Latest / The CITIUS MAG Podcast | A Running + Track and Field Show / USATF Outdoor Championships 2026: Day 2 Reactions | Noah Lyles Runs 9.79, Sha'Carri Wins 3rd 100m Title + More

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USATF Outdoor Championships 2026: Day 2 Reactions | Noah Lyles Runs 9.79, Sha'Carri Wins 3rd 100m Title + More · The CITIUS MAG Podcast | A Running + Track and Field Show

0:00
All right, welcome to the City of Smack Podcast live from Icon
0:05
Stadium. After day two of the USATF
0:08
Outdoor track and Field Championships just wrapped up,
0:11
we had the 100m finals today where we saw Noah Lyles and
0:15
Shakira Richardson get crowned national champions.
0:17
Once again, a little bit of noise, so bear with us if any of
0:24
this picks up behind us, but Kyle, overall, I think today we
0:28
started with a quick vibe check of the stadium yesterday, today
0:32
much better. More fans.
0:33
I think we're developing into Saturday, Sunday, The thing that
0:39
I wish we could do a little differently.
0:41
OK, just start to meet an hour or two later because the
0:45
weather, the sun is now set. It's really common.
0:50
Nice. Yeah, yeah.
0:51
At least for some of the distance races, push it back a
0:54
little bit. But overall, we had some sewage
0:57
smell today at times a little bit $30 parking, don't love that
1:03
you can just park a minute away and walk.
1:06
So we learned that and. Have you had the icon empanadas?
1:10
I've heard really good things about the empanadas.
1:13
Good empanadas at Icon Stadium. Yeah, I, I'll say that.
1:17
So yeah, today, today was a great atmosphere, I would say
1:20
overall. I feel really good about
1:22
Saturday and Sunday. Us HF I think said that both
1:25
days were sold out so we'll see. And yeah, I Sidious manic cheer
1:30
zone will be in full force. You'll look you'll see us on the
1:33
broadcast with these neon green shirts that say I Apple track
1:37
and field a play on the I heart NYC.
1:41
Yeah, figured people would want the context.
1:44
All right, so how this show is going to go, we are going to
1:47
start off talking about the eight hundreds and then we'll
1:49
work our way to the sprints that went down because Anderson
1:52
Emerald will be joining us. He's wrapping things up in the
1:54
mix zone, literally, as we speak.
1:57
Not the busiest day on the track, like overall a pretty
2:00
light day, yeah, but when you have the 100 finals, that's
2:05
obviously the cherry on top. And I thought there's a moment
2:08
of doubt for me that I was like, like with it just being the
2:11
hundreds, like can Noah and Shikari command a big enough
2:14
crowd without any other events? And it did.
2:17
I mean, like crowd was great today.
2:20
And I see Anderson actually, we'll be able to start with the
2:22
100m finals because Anderson we're.
2:24
Starting with the 100m finals. Yeah, yeah, it's the biggest
2:27
event all. Right.
2:29
Anderson, come on in. Yeah, yeah.
2:31
So coming into this one, obviously Shakari Richardson had
2:35
run 1077. We did not get Shakari versus
2:40
Melissa that's fine. She carried looked great in the
2:44
first round yesterday she did and so just took care of
2:48
Business Today and first round was a little when dated 10771078
2:53
for the. 1078, I think, yeah, something like that.
2:56
And then didn't need the wind because she runs 1077 again in
3:01
the final. So just plain consistent.
3:03
All went as expected. Yeah, 1077 is her thing.
3:07
I don't know what's going on with it.
3:08
But no, this was Shakiri's race to lose all throughout.
3:12
I mean, I think we knew her as a favorite.
3:13
Like you said, Melissa wasn't running and I I feel like her
3:17
execution is getting a little bit better from the start, just
3:21
a little bit. Not like, you know, I, I don't
3:23
think this was Shakiri 2023 final that won the gold medal,
3:27
but her start looks to be a little bit better.
3:29
And I think coming off of last year where she was injured, she
3:33
had setbacks this year. I feel like she's making a
3:36
statement now. She did lose some Melissa and
3:39
Prefontaine, but I feel like she's kind of showing.
3:42
Not only am I ready to be back as one of the best in the world,
3:44
but I'm going to show it on the clock.
3:47
I'm also going to show it in my race.
3:48
Like I'm going to show you what I've been working on.
3:50
And yeah, I I'm feeling like she did very, very good and it was a
3:53
convincing win. I mean.
3:54
What is the part of the race that stinks at you the most
3:57
about? Like an improved execution?
3:59
The start. I really think the start because
4:01
we know Shakiri, I don't know the splits and all that stuff,
4:05
but like Shakiri in the second-half is probably one of
4:07
the best in the world over the past couple years.
4:09
She once she gets like 5060 meters, she is just like it's
4:13
almost like she's walking on water and she's able to pull
4:15
away. But the start has always been
4:18
her her issue. I mean, I remember from the
4:19
Olympic Games she had like some might have had like the worst
4:22
reaction times out of like any athlete all throughout.
4:25
But here it seems like there's some incremental improvement
4:30
relative to what she's been doing in previous years.
4:32
So that's why I'm looking. Obviously I got to like watch
4:34
back the races, but I don't know that that's a good sign because
4:38
now going into the rest of the year, if she had three well
4:41
executed races, we don't know when she's going to race like
4:44
Melissa and Julie and all of them later on.
4:46
Maybe it is world ultimate, but that probably gives her
4:49
confidence about OK, now I'm I'm actually ready to be back to who
4:52
I was before. Form down the final in the
4:55
second-half of the race also looks better.
4:58
Like, not perfect, let me not say perfect, but like it looks,
5:00
it looked very, very good. It looked very good.
5:03
And maybe that's a factor of what would it have looked like
5:05
if Melissa was here, right? Because she wasn't really
5:07
pressed. She did have to kind of run down
5:09
Kayla White a little bit from the start, right?
5:12
But yeah, once you get to 60 meters, she just like floating.
