USATF Grand Prix set to be first professional meet at the new Hayward Field

 
EUGENE, Oregon -- A host of Team USATF's brightest stars will be joined by some of the world's best on Saturday at the USATF Grand Prix at the Oregon Relays, the first professional meet held at the newly-renovated Hayward Field.
 
Fans can watch the USATF Grand Prix live on USATF.TV+ from 4-5 p.m. ET before the action goes live on NBCSN and Peacock Premium from 5-7 p.m. ET.
 
With more Olympic and World Championships hardware than can fit in the traditional trophy case, Allyson Felix drops down to 100m Saturday as she prepares for her final Olympic campaign. Owner of more than 20 global medals, Felix will take on Candace Hill, an 11.13 performer in 2021, along with Felix's 4x100m relay world record teammate Tianna Bartoletta.
 
On the men’s side, 2016 Olympian Trayvon Brommell will line up against reigning 200m world champion Noah Lyles, who has eight sub-10 efforts in his career thus far. Bromell is returning to the city where he set his lifetime best of 9.84 in 2015.
 
In the men’s 200m, 2018 U.S. champion Ameer Webb has recorded a 10.09 in the 100m this year and is eyeing the Trials qualifying mark of 20.24. Josephus Lyles, Noah's younger brother, has run that qualifying mark already -- with a 20.24 last year and a 20.37 earlier this year.
 
Wonder what a man who can roll to a 9.86 in the 100m can do for a full lap? Michael Norman blasted a 43.45 in 2019 to open his season and his outdoor season debut should help answer the question of how his newfound short speed has affected his already-otherworldly one-lap ability. Training partner Rai Benjamin, best known as a 400m hurdler, also showed superb dash skills last year with a 10.03, and he was right on Norman's shoulder at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in February, finishing .05 behind the winner's 45.34. Not to be overlooked is Justin Robinson, who won the event at the Miramar Invitational two weeks ago in 45.23.
 
Reigning Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas brings impressive credentials to the women's 400m with a 48.37 PR and leads the '21 world 200m list at 22.03. Her top American challenger may be Wadeline Jonathas, owner of a 49.60 best set in finishing fourth at Doha's World Championships two years ago. 2018 NCAA champion Lynna Irby set her lifetime best in Eugene with a 49.80, while former Oregon star Phyllis Francis was just behind Jonathas in Doha at 49.61 and was the 2017 World Championships gold medalist.
 
When your image graces the giant tower at the corner of the new stadium, it's only appropriate to stake a claim as the favorite when you step on the track. Raevyn Rogers was a much-decorated star for Oregon in college, and in 2019 she earned World Championships silver in Doha. Canada's Melissa Bishop was fourth at the Rio Games and has run 1:57.01 in her career, the fastest PR in the field, while Kate Grace was eighth in Rio and has a lifetime best of 1:58.28. Britain's Jemma Reekie, a 1:57.90 indoor performer last year, and Ce'Aira Brown have also dipped under 2:00, and Brown was eighth at Doha in 2019.
 
Isaiah Harris and Erik Sowinski are the top American contenders on the men’s side, but Oregon's own Charlie Hunter won the NCAA indoor crown in March and is hoping to represent Australia in Tokyo.
 
In the 1,500m, 2011 world champion Jenny Simpson has represented the U.S. at every Olympics and World Championships since 2007, yet she has raced sparingly since 2019 and will be a fascinating foil for Britain's Laura Muir. Muir has run 3:59.58 indoors this year and boasts a 3:55.22 PR, the best in the field. Nikki Hiltz won Pan American Games gold in 2019 and was a finalist at Doha, and Dani Jones was the NCAA 5,000 winner in 2019. That year's collegiate 10,000m champ, Weini Kelati of Eritrea, drops down in distance and should smash her lifetime best.
 
American 800m record-holder Donavan Brazier, the reigning world champion at two laps, and Bryce Hoppel, the 1:43.23 man, go up against veteran metric miler Johnny Gregorek, and the result could shake up Tokyo form charts. Australia's Olli Hoare won the NCAA title for Wisconsin in 2018 and romped to a 3:32.35 national indoor record in February with former Duck Sam Prakel not far behind him. High schooler Hobbs Kessler burst onto the national scene with a prep record 3:57.66 in the mile at Fayetteville in February and has run 8:39.04 for two miles already outdoors.
 
