FEARLESS FORECASTING by Jack Pfeifer
as of April 16
Team USA for August’s Olympic Games in Paris will be chosen at the USATF Championships (Eugene, June 21–30).
With just 13 days from the end of the NCAA to the start of the selection meet, collegians will have an extra week for recovery compared to the ’21 OT.
From the tenuous vantage point of 13 weeks out, here’s our Top 10 charting for each women’s event. The listing of an athlete in a discipline doesn’t guarantee she’ll contest that event (or events).
Note that unlike the World Championships, there are no Wild Cards for the Olympics. Assuming that either the relevant standard is met or the athlete has a high enough position in WA’s world rankings, a nation can enter up to 3 athletes in an event. The U.S. should come close to earning a full quota.
Athletes with a chance to make a fourth team (individual events only): Emma Coburn steeple. Potential 3-timers: Jenna Prandini 200, Ajee’ Wilson 800, Courtney Frerichs steeple, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone & Dalilah Muhammad 400H, Vashti Cunningham HJ, Sandi Morris PV, Keturah Orji TJ, Raven Saunders SP, DeAnna Price HT, Maggie Malone JT.
Here’s our Top 10s (the number in the right-hand column represents the athlete’s placing in last year’s T&FN U.S. Rankings):
| 100 METERS | |||
| 1. | Sha’Carri Richardson | (Nike) | 1 |
| 2. | Jacious Sears | (Tennessee) | 10 |
| 3. | Brittany Brown | (adidas) | 2 |
| 4. | Aleia Hobbs | (adidas) | 5 |
| 5. | Tamara Clark | (adidas) | 6 |
| 6. | Gabby Thomas | (New Balance) | nr |
| 7. | Celera Barnes | (adidas) | nr |
| 8. | Melissa Jefferson | (Nike) | 7 |
| 9. | TeeTee Terry | (Nike) | 4 |
| 10. | Tamari Davis | (adidas) | 3 |
| 200 METERS | |||
| 1. | Gabby Thomas | (New Balance) | 1 |
| 2. | Sha’Carri Richardson | (Nike) | 2 |
| 3. | McKenzie Long | (Mississippi) | 9 |
| 4. | Kayla White | (New Balance) | 4 |
| 5. | TeeTee Terry | (Nike) | 5 |
| 6. | JaMeesia Ford | (South Carolina) | 9 |
| 7. | Anavia Battle | (adidas) | nr |
| 8. | Jenna Prandini | (Puma) | 6 |
| 9. | Tamara Clark | (adidas) | 7 |
| 10. | Shawnti Jackson | (Texas) | 10 |
| 400 METERS | |||
| 1. | Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone | (New Balance) | 1 |
| 2. | Alexis Holmes | (Nike) | 10 |
| 3. | Abby Steiner | (Puma) | nr |
| 4. | Talitha Diggs | (adidas) | 4 |
| 5. | Lynna Irby-Jackson | (adidas) | 6 |
| 6. | Kaylyn Brown | (Arkansas) | nr |
| 7. | Aaliyah Butler | (Georgia) | nr |
| 8. | JaMeesia Ford | (South Carolina) | nr |
| 9. | Quanera Hayes | (Nike) | nr |
| 10. | Jermaisha Arnold | (Texas A&M) | 8 |
| 800 METERS | |||
| 1. | Athing Mu | (Nike) | 1 |
| 2. | Nia… | ||
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