Who to watch at the USATF Golden Games
There will be a strong lineup of Canadians at this weekend's track meet in Walnut, California
The USATF Golden Games are taking place this weekend at Mt. SAC in California, and based on the starting list it’s shaping up to be one of the most exciting track meets so far this season. With several notable athletes toeing the line in hopes of securing a spot on their country’s Olympic team, including a number of Canadians, you won’t want to miss the action this weekend.
All eyes will be on the men’s 100m this weekend as NFL star DK Metcalf toes the line, with many suspecting he’s aiming to run the Olympic qualifying standard of 10.05 seconds. While Metcalf is one of the fastest players in the NFL, a lot of people in the running world are skeptical that he’ll be able to pull that off. Still, it will be interesting to see how a football player stacks up against some of the best sprinters in North America. Canadians running against him will include former Olympians Jerome Blake and Aaron Brown.
Other athletes to keep a lookout for will be American 3,000m steeplechase record-holder, Evan Jager, who will be racing his first 3K steeple since 2018, and six-time Olympic gold medalist, Allyson Felix, who will be running her first 200m since 2017.
There will be plenty of Canadians to watch this weekend as well, with Moh Ahmed, Justyn Knight, Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, Mariah Kelly, Lucia Stafford and Gabriela DeBues-Stafford all toeing the line in the 1,500m. A couple of weeks ago, Knight missed the Olympic standard in the 1,500m by only 85 one-hundredths of a second, so he will no doubt be gunning for an even faster time this weekend. DeBues-Stafford will also be facing off against American Elle Purrier, which will be a battle worth watching, since both women have had stellar seasons thus far.
Ben Flanagan, Kieran Lumb, Lanni Marchant and Julie-Anne Staehli will all be competing in the 5,000m, and Melissa Bishop-Nriagu, Lindsey Butterworth, Laurance Coté and Madeleine Kelly will be on the start line in the 800m. Bishop-Nriagu is coming off a great race last weekend, where she snagged the Olympic standard, and Kelly will be looking for a big performance to bump her up in the World Athletics Rankings in order to punch her ticket to Tokyo.
Rounding out the Canadian squad are Noelle Montcalm and Sage Watson in the 400m hurdles, and Charlotte Prouse in the 3,000m steeplechase. The action will all be broadcast live on NBC, but for Canadians without access to that channel, there is a live stream available here, as long as you register for an account. Otherwise, you can follow the live result updates on the USATF website.
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