The men’s 3,000m steeplechase features reigning USATF champion Hillary Bor, a top-eight finisher at Rio and Doha who has run 8:08.41 and is third on the all-time U.S. list, and Stanley Kebenei, who is just in front of Bor with an 8:08.30.
 
Sydney McLaughlin highlights the women’s 100m hurdles field as the second-fastest woman over 400m hurdles in history. McLaughlin showed a glimpse of her improved speed over the sprint hurdles with a 12.92 PR in California last week.
 
Already one of the greatest American ever in women’s high jump, Vashti Cunningham has won eight USATF titles and is the top jumper in 2021 with an indoor 2.00m/6-6.75 from February. Ty Butts-Townsend finished eighth at the World Championships in Doha, while Inika McPherson was an Olympic finalist in Rio. Jelena Rowe improved her PR to 1.93m/6-4 last month.
 
Returning to the site of his NCAA doubles in 2014 & 2015, men’s long jumper Marquis Dendy is nearing the form that helped him capture the 2016 World Indoor gold just up the road in Portland. Dendy jumped 8.21m/26-11.25 indoors this year and set his PR of 8.42m/27-7.5 at Eugene in 2016.
 
Two-time Olympic champion Christian Taylor has won six of the last seven major global titles and already rates as the best American in history with an 18.21m/59-9 from 2015. There's not much left for Taylor to achieve, but a third straight Olympic gold would cement him as possibly the greatest triple jumper ever. Reigning USATF outdoor champion Donald Scott is Taylor's top challenger here, sporting a 17.43m/57-2.25 PR.
 
American record holder Tori Franklin tops the women's entrants and looks to springboard off a solid indoor campaign. Franklin won the 2020 Toyota USATF Indoor Championships with an indoor American record, and her outdoor record of 14.84m/48-8.25 was set in 2018. Dominica's Thea LaFond has improved her lifetime best during the '21 indoor season and won at the USATF Sprint Summit in Prairie View, Texas, on April 3. Jamaica's Kimberley Williams, a veteran of six outdoor World Championships and a medalist at two indoor Worlds, has a windy 14.54m/47-8.5 in '21.
 
Reigning shot put Olympic champion Michelle Carter has a plethora of potential Tokyo team members to go up against, led by the quartet of Chase Ealey, Raven Saunders, Maggie Ewen and Jessica Ramsey. Carter is the American indoor and outdoor record holder and has six of the top 10 all-time U.S. performances. Ealey won last year's Toyota USATF Indoor Championships and was seventh at Doha, while Rio fifth-placer Saunders ranks No. 4 on the all-time national performer list. Ewen nabbed a fourth-place finish in Doha, and Ramsey was the 2019 Pan Am Games bronze medalist. Jamaica's Danniel Thomas-Dodd took silver at Doha after winning the Pan Am Games gold and won at the Miramar Invitational two weeks ago.
 
It's a meeting of the very best of current U.S. hammer throwers, with the women's contest featuring American record-holder and world leader DeAnna Price. Price broke her own American record at Missouri two weeks ago, launching the 4kg ball 78.60m/257-10 to add 36cm to her own national record. Not far off Price's pace is Brooke Andersen, who launched a 78.18m/256-6 throw at Wichita on April 9 to move to No. 2 on the U.S. all-time performer list. Janee Kassanavoid is third on the '21 U.S. list with a best of 74.38m/244-0.
 
The men's world list also has an American at the top as Rudy Winkler uncorked a 77.89m/255-6 effort two weeks ago. Winkler was a finalist at Doha in 2019 and was an Olympian at Rio. Joining Winkler will be the four men behind him on this year's latest U.S. list -- Morgan Shigo, Alex Young, Sean Donnelly and Daniel Haugh. Reigning USATF champion Conor McCullough is also in the field and will make his 2021 debut. In 2018, Denzel Comenentia of the Netherlands won the shot put/hammer double at the NCAA Championships in Eugene for the University of Georgia, and he is undefeated in three meets this year. Slovakia's Marcel Lomnicky was fifth at Rio and is a veteran of seven Olympic and World Championships competitions since 2011.
 
Full entry lists can be found here and the full competition schedule here.
 
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