If you’re looking for a preview of the Paris Olympics with a rollicking dash of panache, look no further than the Meadow in Piedmont Park on Saturday. That’s where Olympic gold medalists, World Champions, and World and American record holders such as Noah Lyles, Grant Holloway, Anna Hall, Tara Davis-Woodhall, Tobi Amusan, and Wayde van Niekerk will be among the headliners in the return of the adidas Atlanta City Games.
And if you’re looking for a chance to witness a race that could go down in Georgia history, walk across the street to the Midtown Mile right afterward, where Tommy Latham will attempt to become the first Georgia high school athlete to run a sub-4-minute mile.
Just last week, Latham, a rising senior at Marist School, broke the 25-year-old state record at 1600 meters when he won the GHSA 6A state title in 4:01.66, the second-fastest time in the country so far this season. He leads a Boys’ Invitational Mile field that features 10 of the 12 fastest Georgia high school athletes this season.
After the inaugural adidas Atlanta City Games last spring, Lyles offered this review: “I’d say it’s pretty hype.”
It was high praise from the effervescent sprinter, a six-time World Champion at 100 meters, 200 meters, and the 4×100-meter relay. He bounded up the track to his intro song before getting down to the business of winning the 150 meters. He will defend this title on Saturday as he faces Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes, a two-time World Championships bronze medalist.
Also returning is Robert Dunning, to whom the Georgia high school athletes can look for home-grown inspiration. Dunning, the 2021 NCAA Champion and 2024 Olympic hopeful who now runs professionally for adidas, competed for Kennesaw Mountain High School. Last year, he smashed his personal best here in finishing second to his training partner Holloway, a six-time World Champion and the second-fastest man in history, who will also be back.
“My friends and family will be out there supporting me,” said Dunning, the 2015 GHSA 6A champion in the 300-meter hurdles and high jump who was an All-Metro selection that season. “I’m in my hometown. There’s nothing more I can ask for. Atlanta always shows love to me when I run there.” In addition to Holloway and Dunning, marquee athletes and matchups in the City Games, which will feature athletes from 15 countries competing on a specially built elevated track, include:
- Women’s 100-meter hurdles: Amusan, the World Record-holder…
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