5:14
So I wonder, OK, if she had Melissa next to her, that would
5:17
have been interesting to see. Does she maintain that form?
5:20
Because that's when I think athletes, especially in the
5:23
sprints are like, OK, if I have pressure, if I have like someone
5:27
really next to me, how am I able to remain composed?
5:30
Am I able to like keep, you know, everything going that my
5:33
coaches told me right beforehand?
5:34
So, but yeah, she looked smooth. She looked very smooth.
5:37
She looked. Amped after the race, like very
5:41
clearly, like this one meant something to her. back-to-back,
5:45
right? No, last year she won.
5:47
No, last year was Melissa. Melissa, that's right.
5:50
But. Actually it's interesting, it's
5:51
now I was looking back over since 2021 it's only been
5:54
Shakuri and Melissa has won every title.
5:56
Just been crazy, but they both have never been on at the same
5:59
exact time which makes this season so much more exciting in
6:02
particular. I think today was in some ways
6:04
just such a good like scrimmage or like glorified practice for
6:09
her. Like she was definitely the
6:11
favorite. There's really only a couple
6:13
athletes in the world who right when she's at her best can pose
6:17
a challenge. Kayla made her work for it.
6:20
That first half, Kayla ran great.
6:23
Like Kayla, Kayla is really doing very well and was able to
6:28
put just enough pressure on Shakari.
6:30
I did something I I liked and we saw both on the men's and
6:32
women's side was you could just see the reactions after the semi
6:36
final where they were like, oh tracks fast.
6:38
And. Like we're feeling good, like
6:40
conditions are, are like setting up for us.
6:44
And I, I think in the, the semis I saw her just kind of hold back
6:49
like that. Like she I would love to know
6:51
her reaction time the semis because it was just like just
6:53
get through. Like when you have this type of
6:55
top end speed, like you have so much confidence and Noah does
6:58
the same exact thing. It's almost like the Yakabinga
7:02
Brits in going out in last. And it's like jogger, like a
7:04
mophar, like, yeah, just let everyone go and you'll go get
7:07
them. But it's it's just like
7:12
definitely great to see. Just have one of the biggest
7:14
wins that she's had in a while. And I know it's not like the
7:16
biggest win in the entire world, but after last year, it's nice.
7:20
There's some momentum building right now.
7:22
I was actually going to say that, like, this year, I feel
7:25
like Prefontaine was it. But this also, this is like her
7:29
biggest races since the Olympic Games, like, by far because
7:32
again, injured last year, there weren't no, like, expectations
7:35
for her at the world champs. So now it's like Melissa has
7:39
stepped up, Julian has stepped up.
7:41
What do you look like relative to the rest of the world right
7:43
now? And these are the races that she
7:45
has to really prove herself. OK, now I'm actually back in
7:48
that conversation where I'm competing for, you know, there's
7:51
no worlds or Olympics, but like I'm competing for gold or
7:54
whatever it may be. Can I, can I just say I feel
7:56
like a year ago when we were talking about World Ultimate
7:58
Championships, everyone was kind of doing this thing of like,
8:01
well, I don't know if I'm going to do it like.
8:04
And I'm curious if the tone in the mix zone has changed.
8:06
Because my impression of everyone I've talked to in the
8:09
sport is we're now less than 50 days till World Ultimate
8:12
Championships and people are starting to be like, yeah, well,
8:14
obviously I'm going to do it. Yeah, I know I was playing like
8:16
Koi a little bit, but. Big money on the line.
8:18
And now, like, ideas are floating in people's heads of
8:21
potential double S and they're getting, now that it's becoming
8:24
more real, they're taking a closer look at the schedule.
8:26
So right now, Shikari would only be in for the 100.
8:29
Only in the 100. Yeah, yeah, it.
8:31
Seems like that's the way she's structuring her season this year
8:33
is very intentional. On the 100, I think it makes
8:35
sense. Just focus on the 100 that
8:38
that's her bread and butter. She got a medal in the 200 in
8:40
2023. But I don't think anyone looks
8:42
at Shakira is like, OK, what damage are you going to do in
8:44
the 200, at least for the time. It's a very crowded picture
8:46
right now with like 6. I mean women who easily could be
8:49
better on the day. Exactly and again, she has to
8:52
like reassert herself in the 100 to prove OK, I'm a world
8:56
champion and I could still compete with the rest of yacht.
8:58
So yeah, I and yes, every athlete now, I think as the once
9:03
in weeks have gone on, they're like, yeah, world ultimates,
9:06
yeah, how many points do I have? Like every single person.
9:08
So yeah, that's like what it is for this year.
9:12
As of right now, after USA's now, she carries around
9:17
10771078, like on three occasions, one of them when
9:21
dated. Yeah.
9:23
Where does she fall? Sort of in the power rankings of
9:26
the women's hundred, right? Because you have Julian, you
9:28
have Melissa. Like is she still at 3:00?
9:31
I I think. Until she does this, what?
9:33
Yeah, I think at minimum she's 3.
9:38
Like if I'm saying that right, minimum, maximum, I don't know,
9:40
but yeah, yeah, at best, Yeah, at best she's 3, right.
9:43
You can't. We already saw the head to head
9:45
between Melissa, right. So that's that's there, Julian.
9:49
Now though, she hasn't run 10/7 this year.
9:51
She has a windy 10 seven. But regards to the time, she's
9:55
just been on fire in like the 200 and like she's won all of
9:57
her hundred races, so you got to put her there as well.
10:01
And then after that, that's where you enter in the Sharikas
10:05
and the, you know, Tia Clayans where that's a little more mixed
10:08
picture. I think Shakiri with her
10:09
consistency and going up against the top 100m woman, and Melissa,
10:14
she was toe to toe in Prefontaine.
10:16
That I think puts her right, right there.
10:18
So yeah, solid 3. Yeah, I mean, she's one of the
10:21
biggest stars and delivered here at Icon Stadium I.
