FEARLESS FORECASTING by Jack Pfeifer
as of May 30
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 3+ 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 third team (individual events only): Jenna Prandini 200, Ajee’ Wilson 800, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone & Dalilah Muhammad 400H, Vashti Cunningham HJ, Sandi Morris PV, Keturah Orji TJ, Raven Saunders SP, DeAnna Price HT, Maggie Malone-Hardin 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. Athletes who are asterisked have made the Olympic standard.
| 100 METERS | |||
| 1. | *Sha’Carri Richardson | (Nike) | 1 |
| 2. | *Aleia Hobbs | (adidas) | 5 |
| 3 | *Celera Barnes | (adidas) | nr |
| 4. | *Tamara Clark | (adidas) | 6 |
| 5. | *Melissa Jefferson | (Nike) | 7 |
| 6 | Morolake Akinosun | (adidas) | nr |
| 7 | *Tamari Davis | (adidas) | 3 |
| 8 | Mikiah Brisco | (adidas) | nr |
| 9. | *TeeTee Terry | (Nike) | 4 |
| 10 | English Gardner | (Nike) | nr |
| (also *— Kennedy Blackmon, Mia Brahe-Pedersen, Brittany Brown, Thelma Davies, Talitha Diggs, Candace Hill, Kaila Jackson, Jadyn Mays, Kiara Parker, Jacious Sears, Abby Steiner) | |||
| 200 METERS | |||
| 1 | *McKenzie Long | (Mississippi) | 9 |
| 2. | *Sha’Carri Richardson | (Nike) | 2 |
| 3 | *Abby Steiner | (Puma) | 3 |
| 4. | *Gabby Thomas | (New Balance) | 1 |
| 5. | *JaMeesia Ford | (South Carolina) | nr |
| 6 | *Brittany Brown | (adidas) | nr |
| 7 | *Anavia Battle | (adidas) | nr |
| 8. | *Jenna Prandini | (Puma) | 6 |
| 9. | *Tamara Clark | (adidas) | 7 |
| 10 | *Kaila Jackson | (Georgia) | nr |
| (also *—Thelma Davies, Dajaz Defrand, Rosey Effiong, Shawnti Jackson, Jadyn Mays, Jacious Sears, Kayla White) | |||
| 400 METERS | |||
| 1. | *Alexis Holmes | (Nike) | 10 |
| 2 | *Britton Wilson | (adidas) | 2 |
| 3 | *Kaylyn… | ||
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