Olympic Veterans Like Ryan Crouser, Sam Kendricks and Will Claye Look To Extend Legacies, While Newcomers Like JuVaughn Harrison Are Ready To Seize Future

The following is a chronological breakdown of the men’s field events at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Shot Put 

Schedule: June 18 (Qualifying and Final)

Olympic standard: 69-2.75 (21.10m)

Entries with the Olympic standard: Ryan Crouser, Joe Kovacs, Darrell Hill, Payton Otterdahl, Adrian Piperi, Olayinka Awotunde, Jordan Geist, McKay Johnson, Andrew Liskowitz, David Pless

2016 qualifers: Ryan Crouser (champion) Joe Kovacs, Darrell Hill

Analysis: Ryan Crouser is a walking world-record threat every time he steps into the ring, and his new personal best of 75-6 (23.01m) from May 22 in Tucson, Ariz. has put him at the doorstep of Randy Barnes' 1990 world record (23.12m). Crouser owns 10 of the 20 longest throws in world history and is the reigning Olympic champion. So on Day 1 at the Trials, look for him to take center stage. Crouser is a virtual lock to make the team, but Joe Kovacs deserves his due as the reigning world champion and has thrown 75-2 (22.91m). He threw 74-6.50 (22.72m) on May 1. Darrell Hill threw near his lifetime best (22.44m) with a mark of 73-3.50 (22.34m) on May 9. The same three that competed in Rio are the most likely candidates five years on to go to Tokyo. 

Hammer Throw

Schedule: June 18 (Qualifying), June 20 (Final)

Olympic standard: 254-3 (77.50m)

Entries with the Olympic standard: Rudy Winkler, Sean Donnelly, Daniel Haugh, Alex Young, Connor McCullough

2016 qualifiers: Rudy Winkler (champion), Kibwe Johnson, Connor McCullough

Analysis: The U.S. has four throwers ranked in the top nine in the world this year and so the Trials figures to be an intense game of musical chairs. There are only three seats. Rudy Winkler, who won the 2016 Trials while he was still in college at Cornell, has upped his game since then. His throw at Hayward Field on April 24 in the USATF Grand Prix (269-0/81.98m) remains No. 2 in the world. Winkler has shown enough consistency to be the favorite, but Sean Donnelly, Daniel Haugh, Alex Young – and 2019 U.S. champion Connor McCullough – are the likely candidates for the remaining two spots. 

Javelin Throw

Schedule: June 19 (Qualifying), June 21 (Final)

Olympic standard: 278-10 (85.00m)

Entries with the Olympic standard: None

2016 qualifiers: Cyrus Hostetler (champion), Curtis Thompson, Riley Dolezal (only Hostetler qualified for the Olympic Games)

Analysis: The U.S. has fallen well behind the rest of the world in the men's javelin and so far no one has achieved the Olympic standard of 278-10. To be fair, only 10 men in the world have achieved that mark this year. Curtis Thompson, who was second at the 2016 U.S. Trials, is currently ranked 26th in the world and is the top American. At the past two Trials, only one thrower has thrown the Olympic standard in the competition, and that was Cyrus Hostetler in 2016, when the standard was 272-4 and he got it by nine inches. Thompson, Michael Shuey and Riley Dolezal have thrown 80 meters (262-3) this year, but it will take a monster throw to get any of them to the Olympic Games.  

Pole Vault  

Schedule: June 19 (Qualifying), June 21 (Final)

Olympic standard: 19-0.50 (5.80m)

Entries with the Olympic standard: Chris Nilsen, Matt Ludwig, Sam Kendricks, Cole Walsh, Kyle Pater, Audie Wyatt, Zach Bradford, Branson Ellis, Scott Houston, Andrew Irwin, K.C. Lightfoot, Zach McWhorter

2016 qualifiers: Sam Kendricks, Cale Simmons, Logan Cunningham

Analysis: Two-time world champion and Olympic bronze medalist Sam Kendricks competed as much as anyone in the pandemic-altered 2020, but he has also taken some time to build a house in Oxford, Miss., where he has his own pole vault training facility. Kendricks is a medal contender at every global championship, the American record holder, and his confidence always seems to be sky-high. Chris Nilsen appears to be the next in line to break into that elite group globally and showed his mettle when he won a wildly entertaining showdown with Mondo Duplantis of LSU at the 2019 NCAA Championships, jumping 19-6.25 (5.95m). That remains his personal best, but he is growing into the realm of Kendricks. Twelve men have the Olympic standard, which means any one of them could grab a U.S. team spot with a really good day. KC Lightfoot turned pro in April after winning an NCAA indoor title at Baylor for the sole purpose of training for the Olympic Games. He jumped a collegiate record 19-8.25 (6.00 meters) on Feb. 13. If he can do that again at Hayward Field, he's in. 