10:24
Do I don't know if y'all spoke about just a shout out Kayla
10:26
White. I'm very, very impressed.
10:28
I know you've. Been I've been shouting her out
10:31
too, cuz it quietly it's turned into a really, really good
10:35
season and she's like a very quiet threat.
10:38
And like when I when I brought up the the 200 and how there's
10:41
six other women who are better, could be better than Shakiri on
10:44
the day. Like Kayla White is knocking on
10:46
the door of cracking into that top 6.
10:48
Yeah, I look at Kayla and I, I have no idea if you remember
10:51
this, Chris, but in 2023, I might have whispered to you,
10:54
like adding the rounds that like Kayla might make this team and
10:57
she made the team in the 200 that year.
10:59
But since then she actually moved to Dennis Mitchell like
11:02
shortly after. Who was she with before?
11:05
She was at a North Carolina into her college coach.
11:07
So just after USA she moved to Dennis Mitchell and I kind of
11:10
look at like, OK, she's now been with Dennis and the whole
11:13
Melissa and Shakiri TT like that whole crew for now full three
11:17
years. I think that has worked wonders
11:19
for her kind of like getting her footing.
11:21
Now she's been made the team. Last year she was on the relay
11:24
and now it's like she's almost a mainstay in American sprinting.
11:28
So, and she actually spoke about that in the mix zone where it's
11:31
like her, Melissa TG Terry, Shakira Richardson, they are a
11:35
powerhouse. Like they're an absolute
11:36
powerhouse when it comes to American sprinting.
11:38
Right now that's our 4 by 1 potentially well in LA.
11:41
That was the four by one. Last year, so it's.
11:45
Forever. So yeah, yeah, she's having a
11:46
great season so far. Is she doubling back for the 2?
11:48
She is. She's back for the two, Yeah.
11:50
All right, let's go over to the men's hundred in this one.
11:54
Let's see if this will load for me.
11:58
No, no. Yeah, like.
12:00
So. Let's go through Noah's day,
12:01
right? Like he in the semis was coming
12:05
out and hyping up the crowd and then.
12:07
He ran like 50 meters, 60 meters just from the start, not like
12:11
before the race started, just not the.
12:13
Crowd doesn't have the best start all right, the.
12:16
Semis. We can cut the semis down from a
12:18
20 minute like parade across the track heat by heat.
12:24
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, too much time.
12:26
Too much time. That's all right.
12:28
Go back to the actual analyzer. Range so he had to run down
12:33
Ronnie Baker in that one and he didn't have the best start so
12:36
then you give him a little bit of time in between the semis and
12:39
the finals and much better start and then was just pressed by
12:44
Kenny and Ronnie Baker yeah and ends up pulling away like
12:49
holding on for the V979, which in the semis was he had a.
12:54
Windy 975? Yep.
12:56
Or 976 something like that. Yeah, but which I think is the
12:58
second fastest all conditions time.
13:01
For the year or well, no. In his career, I.
13:03
Think no, that's the fastest all conditions really.
13:06
I think he's only run 979. I don't think he's ever run a
13:08
windy 97. OK, so then that was the fastest
13:11
he's ever gone. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:12
But then he ties his personal best in the final running 979
13:17
world leading time. I mean, it was it great
13:20
performance. So it's like same as Shakari,
13:22
just like the favorite came, delivered the victory.
13:26
Yeah, and like and like you said, he had to rundown getting
13:29
challenged by Ronnie and Kenny and even Christian at a point.
13:33
But like that's every race that Noah runs.
13:36
Like every single final. It seems like he is behind for
13:39
thirty 4050 meters and then he just finds a way.
13:43
He finds that extra gear, like I said, very similar to Shikari,
13:46
his top end and his second-half is like is second to none when
13:50
we're talking about the world right now.
13:51
And it's very hard to beat Noah if he is close to you at 30 to
13:55
40 meters. And he did exactly that.
13:57
And to run a personal best, it's very impressive.
14:01
I'll, I'll be honest, I, I'm, I didn't think that Noah was like,
14:06
there was a world where I could have imagined Noah winning more
14:08
medals in the future, but never running a personal best again or
14:11
matching it. But he just knows how to show up
14:14
when it counts the most, no matter who's on the line.
14:16
Like, I mean, this was I, I don't know, I guess Trayvon's
14:20
the only missing person, but this was all of the best 100m
14:23
sprinters in the United States right now.
14:24
And Noah dominated the field. It wasn't even close.
14:28
So. Yeah, I mean continuing to be
14:31
blown away by by Noah, I think I just love the added context of
14:35
the fact that he's been he's had a crazy hectic busy last two
14:38
weeks. Like how much he's been able to.
14:40
I don't I want to know where he's squeezing in the training
14:43
side of things. But whatever it was, it's like
14:45
didn't really affect him all too much.
14:47
So maybe the key is like hit Fanatics fest for like 4 days
14:52
and go to Michael Reuben's White Party and like all this other
14:56
stuff. Go to the.
14:57
World Cup with the. With the boxes guys, so he can't
15:00
have the World Cup every year, so we'll need to fix that.
15:04
All right. But then second place Ronnie
15:05
Baker. This is the best race in years.
15:07
I mean, actually in five years, like literally his best race
15:11
since the Tokyo, yeah, that's semifinals.
15:13
He ran his personal best air like 988 by Ronnie Baker.
15:16
We we got the glimpses of it in the semis with Noah where he ran
15:19
really well. I mean like Ronnie Baker and
15:23
this is I think kind of emblematic of like this entire
15:26
cuz you had Noah Lyles, you had Ronnie Baker, you had Kenny B
15:29
Christian Coleman as a top 4. All these guys were relevant I
15:33
guess pre pandemic. Like these are veteran guys and
15:36
I think Ronnie is kind of the most emblematic of that.
15:38
Where? But he had the biggest fall off
15:40
in the last couple years. Exactly.
15:41
Yeah, he had the biggest drop off afterwards.
15:44
He was kind of speaking about the injuries, the setbacks and
15:47
points where he was like, he said that there was a point in
15:49
like 2022 or something he said he ran.
