attempt.

The men’s shot put was equally crazy, as the lead changed hands three times over the latter half of the competition, and twice in the final round. Joe Kovacs went from first to fourth and will miss his first U.S. team in a decade thanks to extremely clutch throwing from Tripp Piperi, Payton Otterdahl, and last but not least Josh Awotunde, who hit the World standard and a new lifetime best of 22.47m to move from fourth to first on his last attempt of the competition.

Fourth place is still the most heartbreaking spot—unless… 

The worst part of USAs is when a fan favorite like Heather MacLean (1500m), Drew Hunter (5000m), or Vernon Norwood (400m) ends up a heartbreaking fourth place. One athlete’s heartbreak is another’s dream coming true, but that doesn’t make it any less tough to watch someone you’ve followed, rooted for, and become invested in over the years run out of real estate in the homestretch and end up on the wrong side of the podium.

But wait. As we mentioned last week, the late Worlds and early Diamond League final creates an alternate pathway to Tokyo, and in several key events, Team USA can pick up another wild card if it does not already have a reigning World champion. This is great news for Norwood in particular, as he and two of the three men ahead of him could all potentially win in the DL final Zurich. Some athletes, like Nuguse, have already openly targeted the DL final as their next big goal, and others, like Anavia Battle in the 200m or Grace Stark in the 100m hurdles, are already on the team but could unlock a spot behind them with a win in Zurich.

And now, as promised… let’s talk about Drew Hunter: Hunter is not currently in the DL final or World rankings quota, but all three athletes ahead of him are double-qualified and could scratch one event. Plus Nico Young has a potential shot at a Diamond League wild card—remember, the DL final for 5000m specialists is actually a 3000m, an event Young won at his lone Grand Slam appearance. We checked in with CITIUS MAG Europe correspondent Preet Majithia for more insight:

Though he does not currently have the standard, and is not in the rankings quota, his position should improve after USAs, and there are probably numerous athletes currently in the quota who will scratch. But he likely needs one more good performance to boost his ranking, either at a Diamond League (where a run at the standard likely wouldn’t be impossible) or at NACAC before the qualification window closes on August 24th.

If he gets himself into a quota spot then there are a few different routes by which he ends up at Worlds. Note that USATF must submit the team (including alternates) to World Athletics at the end of August, and if he does not make it into the quota, USAs fifth placer Cooper Teare would likely be submitted as the alternate instead. 

1. If, prior to Worlds, any one of Fisher, Young or Hocker chooses to scratch the 5000m then Hunter would be in the team. If, during Worlds, one of the three entrants choose not to double back after their first event then Hunter could potentially step up as a replacement (although there is a cutoff by which the switch would need to be made, and it is currently unclear as to exactly when that would be).

2. If Young (or Fisher potentially) wins the Diamond League Final, then they would take a wild card spot, which would allow USATF to select a fourth athlete in the event, so Hunter would be in the team. This would then mean that Cooper Teare would likely be selected as an alternate.

This is all subject to the discretion of USATF but they have been good about honoring the order of finish at Trials/Championships in previous years, where possible.

All in all, USAs delivered the goods. It’s a shame those goods were inconsistently streamed and some of the best moments were behind one or more paywalls, as this was truly an entertainment product worthy of extensive television coverage. And while we were certainly excited for the 2025 World Championships already, the repercussions of this roller-coaster meet only added to the hype ahead of the Big Show in Tokyo.

The View From The Mixed Zone 🎥

All summer, CITIUS MAG intern Keenan Baker has been crushing our meet coverage from Eugene to Europe and everywhere in between. So we sent him back into the lion’s den of the USAs mixed zone to not only get dozens of interviews, but report back on what it’s really like for sports journalists in the shadow of Hayward Field:

One of the oldest adages in sports journalism is “no cheering in the press box.” Honestly, there’s no way I followed that rule to the letter this weekend—but can you blame me? This was my first time in a multi-day championship mixed zone, and so I’m sharing a little about the experience on-theme, in rapid-fire Q&A form.

