Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships 2025: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Noah Lyles highlight events to watch

NBC Sports

4 days ago

At the Toyota USA Track and Field Championships, which run Thursday through Sunday, third place can be nearly as sweet as first place for many athletes.
In most events, the top three make the team for September's World Championships in Tokyo.
Many of the biggest stars already have byes onto the world team as reigning world champions from 2023 — like Noah Lyles, Grant Holloway, Ryan Crouser, Sha'Carri Richardson and Katie Moon. In their events, the U.S. will have four entries at worlds.
So the most intriguing events this week can be the ones where the competition for third place is more compelling than for the outright victory. Depth matters.
Nick Zaccardi,
That in mind, here are five standout events to watch at the meet in Eugene, Oregon:
Women's Long Jump — Thursday final
2024 Olympic Trials: Tara Davis-Woodhall, Jasmine Moore, Monae' Nichols
2025 U.S. Rankings: Tara Davis-Woodhall, Lex Brown, Claire Bryant
The U.S. boasts four of the world's top eight women this year (indoors and outdoors). The Olympic gold medalist Davis-Woodhall has won all 13 of her competitions since the start of 2024. She has the two best jumps by an American in 2025 (7.07 and 7.05 meters) over just three total starts. She is followed closely by Brown, who since the start of 2024 has improved her best by more than two feet. Bryant won the world indoor title in March after placing 10th at the Olympic Trials. Fellow former Florida Gator Jasmine Moore, who won Olympic bronze in the long jump and triple jump, is again entered in both events this week.
Women's 400m — Saturday final
2024 Olympic Trials: Kendall Ellis (not entered), Aaliyah Butler, Alexis Holmes
2025 U.S. Rankings: Aaliyah Butler, Gabby Thomas (not entered), Bella Whittaker, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone
McLaughlin-Levrone opted for the flat 400m instead of the 400m hurdles at nationals, despite having broken the world record six times in the latter. Though McLaughlin-Levrone is seeded third by best 400m time in 2025, she is actually the second-fastest American in history in the event, thanks to her 48.74 from 2023. Can she challenge the American record -- Sanya Richards-Ross' 48.70 from 2006 -- and the 2025 world's fastest times from Bahrain's Salwa Eid Naser (48.67) and Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic (48.81)?
Women's 200m — Sunday final
2024 Olympic Trials — Gabby Thomas, Brittany Brown, McKenzie Long
2025 U.S. Rankings — McKenzie Long, Gabby Thomas, JaMeesia Ford
Eight of the world's 10 fastest women this year are American. Thomas won the Tokyo Olympic Trials, was injured (and sixth) in 2022, then won in 2023 and 2024 (en route to Paris gold). Brown is the Olympic bronze medalist. Sha'Carri Richardson, the 2023 World bronze medalist, was fourth at the Olympic Trials. She has a bye into worlds in the 100m and said on July 4 that she plans to race the 200m at nationals.
Men's 200m — Sunday final
2024 Olympic Trials: Noah Lyles, Kenny Bednarek, Erriyon Knighton
2025 U.S. Rankings: T'Mars McCallum, Kenny Bednarek, Garrett Kaalund (not entered)
Lyles said he plans to run all three rounds of the 200m at nationals even though he has the bye. He will bid for a record-tying fifth U.S. men's 200m title. Lyles is seeded fourth by best time this year (19.88), but that's deceiving as he missed meets due to injury and has since returned with respectable results. Bednarek, the two-time Olympic silver medalist, went 6-0 in Grand Slam Track 100m and 200m races. He hasn't competed since June 1 — withdrawing from the July 5 Prefontaine Classic due to adductor tightness — and posted July 19 that he was back to full-speed training. Bednarek is 2-12 against Lyles all-time in the 200m, according to Tilastopaja.info, but the two in his favor were the last two Olympic finals. McCallum, a rising University of Tennessee senior, has the world's best time this year (19.73) after starting the season with a personal best of 20.33.
Men's 800m — Sunday final
2024 Olympic Trials: Bryce Hoppel, Hobbs Kessler, Brandon Miller
2025 U.S. Rankings: Josh Hoey, Bryce Hoppel, Donavan Brazier
Hoppel (fourth at the Paris Olympics), Hoey (fourth at the 2024 Olympic Trials) and Brazier (2019 World champion) are the three fastest Americans in history. Hoey was a revelation over the winter, running the world's second-fastest indoor 800m in history and then winning the world indoor title. Brazier, the 2019 World outdoor champion, has been the story of the late spring and early summer, returning to relevance after going nearly three years without racing following four lower leg surgeries.
Josh Hoey of the United States does just enough to win gold in the men's 800m, securing his first global championship at the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China.