15:52
I ran 10 four. I'm like, I think I shouldn't be
15:54
doing this anymore. Like he was like, I might be
15:58
done. But you know, moments like these
16:00
give him the confidence. I like, OK, Nah, I I still have
16:03
it in me. So yeah, huge task.
16:05
Around did he go through a coaching switch or anything?
16:06
No, he actually has been with his coach when he was at TCUI.
16:09
Guess for 11 and 12 years, like he's with the same coach.
16:13
Yeah, he has two kids now. Like he was really just like,
16:17
thankful for the journey. Like.
16:19
That that's a story where it's like, yo, no matter what you go
16:23
through, it's like you still have something in you, you know
16:24
what I'm saying? Like you still have something in
16:26
you. It's it's pretty interesting
16:28
looking at the ages that they have listed and it just like,
16:31
all right. Noah, 29.
16:32
Ronnie Baker 32. Kenny 27.
16:34
Christian Coleman 30. Like everyone.
16:36
Everyone's over 25, Trayvon not. Young, like exactly like is an
16:40
old squad of veterans, but they're not slowing down, no
16:44
like, and I think that's kind of a nice trend to see.
16:47
I mean, the US sprinters really have a ton of longevity in them.
16:52
And yeah, I mean, even when you think guys are gone, they have a
16:58
tendency to come back. So get comfortable.
17:00
And if you're like 21, yeah. Oh yeah, I'll wait a little bit
17:04
longer. Well, I mean, what do you do if
17:06
you're one of the younger guys and you see Ronnie Baker at 32
17:09
now run second? Like what do you think?
17:12
You move to. You move to the two or the four.
17:15
Like you just switch events, it's crazy.
17:18
Kenny Bernard, not the outcome that he expected, going all in
17:22
on the 100, ends up in 3rd place limping afterwards.
17:25
Yeah, Paul said that he was limping a little bit.
17:26
I saw Dennis Mitchell was kind of like holding him on the
17:29
shoulder. I I don't I don't know if he
17:32
looked like that after the like on the track, but I don't I
17:35
don't know. It's Kenny B has been
17:37
interesting because his 200 and 100 I feel like are worlds apart
17:43
where he's like so consistent. We even we saw him on the
17:46
Diamond League. He wins all his two hundreds
17:50
when Noah isn't racing in, but like in the hundred, it's like a
17:54
a mixed bag and a race like this kind of did show that as well
17:57
where you know, he runs great through the rounds.
17:59
You know, he has some great, good performances on the
18:01
circuit. But then in the final it's more
18:05
mixed bag. It's I'm not sure how to read
18:07
into Kenny in the 100. And granted, like he was fourth
18:10
place at worlds last year. He made the Olympic final.
18:13
It's not to say like he's a really, really good, he's world
18:15
class in the 100, but it's I feel like he Kenny is trying to
18:19
really insert himself into the global 100 meter landscape.
18:23
But he hasn't kind of taken that big step up to say, OK, no, I am
18:27
here and I don't, I don't know. I don't know when it will come,
18:31
but yeah. Yeah, it's like clearly last
18:34
year he was like on one in the 100 and then there were so, so
18:39
many high hopes. And then it was just sort of
18:40
like everyone else timed their peak perfectly for Tokyo.
18:44
What? You know what I'm going to say
18:45
because I say it about every athlete ever.
18:48
The time to move up. To the.
18:50
Four, he was a 400 guy. The 200 is his game.
18:54
He's obviously developed a ton of top end speed, a great start
18:58
from the 100, but can you suppose like?
19:02
Kevin, it should be. I don't know.
19:05
The four is kind of different. Now, and I'm not saying this
19:07
just because it's Kenny, I'm saying it because I say it about
19:10
everyone and everyone to. Know it's very much so.
19:13
I'm staying consistent. Yeah.
19:16
No, yeah, I had one more thought on Kenny and now you just
19:23
totally sidetracked me. But Christian Coleman, his start
19:27
looks so good in in the earlier rounds and he just like didn't
19:30
come together in the finals. I was so high on Christian.
19:33
You thought he was I. Yeah, he was.
19:34
I sent the text because I was like, I'm gonna screenshot this
19:37
after. I was like, yo, am I crazy if
19:39
I'm picking Christian for the win?
19:41
And you know, I would be dancing all over you guys if he did pull
19:46
it off. But he looked so good through
19:49
the 1st 2 rounds that it seemed like it was in play, it just
19:52
wasn't there. It really did.
19:54
It really did. And Christian is actually
19:56
someone who tends to get better and perform relatively well at
20:00
USAS. Now, granted, I feel like the
20:03
rest of the world has kind of caught up with him in the in the
20:05
sense of like Kenny, Noah and previously as Fred.
20:09
So like, but he's run fast in at USAS.
20:13
But there has been times where. He'll run fast through the
20:16
rounds, but then in the final dip back a little bit.
20:19
Now, granted, I think in the semifinals it was he ran 990.
20:23
It was a little bit windy. So it was win dated here.
20:25
I think he ran 993 in the final. So like all things considered,
20:28
he probably actually did very well in the final, but it's just
20:32
it's tough. It's really tough because you
20:34
have all these guys who are like just ahead of Christian and like
20:38
just keeping him away from where he used to be, right?
20:42
Like that 2019, that 20/17/2018 form.
20:46
Like I, I don't know that that's the thing I'm looking at.
20:49
But I'll say similar to like I noted for Kayla White, this is
20:54
Christian's second full year with Dennis Mitchell.
20:57
And I wonder if it is just like, OK, I'm starting to figure it
21:00
out. I'm starting to get used to the
21:01
training program. He used to literally like train
21:04
by himself, I think while he was at Kentucky.
21:07
Yeah, at Kentucky, Kentucky, South Carolina.
21:09
So I, I still have hope Indiana Christian Coleman.
21:12
I'm still like a Christian Coleman supporter.