What is a “mixed zone”? 

It’s a space where any and everybody who’s a part of the media at a track meet resides. Some people work independently, others have a full crew. All are there to interview athletes, edit pictures, or write articles. Have a press pass? This is the office.

Why is it so important?

Another piece of common journalism wisdom is “go where the story is.” The mixed zone is the base of track & field content, and at a meet like USAs, even the most press-averse athletes HAVE to show up and talk to us. So it’s on us, as media, to make the most of the opportunity. Want to know why someone won—or lost—their events? Don’t be scared; just ask. It’s minutes-long rapid-fire questioning of anyone from Noah Lyles to Colin Sahlman to Helen Schlachtenhaufen. 

Is it inside the stadium, outside of it? On the roof?

In Eugene, it’s just off the west side of Hayward Field, smushed together under one half of a half of a tent. There’s usually an information desk on the left (with a printer!) and a TV so that us media members can still “watch” the meet. To the right of the TV are six tables, with charging ports for the six to eight media members that choose to sit down. Barely anyone sits down, though.  

Do athletes have to walk through the mixed zone or is it just whoever wants to?

Every athlete decompresses in another tent before they go in the mixed zone, but they all technically have to mosey through (barring any sort of medical issue or other extenuating circumstances). This is a huge part of why meets like USAs and Worlds are such a big deal for us as media and fans—it guarantees access to athletes that may be harder to track down or less likely to chat at other points in the season.

Do they ever not stop?

Yeah, and that’s pretty normal. If I had a bad race, I wouldn’t want to talk to strangers hellbent on grilling me about my emotions. With that in mind, I’m pretty grateful when anybody stops. 

What did you think it would be like?

I’d been in the mixed zone for Pre Classic, the Paris Diamond League, and NCAAs, but focused more on writing recaps than racking up interviews. I figured a meet of this size would be chaos—a free-for-all fight for content and space. And I wasn’t wrong. No physical fights in the mixed zone, but it got close a couple times. 

How much room do you have? 

It’s SMALL. 

Approximately, unscientifically, 20 individuals shoulder-to-shoulder, would span the entire width of the mixed zone where people interview athletes. Smallest mixed zone of the year thus far. But no one actually stands next to each other, because multiple athletes are in the mixed zone at the same time, and when an athlete like Sha’Carri Richardson comes through, everyone crowds around. 

You can’t hear unless you’re within about five feet, because someone else might walk in and start chatting right next to you. And—as I’m sure you can imagine—a lot of people talk quietly after competing. We may be cramped and our phones may be low on battery, but we didn’t run 10,000m.

How do you come up with questions?

Mixed-zone interviews are rarely truly one-on-one—you’re usually trading off questions with other journalists, and trying to find your moment to butt in without interrupting the athlete or your colleagues. It can be as stressful and adrenaline-inducing as racing—but way less physically taxing for those of us on the journalism side of the railing.

There are definitely unspoken expectations about what’s “fair game.” Generally, it’s best practice to start with talking about the race itself, but inevitably other topics get raised as well. We also become familiar faces to the athletes on the circuit, so sometimes you have to be tactical about what questions you ask. We all want the juicy scoop or the viral moment, but if you push too hard or get on an athlete’s bad side, they might walk right past you next time.

Are there sections, or do some people try to hog all the space?  

Most people try not to get in other people’s way, and it’s never intentional to box people out, but you’ve got to thread the needle to record the best video. Sometimes, the greedier outlets bring a tripod and put it in the middle (not naming names, but you can probably guess) or at a meet as big as USAs, TV stations set up the biggest cameras imaginable. 

Is it awkward when someone doesn’t do well? Do people want to interview them still or is it just silent?

Sometimes, it can be very weird. A lot of silence, peppered with the occasional “Good race.” But when an athlete does want to talk after a tough effort, those can be the most interesting and emotional moments of all.

It’s a lot of mental conflict, though, because stopping and interviewing someone means you might miss another interview, and higher places/bigger names often take precedence. Time and space are exceedingly finite in the mixed zone. It’s nothing personal if someone walks through and doesn’t get interviewed. It’s challenging not to ask for everyone’s story, but focus is important when resources are limited. 

