Which US athletes compete today, July 21, at the Oregon22 World Athletics Championships
The eagerly awaited 200-meter sprint takes place on Day 7 of the World Athletics Championships, with three Americans going for gold in the men’s race.
The Oregon22 World Athletics Championships heads into Day 7 with Team USA firmly entrenched at the top of the medals board. Yesterday’s third-place finish by Valarie Allman at the women’s discus throw brought the hometown team’s count to 19.
Possible Team USA sweep at men’s 200-meter finals
One of the most highly anticipated events in track and field will take center stage on the seventh day of competition- the 200-meter sprint, which made Usain Bolt and Florence Griffith-Joyner household names.
The men’s final looks to be a showdown among three Americans for a possible podium sweep. Olympic 200m champion Andre De Grasse of Canada pulled out of the competition as he was still recovering from a recent bout with covid-19, further improving the chances of Noah Lyles, Kenneth Bednarek, and Erriyon Knighton of achieving a 1-2-3 victory.
On the women’s side, the standard of the semifinals was so high that Team USA’s Jenna Prandini’s 22.08 failed to make the cut, though her time would have been enough to win the silver at the Worlds in Doha, Qatar in 2019. Tamara Clark will be running against defending champion Dina Asher-Smith of Britain, and the trio of Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shericka Jackson, and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce who will hope to duplicate their all-Jamaican podium finish in the 100m race.
Athing Mu attempts to make history at women’s 800m
Athing Mu will take the first step in her attempt to become the first American to win the Worlds women’s 800-meter title in the day’s heats. Raevyn Rogers and Ajee Wilson will also be running in the first round. The men’s 800-meter semifinals will be held on Day 7, but all four Americans disappointingly failed to advance out of the heats.
The men’s 5000-meter features a highly competitive field, with three gold medal winners from the Tokyo Olympic Games figuring in the race- Jakob Ingebrigsten of Norway, Selemon Barega of Ethiopia, and Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda. USATF champion Grant Fisher will look to replicate his amazing effort at the 10,000-meter to mount a challenge in the 5000, while teammates Woody Kincaid and Abdihamid Nur hope to improve their best times and set up an exceptional finish.
Ethan Dabbs, Tim Glover, and Curtis Thompson will be taking part in the qualification round of the men’s javelin throw, while Chris Benard, Will Claye, Donald Scott, and Christian Taylor will give their best qualifying performance at the men’s triple jump.