21:14
But like, you know, it is tough. It is tough.
21:18
All right, let's touch on the 4/4 hundreds.
21:21
My results aren't loading. Not too many big surprises in
21:24
this. Oh, I guess the one big surprise
21:26
on the men's side, the Olympic champion, Quincy Hall.
21:29
Quincy Hall. Doesn't make it through.
21:31
Yeah, and just didn't look. Didn't look great.
21:34
Yeah, I have a, I guess just a whole bunch of questions that
21:37
unfortunately we didn't get to ask because he walked through.
21:39
Yeah, he just walked through. But like, so Olympic champion in
21:43
2024, he got a bronze medal in the 42023I.
21:47
I think famously he got injured in that Olympic final despite
21:51
running, you know, an all time mark and winning the gold medal.
21:54
And he just hasn't been on his game since.
21:56
Now the top of this year for him, he actually looked
22:00
relatively similar time wise to what he did in 2024.
22:03
And I was holding out hope of like, OK, I don't know, like
22:05
Quincy might be getting it back, but this was a set back.
22:09
I don't know. He ran like 46.
22:11
It just wasn't a race. Nowhere near, nowhere near,
22:14
nowhere near SO. CBT.
22:15
Still on it, yeah. So I mean it could be just sort
22:17
of because like he scratched from a bunch of races in the
22:20
lead up to this and said he wasn't going to race until he's
22:21
ready. And so maybe it's one of those
22:23
things where it's like you have to show up to USA as your
22:26
contract or whatever it is. And so, yeah, maybe just not
22:30
ready race ready just yet. So.
22:32
He has a wild card to ultimate champ so.
22:34
Oh, that's right. He's the Olympic.
22:35
Champion. I mean, you literally could just
22:37
train the next month and a half and then just give it another
22:40
shot and that could be your season, right?
22:42
Like who? Knows.
22:42
Who knows? All right.
22:44
So you've got the results. I think Caleb McCray had the top
22:48
time 4465. He looked very comfortable.
22:51
Caleb is someone who made the team last year, 2 worlds.
22:55
I think he's probably rounding into form and definitely, you
22:58
know, we'll keep an eye out for him.
22:59
And then Chris Bailey also did well to witness he.
23:03
Chris Bailey actually did tell me he was originally in lane 6
23:08
in his. Yeah, what happened with those
23:10
lane? Drugs.
23:10
And then he said he woke up this morning and he got a text from
23:13
his agent that like, OK, you're actually in lane 2.
23:15
And he had no explanation as to why.
23:18
And he was kind of kind of pissed.
23:20
And I don't see Chris Bailey get pissed, but he was like, I don't
23:24
know what's going on, but I mean, he went comfortably
23:26
through but. Is it down to those between
23:29
those two guys for the victory in the final?
23:31
I think so. Chris Bailey is the fastest
23:33
American this year, and he's been the most consistent outside
23:36
of a whole nother story of rye, Benjamins, Corey Patterson,
23:39
Vernon Norwood. They're in New York City, but
23:41
they're not running. But it's OK.
23:44
I love him, but like, I would love to see him race.
23:45
But yeah, Chris Bailey is like the most consistent.
23:47
Out of those guys, so you're leaning towards.
23:50
Him leaning Chris but Caleb I think he's someone who rounds
23:53
into form and like he could. Also he has a faster personal
23:56
best thing Chris, so he's someone to look out for for
23:58
sure. How do you think that race plays
24:01
out if you're just narrowing in on Chris first, Caleb?
24:05
Like, who's taking it out? Who's following who?
24:08
Well, so Chris Bailey never has a good start like ever.
24:12
And I even after he got in lane two, I was like, OK, did that
24:15
motivate you to go out harder? He's like, I guess I don't even
24:18
know. Like he just never goes out
24:20
hard. So Caleb McRae is the opposite.
24:23
He goes out like a rocket. He really takes things out
24:26
strong. So expect that to happen where I
24:29
I don't know what the lanes for the 9 draws for the final are,
24:31
but Chris is going to go out a little bit slower, but he's
24:35
pretty aware of how to key off of his opponent.
24:38
So I expect him to keep relatively close pace to Caleb.
24:43
And then he's always going to have probably the fastest 2nd
24:46
200. He's gonna have a strong 2nd
24:47
200. So we'll see.
24:48
I think that's the most likely outcome, but we'll see, OK.
24:52
Chris on the inside. So that's that might play in
24:54
Chris's favor. But then Caleb's probably
24:57
thinking, OK, I already go out fast, but I have to get out even
25:00
faster to put enough gap on Chris so that he doesn't
25:03
actually catch me. So that's how I think it'll play
25:05
out. But.
25:06
All right, so that final is Saturday at like 3:00.
25:09
Let's go over to the women's side.
25:15
This. Feels like Aaliyah Butler's
25:16
title to lose. This is by far Aaliyah Butler's
25:19
title because we don't have obviously Sydney just gave birth
25:23
to her first child, Isabella Whitaker.
25:26
She was, she's injured. I think she had surgery.
25:28
So it's like Aaliyah Butler just became the fourth fastest
25:31
American in history. It's like, and not only did she
25:34
run fast, she's like, I think her top five or six times are
25:37
like better than everyone else in this field.
25:40
Like just this year. It's crazy.
25:42
So, I mean, like, even to zoom out, she's been facing off
25:44
against Paulino a bunch, right? And Paulino's been untouchable
25:48
so far this year. Yeah.
25:49
Nasser's been like Mia. You got fans.
25:53
He said. You guys, all of us, all of.
25:57
Us. So yeah, Nasser hasn't, is she?
26:00
I have disappeared. Right.
26:02
Like literally disappeared. I assume she's injured but.
26:04
I don't know. Yeah, we have no idea.
26:06
So is like Aaliyah Butler potentially like a medalist
26:09
Medal threat at ultimate? Very strong medal threat.
26:11
Yeah. I mean, you have like the
26:12
Europeans. Henrietta Jaeger, Henrietta.