Triple Jump  

Schedule: June 19 (Qualifying), June 21 (Final)

Olympic standard: 56-2.75 (17.14m)

Entries with the Olympic standard: Will Claye, Donald Scott, Chris Benard

2016 qualifiers: Will Claye, Christian Taylor, Chris Benard

Analysis: Only three men in the competition have the Olympic standard, which means this could be an open and shut case. The injury suffered by Olympic champion Christian Taylor was a major blow to the competition, and the doping violation for missed tests for Omar Craddock eliminated another candidate for the team. Claye says his workouts are going great and that he is ready to carry the torch for the U.S. in Tokyo in the triple jump. Scott and Benard feel like safe bets, too. The only other jumper who seems like a serious threat to make the top three and get the standard is Chris Carter, who is 32 and hasn't jumped 17.14m since 2018. 

Discus Throw

Schedule: June 24 (Qualifying), June 25 (Final)

Olympic standard: 216-6 (66.00m)

Entries with the Olympic standard: Reggie Jagers III, Sam Mattis, Mason Finley, Turner Washington, Kord Ferguson

2016 qualifiers: Mason Finley, Tavis Bailey, Andrew Evans

Analysis: Five men have the Olympic standard and you never know whether throwing conditions will be favorable or unfavorable for discs to fly past 216 feet. The most likely scenario is that three of these five will make the team. Reggie Jagers III thew 222-6 (66.82m) earlier this month at Chula Vista and seems to be peaking at the right time. Recent NCAA champion Turner Washington of Arizona State is focusing on one event for the first time all spring and has been consistent in the 210-foot range. Finley is the reigning Trials champion and 2017 World bronze medalist who is looking for an return trip to the Olympic Games. Kord Ferguson is a threat to crash the top three, but 2019 U.S. champion Sam Mattis has not uncorked a 66-meter throw in two years. 

High Jump  

Schedule: June 25 (Qualifying), June 27 (Final)

Olympic standard: 7-7.75 (2.33m)

Entries with the Olympic standard: JuVaughn Harrison, Trey Culver, Shelby McEwen, Darryl Sullivan Jr. 

2016 qualifiers: Erik Kynard, Kyle Landon, Bradley Adkins

Analysis: Five years ago, at the time of the last Olympic Trials, JuVaughn Harrison was a high school junior with a season-best clearance of 6-4. Today, he is a threat to make the team in both the high jump and long jump after sweeping both events at the NCAA Championships on three occasions. Harrison is an athletic marvel and the best combination jumper in history. He is the U.S. leader in the event and his recent performance at the NCAA Championships suggests he is ready to make the Olympic team. His qualifying round on June 25 will come within the same couple of hours as the long jump qualifying, which begins 90 minutes earlier. Trey Culver and Shelby McEwen are in good shape to make the team because they both have the standard and have been building to this moment. Tennessee's Darryl Sullivan, Jr. has jumped the Olympic standard twice this year and could be a spoiler, especially since Culver has onlu done it once in 2021. Jeron Robinson, the 2019 U.S. champion, still needs the standard but could achieve it on the way to a top-three sport. Erik Kynard is the 2012 Olympic champion and was sixth at the 2016 Olympic Games, but achieving the standard and placing in the top three at the Trials is a big challenge.

Long Jump  

Schedule: June 25 (Qualifying), June 27 (Final)

Olympic standard: 26-11.75 (8.22m)

Entries with the Olympic standard: JuVaughn Harrison, Jeffrey Henderson, isaac Grimes, Corey Crawford, Marquis Dendy, Jarrion Lawson, Steffin McCarter

2016 qualifiers: Jeffrey Henderson, Jarrion Lawson, Mike Hartfield

Analysis: There is a lot of talent coming to the Trials for long jump competition and that could lead to some breakout performances on the last day of Trials. JuVaughn Harrison has mastered pairing the high jump with the long jump, but two finals in one afternoon could be daunting. He has the young legs and bounce to get it done. Professional jumpers with experience, like 2016 Trials champion Jeffrey Henderson, Marquis Dendy and Jarrion Lawson are going to apply some pressure. Will Claye hasn't made a U.S. team in the long jump since 2012, but he can't be ruled out. And Marquise Goodwin of the San Francisco 49ers is a long-shot to make the team like he did in 2012, but he's back to try. Steffin McCarter, a 2019 U.S. team member at Worlds, Florida State's Isaac Grimes and former Rutgers standout Corey Crawford all have the OQ and just need to land in the top three. No American male athlete has ever qualified for the Olympics in both the long jump and high jump in the same year, but Harrison is already used to making history.