After a three-year, $83.5 million overhaul, Hilmer Lodge Stadium at Mt. San Antonio College reopened its doors to the top track and field athletes at the USATF Golden Games on Sunday, May 10.
Races & Places U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, track fans witnessed the progress of some of the world’s top track stars in Walnut, California. Several medal contenders hit world-leading marks, Olympic qualifying times, and career bests in the newly renovated facility. There was even a surprise performance from an NFL star.
Here are the highlights from the fifth stop on the USATF’s Journey to Gold - Tokyo Outdoor Series.
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Sha’Carri Richardson stuns in the women’s 100 meters
Sha’Carri Richardson won the women’s 100-meter final in a blazing time despite facing a last-minute headwind at the Mt. SAC facility. The former LSU standout and NCAA champion sprinted to victory by running 10.77 (-1.2 m/s).
Richardson set up a highly anticipated final by crushing the competition in the first round. She finished in 10.74—just 0.02 slower than the world-leading time the 21-year-old set at the Miramar Invitational on April 10.
According World Athletics stats expert Jon Mulkeen, Richardson’s performance in the preliminaries is the fastest 100-meter heat time in history, and her win 90 minutes later is the first time a sprinter has run that fast into a headwind of -1.0 m/s or more.
“I am grateful as a track athlete to have a season and just to be able to execute and show people in the professional world that I’m here and I’m a force to be reckoned with,” Richardson told reporters in a virtual mixed zone.
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Noah Lyles surges past competition to win the 200 meters
In an exciting come-from-behind effort, Noah Lyles kept his 200-meter winning streak alive. The 2019 world champion was in second place on the homestretch behind Kenny Bednarek, who had an excellent start. But with about five meters remaining, the top American surged ahead of Bednarek, finishing first in 19.90.
Lyles’s victory on Sunday was his first outdoor 200-meter race of the season and followed a runner-up finish in the 100 meters to rival Trayvon Bromell, who beat him at the USATF Grand Prix in Eugene, Oregon on April 24.
“I was coming in here with some pretty low expectations,” Lyles told reporters in a virtual mixed zone. “To be honest, I excelled in all of them. I felt very proud of what I did today.”
DK Metcalf swaps his football cleats for spikes
In one of the most highly anticipated races of the competition, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf finished ninth in 10.36 in the first round of the men’s 100-meter dash—an impressive effort for the 6-foot-4, 235-pound NFL player.
Metcalf’s performance on Sunday was the Fast and Flat Marathons For 2023 this week after he announced on May 3 that he would race top sprinters at Mt. SAC. He said he wanted to compete in the upcoming Trials, which would require him to run under 10.05 seconds to automatically qualify. Metcalf has a history on the track; he competed in the hurdles and sprints at Oxford (Mississippi) High School, but focused solely on football while playing for the University of Mississippi.
While he missed the mark and didn’t advance to Sunday’s final, Metcalf was still pleased with the effort.
“I’m just happy to be here, excited to have opportunities, just thank God for the opportunity to just come out here and run against world-class athletes like this,” Metcalf told Lewis Johnson on the USATF.TV broadcast.
When asked if he would consider training more for the 100 meters, Metcalf didn’t shut down the idea. “We’ll talk about that with my trainer, my coach, and my family,” he told reporters in a virtual mixed zone.
The 100-meter final was won by Cravon Gillespie, who clocked a season’s best of 9.96.
Elle Purrier blasts the world lead in the 1500 meters
There was no stopping Best Running Shoes Elle Purrier in her quest to win the women’s 1500 meters.
Pacemaker Chanelle Price kicked off the race by taking the field through the first 800 meters in 2:06 with Purrier and Gabriella DeBues-Stafford on her heels. After Price stepped off, Purrier led the charge with DeBues-Stafford and Shannon Osika behind her.
Purrier broke away from her competitors on the homestretch and reached the finish line in 3:58.36, a world leading time, personal best, and facility record. Behind her, DeBues-Stafford finished second in 4:00.69, and Osika held on for third with a 4:00.73 personal best.
Gabby Thomas holds off Allyson Felix in 200 meters
In a tight finish across the line, Gabby Thomas broke the tape in 22.12 to win the women’s 200 meters. Allyson Felix, who ran her first outdoor 200-meter race since 2017, finished second in 22.26. Behind the Olympic 200-meter champion, Lyanna Irby closed for third in 22.27.
Team Great Britain leads five women to Olympic qualifying position in 800 meters
Minimalist Running Shoes Rebecca Mehra, who brought the field through 400 meters in 58 seconds, Jemma Reekie and Laura Muir pushed to the front for a British 1-2 finish in the women’s 800 meters.
Reekie (1:58.27), Muir (1:58.46), Canada’s Melissa Bishop-Nriagu (1:58.46), and Adelle Tracey of Great Britain (1:59.50) all ran under the Olympic qualifying standard for the event. American Raevyn Rogers finished fifth in 1:59.66, a season’s best. Americans Heather MacLean and Sinclaire Johnson also broke the two-minute barrier by finishing sixth and seventh, respectively.