26:15
Jaeger Yeah, you have. Martina.
26:16
Well, not Martina, you have. Natalia.
26:19
Natalia Bukoviatska Manuel, who won the world indoor title,
26:24
she's been doing well but like Aaliyah, is second in the world
26:28
this year behind Paulino by far. But I mean, to be clear, I think
26:32
it's Paulino and then the rest of the field will figure things
26:34
out. But I mean, as it relates to
26:36
USASI think this is Aaliyah Butler figuring out her race
26:41
strategy, figuring out, OK, what is it that I need to work on
26:44
heading in to World Ultimates? Because like, again, all due
26:48
respect, I I like, I love everyone in this field.
26:50
But it's like, you know, Aaliyah is so far ahead.
26:52
Of everyone, I was going to say the same exact thing like this
26:55
is an opportunity in a pretty low medium pressure situation
27:00
for her. I mean, look like she dominated
27:04
her heat. Yeah, she is.
27:06
She's in great form taking it easy.
27:08
She's still dominating. If I'm her, I'm thinking, all
27:11
right, what can I do in my race pattern to get me ready for my
27:14
lady? I want to see her just sit back
27:16
for 300 meters and just let it RIP the last. 100 The risk.
27:20
Right. That's nobody.
27:21
Just stay with them. Like just stay with the lead.
27:24
I'm not saying like sit and kick from the back, like don't go
27:27
full Dave Waddle, but just leave a little bit of space and just
27:33
practice closing down that last 100 because you know, that's
27:37
what Paulino's game is and that's ultimately what you need
27:40
to be prepared for. Yeah, actually on that, Aliyah
27:45
Butler is someone who goes out like a rocket, like she always
27:48
goes out hard. So to your point, maybe, yeah,
27:50
be a little more controlled in the first half to play with a
27:53
different race strategy just in case, because you never know
27:56
what can happen when you get to ultimate.
27:57
So that's a good point. That's actually a good point.
27:59
All right. Is that all the sprints for
28:01
today? Yeah, I guess we want to give a
28:03
shout out to Britain Wilson for getting in.
28:04
We always stand for Britain and and.
28:07
Last one in right. Squeaked in I.
28:09
Think she was, yeah. But like, you just need to get
28:12
into the final and then you could shock the world.
28:15
It's all about being there. Yeah.
28:17
All right. Well, Anderson, thanks so much
28:19
for all the insights and contributions and we'll do this
28:22
again tomorrow. Yeah, awesome.
28:24
Thanks, Anderson. All right, let's talk some 8
28:27
hundreds. These were some entertaining
28:30
races. Once again, we have a mix of
28:34
some people here, some people not so from last year.
28:37
We have Cooper and Donovan from Team USA and no Bryce Hoppel, no
28:42
Josh Hoey, no Brandon Miller. So you could look to Cooper as
28:46
the heavy favorite now, even more so after Donovan didn't
28:50
advance to the final. But let's go quick.
28:53
Takes heat by heat. First one, Cooper gets the win
28:56
in 14583 and Hobbs Kessler does a masterful job of just sort of
29:01
what he does in the 1500 when he glues himself to yard and a
29:04
goose. He just did the same thing to
29:06
Cooper and gets a spot in the final.
29:08
I mean Hobbs, so this was top 2 and the next three fastest times
29:12
we have 9 lanes, 24 down to 9 is just aggressive always.
29:17
It's always going to be the 800 and it keeps things honest.
29:21
Hobbs took it easy off the line. He ran basically a pretty even
29:25
split race throughout from 1:40 and 59.
29:28
Very controlled. I I don't think here Cooper even
29:33
showed like the tiniest bit of cards to one another, but.
29:37
He's wearing his heart rate monitor.
29:38
It's just chilling at like 120 the whole time.
29:41
Yeah. And.
29:41
He let it be known. Yeah.
29:43
Yeah. Coming in 3rd.
29:46
Christian Jackson, that is. You you like him a lot?
29:49
Mac and I both really like him. I mean, he's he's media team.
29:54
He's very, very smooth green. He he has just like he has a
30:02
very he has a strong knack for just like finding the right spot
30:07
on the outside of lane one applying some pressure.
30:10
He seems like he's pretty versatile.
30:12
He's a strong 800 runner. So I feel long term good about
30:18
where his career is going to develop still in that Virginia
30:22
Tech jersey today. So overall, really it was a good
30:29
heat first guy out, though Brandon Kidder coming off the
30:32
high of the pace job out of London, but.
30:37
Yeah, he's, he's walking around. He's probably getting
30:39
congratulated on, like helping deliver some history.
30:42
I mean, we spent 10 minutes with the the Brooks Sports marketing
30:45
team earlier today and all anyone could do was walk up and
30:48
congratulate them as if they were the ones who the world
30:50
record. So big win for for for them.
30:53
He too, was fun to watch because like barely even all all around
30:58
and West you, you call this, I think at 400 you're like, this
31:03
feels like a race. No, no, no earlier than 400.
31:06
Gun went off. Everyone's going around.
31:07
I go this feels like a W Ferguson victory.
31:10
And then Tonota goes out in 49 and I was just like, I know
31:15
we're about to see some with this.
31:18
Maybe it's 49.7 seconds, you're going to see some serious shit.
31:21
And then it turns out that the last 100 we saw some, some
31:25
carnage because guys came back in.
31:27
Wes Ferguson totally came up on him look strong. 1:45 One he
31:32
doesn't like he he didn't at any point look like he made like
31:38
some huge shift of gears. It's just guys came back to him,
31:42
so strong race for him the the other.
31:45
Auto qualifier was Andrew James Casey.
31:47
Yeah. And then out of this one, they
31:49
did snag 2 little cues with Carver, Morgan and Shane Cohen.
31:52
Shane Cohen wanted nothing to do with that 49 second first four.
31:56
He may have been, what, like 55? I mean 53.
32:00
No, he was 51 one. Which looked like a 54.