Best mixed-zone moment during USAs?

I can think of three off the top of my head: 

1. Interviewing Evan Jager after the steeplechase prelims. It was one of my first interviews, and potentially one of his last at this level. It almost made me tear up. 

2. Most people who get into track and field journalism are fans themselves. The mixed zone’s collective reaction to Men’s 800m, transcribed: Josh-is-insane-for-that-forty-nine—Donovan’s-good—Brandon-get-off-the-rail—look-at-Donovan—wait-Cooper-has-a-chance—Cooper’s-moving-Cooper’s-flying—what-the-hell-is-going-on—Cooper-could-make-the-team—WHAT-THE-HELL-JUST-HAPPENED—whats-the-time—ONE-FORTY-TWO-TWENTY-SEVEN—ARE-YOU-KIDDING-ME.

3. Athletes being on-camera during other dramatic moments can also be entertaining… like Rai reacting live to Noah and Kenny. 

Did you like it overall? 

8.5/10. Points off for WiFi/power out on last day and cramped space (but only 1.5 points off! Pretty good!) I may not be able to watch the meet in real time most of the day, but I get to talk about it with some of the biggest track nerds in the biz—competitors and media alike. That final day alone made it all worth it—what a meet.

Would you do it again?

I don’t care how tired I am, if I did that fifty days in a row I’d be happy. What a rush. 

Did you cheer in the press box? 

I don’t know about the press box, but I sure as hell cheered in the mixed zone. Give me a JIU (Journalism Integrity Unit) violation, I don’t care. 

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What Happened Last Weekend In The Rest Of The World? 🗺️

Look, this isn’t just us having a distinct American bias in our coverage… the majority of World Athletics’s homepage is news about the U.S. Championships right now as well, and they’re not called “American Athletics!” We’re extremely fortunate in this country for our national championships to be truly world caliber events, where the level of competition is high enough that even medal favorites can’t phone it in.

Sure, there are countries like France, Jamaica, and the U.K. where there are several events that might see a recent Olympic medalist fail to crack the top three. But generally speaking, the non-American big dogs can either coast at their national championships or rely on at-large selections from their national federations.

However, that doesn’t mean there weren’t plenty of eye-popping—and occasionally head-scratching—moments all around the world this past weekend.

Bahamas: Steven Gardiner comfortably won the 200m in 20.42; Shaunae Miller-Uibo took second in a two-woman 400m final, going 51.42.

Belgium: Merel Maes buried the competition in the high jump, clearing 1.97m, a new PB.

Brazil: Eric Cardoso set a new South American 100m record, 9.93 (with a legal 1.3m/s tailwind) and Luis Mauricio da Silva uncorked a 91.00m heave in the javelin, also a South American record.

Canada: Gabriela Debues-Stafford won the 1500m (4:08.38, with a 59.28 last lap) and 5000m (15:17.32); Sarah Mitton took top honors (honours?) in the shot put without much stress—her 19.25m best toss was over three meters clear of the field; Ethan Katzberg comfortably won the hammer off the strength of an 81.33m throw; Max Davies won the men’s 1500m in 3:58.29 (not a typo!), closing the final 400m in 50.27.

France: Alice Finot held off Flavie Renouard in the steeple, 9:33.16 to 9:33.28. Yanis Meziane won the men’s 800m (1:45.24), while Gabriel Tual—a man frequently discussed as a podium threat for Tokyo—faded to sixth. Azeddine Habz took the men’s 1500m (3:33.33). Just Kwaou-Mathey (12.99) upset  Sasha Zhoya (13.18) in the 110m hurdles.

Greece: Emmanouil Karalis soared over 6.08m for a new national record and Miltiadis Tentoglou predictably won the long jump (8.12m).

Italy: Leonardo Fabbri launched the shot 22.82m—a new world lead.