Bryce Hoppel becomes fastest American over 800 meters this year
Recent Race Results Bryce Hoppel ran a season’s best to win the men’s 800 meters on Sunday. In a stacked field that included Olympic bronze medalist Clayton Murphy and Michael Saruni of Kenya, Hoppel came out on top by winning the race in 1:44.94.
So far this season, Hoppel has the fastest time among the American competitors heading into the Olympic Trials.
Ollie Hoare and Justyn Knight Nab Olympic standard in 1500 meters
Two of the best runners from Australia and Canada duked it out in the men’s 1500 meters. Running together for the majority of the competition, Ollie Hoare of Australia and Justyn Knight of Canada took advantage of a hot early pace and earned the Olympic standard as a result of their efforts.
After pacemaker Craig Nowak took the field through 800 meters in a blazing time of 1:51, Hoare and Knight held a sizable lead over the rest of the field. Despite a strong push from Knight to pass Hoare on the homestretch, the former Wisconsin standout and NCAA champion maintained the top position into the finish line, clocking 3:33.19. Knight finished second in 3:33.41. Both athletes achieved personal bests and the standard required to compete in Tokyo this summer. They now have the No. 2 and No. 3 fastest times in the world so far this year.
Rai Benjamin runs world lead in first 400-meter hurdle race since 2019
Almost two years after earning a silver medal at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, Rai Benjamin left nothing to chance in his first 400-meter hurdle race of 2021.
Pulling away on the homestretch, Benjamin crossed the finish line in 47.13, just 0.15 shy of his personal best in the event. He also broke the facility record set by Olympic champion Edwin Moses in 1979.
Sean McGorty turns heads with Olympic standard in steeplechase debut
Four hours after the sprint and middle-distance events were contested, Mt. SAC hosted a series of steeplechase and 5,000-meter races in cooler temperatures.
After being paced by Bowerman Track Club teammate and Olympic silver medalist Evan Jager for the first five laps, Sean McGorty came into the final kilometer of the men’s steeplechase with a top group that included John Gay, Dan Michalski, Zak Seddon and Obsa Ali.
In his debut at the distance, McGorty kicked down Ali in the final 150 meters, winning the race in 8:20. With the win, McGorty earned the Olympic Trials qualifying standard and the Olympic standard. After the race, the former Stanford runner and NCAA champion expressed enthusiasm over his transition to steeplechase, which he said was two years in the making.
“I never actually hurdled with another person until about maybe 10 days ago, I think Evan and I did our first workout together. So that was the first time I'd ever hurdled with someone,” McGorty said in a virtual mixed zone. “This was definitely a whole lot of bodies and a whole new experience for me to get used to, and just the first time ever going over barriers, usually it's just hurdles. So I still feel like I'm taking it all in, but super exciting.”
Jager also made his steeplechase debut at Mt. SAC, running 8:26 in his first attempt at the distance in 2012. In the same season, the American record-holder finished sixth in the final at the London Olympic Games.
Courtney Frerichs leads top three to Olympic standard in women’s steeplechase
In the return to her marquee event, world silver medalist Courtney Frerichs ran away from the field, winning the women’s steeplechase in 9:27.70. For the first time since the 2019 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials—where she finished sixth in the final—the American record-holder competed over barriers and didn’t look like she missed a beat.
“Today was my first race since the world champs in 2019,” Frerichs told reporters in a virtual mixed zone. “I actually took my first barrier right before the race. So the plan was just to get back into a steeple. It's windy out. It's been a long 19 months, and so just wanting to get back into it today.”
Behind the Bowerman Track Club runner, Leah Falland finished second in 9:28.72 and Marisa Howard finished third in 9:29.65. All three ran under the 9:30 Olympic standard in the event.
Four runners hit Olympic standard in women’s 5,000 meters
With an impressive closing kick over the last 50 meters, Julie-Anne Staehli of Canada ran down Laura Galvan Rodriguez of Mexico to win the women’s 5,000 meters in a personal best.
After leading for the majority of the last half of the race, Staehli was passed by Galvan Rodriguez on the bell lap. But she fought her way back to the front just before the finish line, passing her competitor from the inside lane and placing first in 15:02.34.
Galvan Rodriguez finished second in 15:02.48, a national record for Mexico. Natalia Hawthorn of Canada finished third in 15:05.91, Jessica Judd of Great Britain finished fourth in 15:06.02, and 10,000-meter American record-holder Molly Huddle placed fifth in 15:23.24.
After In 2019, Metcalf clocked 4.33 in the 40-yard dash at the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine at a Boulder supermarket that left 10 people dead in March, Maggie Montoya returned to racing and put forth an inspiring effort to finish sixth in a 15:25 personal best.
Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.