32:04
Looks like he started, like he missed the gun.
32:07
Yeah, they let him in. Big mistake.
32:11
Yeah, yeah, he's again. You make it to the final.
32:14
Anything could happen. All right, Heat 3 feel good
32:16
story here when we got Atlanta track club going 1/2 with Sean
32:19
Dolan and Camden Marshall fist bumping across the finish line.
32:23
But it the the story is Donovan Brazier just not ever really
32:28
looking all that comfortable in this one.
32:30
Something something might be up. Something just not clicking
32:33
right now. And I mean, he's racing so often
32:37
that I don't think it's an injury.
32:39
And it like you wouldn't be lining up week in and week out.
32:43
And I understand with especially a guy of Donovan's talent that
32:48
if if you do have a couple bad races, it's kind of just like,
32:50
well, let's just keep getting out there and you're going to
32:52
find it because that's always worked for the last decade.
32:56
But it just didn't click today. And this year's so different
33:00
than last year totally because like last year was like every
33:03
single race, there was just emotional excitement building
33:07
and little bits and pieces of takeaways that he took from each
33:11
race. It was like, oh, like there's
33:12
this growing excitement and the fitness is working.
33:15
And like now with 2026, he's got a hold this year to last year's
33:19
standard. There's more of a, a body of
33:21
work to look at year over year. And so it makes it just tougher
33:25
for or maybe maybe it makes it tougher.
33:29
And I think he's talked about this before at the pre classic
33:32
or some other interview mentally get up for some of these races.
33:36
And so even though this is AUS championship like and he hasn't
33:39
had the best season so far. Yeah, it just didn't it did.
33:44
It was not there today. So thinking about the final now,
33:47
yeah. Who are our players in your
33:50
mind? Like who?
33:52
The challenge Cooper. Hobbs.
33:55
Anyone else have a shot? Well, I mean, like, if you think
33:58
about just like how well some like Sean Dolan looked indoors.
34:02
Yeah, and he looked great today. And he he he's a very smart
34:07
tactical runner. He and he has a great last 200.
34:10
He's strong and he's a guy who arguably a lot of people say it
34:14
could be a 1500 guy. No, but he's very strong and he
34:17
Mr. move up. He he took it today, 200 out.
34:22
I I would say if this is a fast race, it's really Cooper and
34:28
Hobbs. I mean, we've got a lot of guys
34:30
who can run 145 many ways. The number of guys here that can
34:35
run 143 ultimately is 2. Yeah.
34:38
So if I'm Hobbs, I'm going out, but I'm not going I'm I don't
34:43
want to run around 7 guys to get to Cooper.
34:46
I think it's just not worth the extra distance and the stress or
34:50
any of that. I know he doesn't necessarily
34:51
want to go out in 24 points to pick his spot, but like now
34:55
we're in the final and what worked in the Freeland might not
34:58
necessarily work in the final. I think he just got to get off
35:00
the line a little harder. If you're hobsy try and pull
35:03
what Cooper did it win Yuni? But to Cooper, can you win that
35:07
way beat him? No, but I mean like just sit on
35:09
him, sit on him and then at 600 that's when you try and make a
35:12
move on him. Yeah, I mean, I don't know how
35:16
you beat Cooper. Honestly.
35:17
I think I think the the best shot that Hobbs could have to be
35:21
Cooper is if the field collectively decides like to
35:24
make it difficult for Cooper, don't let him control the race,
35:27
which is tough because he's such a good racer.
35:30
He races like he's well, well beyond a high schooler.
35:35
He just hasn't. You saw it actually with him and
35:39
Hobbs today. He he threw a little elbow and
35:42
made some space going into that that.
35:44
And then looks over his shoulder and in the final hundred, just
35:47
to double check, it's like Brandon.
35:49
Miller Yeah, yeah. I guess yeah, Hobbs should go
35:53
back and watch. Yeah, Hobbs, go back and watch
35:56
how Brandon Miller did it at free.
35:57
Which was giving him a little bit of space.
36:00
But then I mean, Brandon, when he made his move, he made his
36:03
move. I think Hobbs can afford to do
36:05
that from even further out. Obviously, coming in from the
36:09
strength of the 1500 guy, you don't necessarily want Cooper to
36:13
get to 100 meters being like, all right, it's time to go.
36:16
Yeah, yeah. You wanted to hit him a little
36:17
earlier to get him to a place where he's like, I need to hang
36:20
on, which is, you know what, in the races in which he's been
36:25
challenged, that's what the guys have been able to do.
36:27
Maybe the Atlanta Track Club guys find a way to team up.
36:30
Throw 2. Of them or three of them in
36:32
there. 22 OK, but maybe they find a way to just make it
36:36
difficult at some point. He's not a high schooler
36:39
anymore. He's just the the best minor
36:42
arguably in the world in the world, and you got to treat him
36:44
like that. All right, let's move on.
36:48
So prediction is Hobbs or Cooper.
36:50
We're both taking Cooper. I mean, I'm taking Cooper
36:54
because I just believe that Cooper's smart enough that he's
36:57
going to be able to run his. Game.
36:59
Yeah. And this, yeah, I guess like the
37:02
Mac just reminded us, this is his last race of the season.
37:05
Hey. Please.
37:07
Cooper, he's. Come on, come on, let's do world
37:11
ultimates. He's like, you can get the days
37:13
off from school. He's got 10 DBQS and six books
37:17
to read before school starts, all right.
37:21
Women's Aid. What a field.
37:25
Well, yeah, we looked at it. We said first when we were
37:28
looking at it and we're like, OK, so the time qualifier is
37:30
obviously going to come out of this one because it had.
37:34
Who said Rocheen? It had.
37:37
Megan. Hunter, Megan Hunter, Michaela
37:40
Rose, Heather McClain. And we're like, OK, so they have
37:45
a pacer with Michaela Rose and. But although she did hold back
37:49
like it was not just like A and. Megan Hunter, despite them
37:53
coming through in a perfectly honest pace with Michaela Rose
37:56
at the front. Someone who you can trust to
37:58
keep it honest. With like 22410 to go like she
38:02
just made a move. She took the I was.