Lithuania: Further muddling things in the women’s 800m as we head toward Worlds, Gabija Galvydytė ripped a solo 1:58.69 PB, crossing the line about 14 seconds ahead of second place.

Netherlands: Lieke Klaver and Femke Bol played around and went 1-2 in the 200m final, going 22.82 and 22.84, respectively.

Nigeria: Tobi Amusan won the 100m hurdles national title in 12.57, and qualified for—but did not contest—the 100m final as well.

Norway: Narve Nordås won the 5000m by over a minute and 20 seconds, breaking the tape in 13:08.33. But he got beat in the 1500m final by Håkon Moe Berg (3:38.71).

Portugal: The U.S. and Kenya appear to be the only nations on earth where the men's 1500m now has to be fast at championships; it’s a tactical slug-fest everywhere else. Recently minted 3:31 man José Carlos Pinto won it in 3:55.38. (He also won the 5000m in 13:29.38.) Portugal’s other World 1500m finals candidate Isaac Nader dropped down and won the 800m in 1:46.10.

Sweden: Vera Sjöberg avenged her NCAA Indoors loss in the mile to Wilma Nielsen by winning the 1500m Swedish national title, 4:05.09 to 4:05.34. Just behind them was Mia Barnett (4:05.39)... so Sjöberg technically also avenged losing to Barnett in the NCAA 1500m final.

Trinidad & Tobago: Jereem Richards won the 200m by 0.48 seconds (20.21); Keshorn Walcott won the javelin by over 14 meters (84.65m). 

United Kingdom: Zharnel Hughes won the men’s 100m (9.94) and 200m (19.90); Amy Hunt won the women’s 100m (11.02) and Daryll Neita was DQ’d. Molly Caudery went 4.85m to win the pole vault by half a meter. Max Burgin went 1:43.92 to win the 800m. Neil Gourley outkicked Elliot Giles 3:47.06 to 3:47.20 in the 1500m. Josh Kerr won the 5,000m in 13:44.73. Dina Asher-Smith won a close 200m (22.14) over Hunt (22.14) and Neita (22.30). Georgia Hunter Bell went 1:59.53 to win the 800m over Jemma Reekie (2:00.97). Sarah Calvert snagged a surprise win in the 1500m (4:16.27), beating out Laura Muir (4:16.32).

More News From The Track And Field World 📰

– The British champs also brought some off-the-track news as well: Dina Asher-Smith is no longer being coached by Edrick Floreal in Texas and George Mills is only planning on running the 5000m at Worlds, which is good news for the selection potential for Jake Wightman in the 1500m, who had to withdraw from the meet with a stomach bug.

– Jonathan Gault of LetsRun reported on the disappearance of several of the largest domestic professional track and field meets in recent years. For fans of a little bit of buck-passing, a fair deal of finger pointing, and the occasional faint glimmer of hope, it’s a must read.

– As the pace languished during the opening eight kilometers of the men’s 10,000m at USAs, fans and announcers alike pondered “what would this race be like if Conner Mantz were in it?” The world will never know, but it’s tantalizing to think about, especially knowing a few days later across the continent in Maine, he won the Beach to Beacon 10k in a course record of 27:26. Australia’s Izzy Batt-Doyle—whose name is likely familiar to any dorks actively refreshing the Road to Tokyo page for the women’s 10,000m—won the women’s race in 31:25.

– Oops! It appears the Lausanne Diamond League Athletissima has erroneously announced Gabby Thomas as a participant in the 200m, which was news to her. Noah Lyles and Kishane Thompson have been announced for the 100m in Lausanne, but after initially being reported as competing, Kenny Bednarek is also out of that one.

– After his 200m final at USAs, Christian Coleman commented for the first time about his involvement with Sha’Carri Richardson’s arrest and release.

– And lastly, you’re going to want to familiarize yourself with newly-crowned U.S. pole vault champ, Austin Miller, who ought to be in consideration for America’s Next Interesting Field Event Man. In addition to now being a 5.92m vaulter, he dabbles in music journalism and is the men’s club lacrosse coach at High Point University.