USA Track & Field Championships 2025: Olympic stars converge on Eugene

The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships, which kick off a four-day run Thursday at Hayward Field in Eugene, will feature a prominent performance by former University of Oregon runner and current Olympic gold champion Cole Hockeris.

Last year in Paris, Hocker won the gold medal in the 1,500-meter Olympic event. He will join a formidable field that includes Craig Engels, who used to train with the Union Athletic Club in Portland, Nathan Green, the 2025 NCAA champion and former collegiate athlete for Washington, and Yared Nuguse, the current U.S. mile record holder.

The U.S. Para Athletic Championships will be held alongside the meet this year, and it is expected to be one of several major events.

The opening event, the decathlon, takes place Thursday at 10:30 a.m. At 1:20 p.m. on Thursday, the men’s javelin preliminary and finals will take place.

The women’s hammer, women’s javelin, men’s hammer, women’s long jump, and men’s and women’s 10,000-meter finals are among the other Thursday finals. On Thursday, the men’s 1,500 will also have its first preliminary round.

USATF.TV, a paid website, is streaming Thursday’s action. Some events on Saturday and Sunday will be streamed on Peacock starting at 1 p.m. and broadcast on NBC within a three-hour television window.

The competition qualifies the U.S. squad for the World Athletics Outdoor Championships, which will take place in Tokyo from September 13–21.

Without needing to qualify in Eugene, athletes who won their events at the 2023 World Outdoor Championships are granted wildcard admission for this year’s world meet. Ryan Crouser, a world record holder and three-time Olympic gold medalist, is on this list.

Crouser, a Hayward crowd favorite who grew up in Gresham, has been recovering from an elbow injury and is not competing in this year’s USA championships.

The 10,000 traits of the guysGrant Fisher, the U.S. record holder in the 10,000 meters and two-time Olympic bronze medallist in Paris. He used to be a member of the Bowerman Track Club in Portland, where he trained.

Woody Kincaid, a former University of Portland standout and two-team Olympian, and Nico Young, the current U.S. 5,000 record holder, are also competing. In the event, Kincaid took home the 2023 U.S. title.

Emily Infeld, Karissa Schweizer, and Elise Cranny are among the competitors in the women’s 10,000. All had previously trained with the Bowerman Track Club in Portland. A two-time Olympian, Cranny won the U.S. championship in 2023. Schweizer, a two-time Olympian, took home the U.S. championship in 2022.

The American men’s 800 record holder, two-time national champion, and two-time Olympian is Bryce Hoppel. Josh Hoey, the 2025 world indoor champion, has defeated Hoppel four times this season, so he should have his hands full. The 2019 world champion Donavan Brazier, who used to train with the Union Athletics Club in Portland, is recovering well from a three-year foot injury.

The current Olympic Trials champion and defending U.S. champion in the women’s 1,500 is Nikki Hiltzis. Sinclaire Johnson is expected to confront Hiltz. Earlier this month in London, she broke Hiltz’s American mile record. Portland is where Johnson trains. At 4 minutes, 16.32 seconds, Johnson set a new record.

After winning the U.S. title in the 800 meters in 2022, Athing Mu-Nikolayev swept the track and field world. She won Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021 and set the U.S. record in 2023. She was a last-minute entry here and didn’t seem good in the Prefontaine Classic earlier this month.

If Mu-Nikolayev isn’t feeling well, it might make room for veterans Raevyn Rogers and Ajee Wilson, or Addy Wiley, who has a personal record of 1:56.83 seconds. The former UO standout, Rogers, took home the bronze at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Wilson has won four U.S. championships and two Olympian titles. The current Olympic trials champion and defending U.S. champion is Nia Akins.

World record holder and two-time Olympic gold medallist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone decided to run the open 400 this weekend instead. She might beat Sanya Richards-Ross’s U.S. record of 48.70, which has stood since 2006.

Sha Carri Richardson, the crowd favorite and 2024 Olympic silver medallist in the 100, is competing in both the 100 and 200. After winning the world title in the 100 in 2023, she has a wildcard admission to Tokyo, despite being hindered by injuries this year.