Track and field at Tokyo Olympics: What to watch for

There are 10 consecutive days of competition, running from Friday through August 8

Athletes in track and field spent the first half of the year taking aim at — and shattering — a smorgasbord of world records. No one would be surprised to see more of them fall in the coming days, when runners and jumpers take center stage at the Games. Despite the absence of fans, the Olympic Stadium will be full of drama.

In these uncertain times, reaching the starting line could be considered an achievement. But many of the athletes are coming to Tokyo with ambitious goals.

When does track and field start at the Olympics?

There are 10 consecutive days of competition, running from Friday through Aug. 8, when the men’s marathon will punctuate the festivities in Sapporo, about 500 miles north of Tokyo, where organizers expect cooler weather.

How does track and field work at the Olympics?

Back at the Olympic Stadium, there are morning sessions and night sessions, along with qualifying rounds for many of the events.

The finals are typically at night, though a few — like the finals of the men’s and women’s 400-meter hurdles, which will most likely feature American stars — are set to be held at midday so they can be broadcast to a prime-time audience in the United States.

Also read: Mary Kom slams IOC Boxing Task Force for 'poor judging', says can't believe I've lost

The final two nighttime sessions, on Aug. 6 and 7, will be packed with finals, including the men’s and women’s 1,500 meters, the women’s 10,000 meters and several relays. The relays are often exciting, and the Americans have been pretty good at them — whenever they manage to hold onto the baton.

What are some of the more intriguing events?

Did we mention the 400-meter hurdles? On the women’s side, two Americans, Dalilah Muhammad and Sydney McLaughlin, are likely to renew their rivalry with an Olympic gold at stake. At the US trials last month, McLaughlin broke Muhammad’s world record to finish first. But Muhammad is still the defending Olympic and world champion, and her mechanics are pure artistry.

The men’s final could pit Karsten Warholm of Norway, fresh off his own world-record performance, against Rai Benjamin of the United States, who owns the third-fastest time in history.

The men’s 1,500 meters always seems to deliver. Timothy Cheruiyot, the reigning world champion, was initially left off Kenya’s Olympic team when he finished fourth at the country’s trials in June. He was added to the team after he ran the fastest time since 2015 at a high-powered meet in Monaco a few weeks ago. He could be challenged by Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway, the youngest of the famous Ingebrigtsen brothers.

Of course, anything can happen: At the 2016 Olympics, Matthew Centrowitz took home gold for the United States by outsprinting the field at the end of a highly tactical race. At 31, he appears to be back in prime form.

Who are some of the other athletes to watch?

Any list like this needs to include Allyson Felix, 35, the grande dame of US track and field. Felix, a six-time gold medalist, is set to compete in the 400 meters in her fifth and nal Olympics.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica, 34, is already a two-time Olympic champion in the women’s 100 meters. She hopes to win yet another gold after taking bronze at the 2016 Games. It seems entirely possible — she ran the fastest time of her life in June — and Sha’Carri Richardson, who would have been among the favorites, will be absent after she tested positive for marijuana, a banned substance, at the US trials.

Also Read | Debutant Satish Kumar sails into Olympic boxing quarterfinals; unlucky Mary Kom bows out

Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands could be planning something truly audacious: She is entered in the 1,500 meters, the 5,000 meters and the 10,000 meters. And she might just be the favorite in all three, if she can survive multiple rounds in multiple events.

At 21, Mondo Duplantis holds the pole-vaulting world record. He grew up in Louisiana but competes for Sweden, his mother’s home country.

A dominant figure in the men’s marathon, Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya will try to repeat as the Olympic champion on the streets of Sapporo. Kipchoge, the world-record holder and the first man to break the 2-hour barrier (an unofficial mark), won 10 straight marathons before he placed eighth at the London Marathon last year, revealing his apparent mortality.

Elle Purrier St. Pierre of the United States, who grew up on a dairy farm in rural Vermont, has emerged as a medal contender in the women’s 1,500 meters.

And then there are the US prodigies. JuVaughn Harrison, 22, is poised to become the first American athlete to compete in both the high jump and the long jump since Jim Thorpe in 1912. Athing Mu, 19, blistered the field in the women’s 800 meters at the US trials last month, finishing with the second-fastest time ever by an American and the fastest time in the world this year. And Erriyon Knighton, 17, will be the youngest American man to compete in track and field at the Olympics since Jim Ryun ran the 1,500 meters in 1964.