38:04
If Michaela Rose wants to lead the ladder, yeah.
38:08
But ultimately it's about qualifying.
38:11
Megan was coming back a little bit there at the end.
38:14
She was starting to tie up and obviously Rocheen got her at the
38:16
end. But all the time qualifiers did
38:20
come out of this. 1st and it wasn't all that quick, I mean
38:22
like 159 up in the front for for Rocheen.
38:25
And then so Megan Hunter, Emma Sullivan, Lauren Tolbert, and
38:28
then we're, you know, as team new bounce over the next couple
38:32
days. And like someone we've been
38:33
following super closely over the course of the season, Paige
38:36
Shepherd 222 flat 99. So knocking on the door of sub
38:41
two. She's got UA world U 20s coming
38:46
up as well. And so she squeaks by in as the
38:50
final time qualifier. And if you look at the names
38:52
behind her, just in not just in her heat, but in where she
38:56
ranked for the day, like she took down some some some pro
38:59
pros. Yeah, so the Bleacher creatures
39:02
have Rochine, Yeah. And Paige to be to be going wild
39:06
for there, Yeah. So this will be a fun race to to
39:08
unpack. All right, so then we go to Heat
39:11
2, NIA Aikens back in action for this may have been her opener,
39:17
but. She ran some races indoors.
39:21
But revealed in the mix zone afterwards that she was involved
39:23
in a car crash, a pretty scary car crash, and like, had to, you
39:27
know, take some time to make a full recovery from it.
39:30
I haven't had a chance to watch the full thing, but Paul was
39:33
sending over some notes afterwards.
39:35
And so, one, glad that she's OK and, two, glad to see you're
39:39
back in action. But when we look at the names on
39:41
the start list, we're like, wait, it looks like 90% of this
39:45
field has made a team in some way, shape or form with like
39:48
Sammy Watson being like The only exception.
39:50
But we could stretch it to AU 20 teams.
39:52
And then, yeah, then you would you would put her on there.
39:54
But. There's a lot of names. 4
39:57
Olympians I think in this one. So yeah, this one was NIA
40:04
Juliet. I was so nervous because she it
40:09
was. Tight.
40:09
Today they announced that she joined the Brooks base.
40:12
And I've I've made it a thing of how people do after getting
40:16
announced within 24 hours of a race.
40:20
And it's an emotional thing. And it was close, but she held
40:23
on by a couple tenths of a second to make it through.
40:26
So that was the top two that came out of this one.
40:29
Ajay, so close, but just like tied up in the final hundred and
40:34
Juliet pasture. Yeah, so unfortunately no IJ
40:38
Wilson in the final. And only 6 athletes in this heat
40:42
because we had two DNS's in both Nikki Hilts and Tegan
40:47
Scheinbecker because they made it in the 1500s so.
40:52
We saw a game of just sort of like looking at double entries
40:56
in the 15 and 8 and today just kind of like made it a bit more
40:59
sense of like, all right, no. So some of these athletes had
41:02
this as an insurance policy and they went all in.
41:03
Not Addie Wiley. Not Addie Wiley because like
41:06
raced yesterday, race today, is going to race tomorrow and then
41:09
race on Sunday. Addie Wiley in Heat 3 takes it
41:14
over Michaela Page Another just announced today she joined
41:19
Swoosh TC. We know which version of Nike
41:21
Swoosh. TC I think they finally, they
41:23
must have heard us because they made it clear like in the
41:25
graphics now like Swoosh, TC Flagstaff or like I think we
41:30
learned Gracie Morris's, which has been unclear for a bit.
41:33
It's Flagstaff. Some of the others are more
41:36
obvious when it's sort of like they went to BYU, they're
41:38
staying in Provo, so Addie and Michaela Page come out of Heat
41:43
3. What are the odds we have two
41:45
Michaela's and a heat spelled exactly the same way?
41:48
I mean, like, I give kudos to the announcers for trying to
41:51
juggle this one because we had Michaela Page, McKenna Keegan
41:55
and Michaela Clark. Yeah, so 2 Michaela's and a
41:59
McKenna. Hot name on the baby list right
42:03
now. Or I guess 20 years ago.
42:05
Maybe 20 years ago they'll go back and look and see like 20
42:08
years from now this meet, they'll be like there's 5
42:11
Jalen's in this heat. So there's going to be like 10
42:16
Lebrons. Yeah.
42:17
Yeah, but Addie Wiley looked great.
42:20
I mean, I this heat, nothing crazy happened.
42:25
I mean, I thought Michaela Page looked really strong.
42:27
Yeah. And Addie bounced back well from
42:30
the 1500. No, like huge upsets.
42:34
McKenna Keegan just honestly didn't have the space.
42:38
I think she was, I think she had the bandwidth in order to
42:41
challenge for one of those top two spots in the last 100, but
42:44
she just couldn't. There was never a hole that
42:46
opened up and she never committed to going wide and just
42:49
ultimately the the finish line came and I, I bet she finished
42:52
feel like I got something left. Do we so now when we look at the
42:56
sort of all the names, do we have a favorite for the win?
43:00
I think Rocheen. Yeah, I so Rasheen, if she gets
43:08
her race execution right, definitely.
43:11
I think like has the highest ceiling right now among fitness
43:14
in the field. I do like what I've seen out of
43:17
Megan Hunter, but if she can just stay patient a little bit,
43:22
I think today she did show that she is very fit and we've seen
43:25
that already. Just don't try to leave from 410
43:28
out. Yeah, I mean, there's only one
43:31
person in the field is running, what, 15157?
43:36
You think Mac is throwing it out there?
43:38
Rochine's going to run 155 in the final.
43:40
I like that. Wow.
43:41
You know, we're going to be going absolutely crazy.
43:46
We should just throw our beer cups in the air if that happens.
43:50
Shirts are coming off if that happens.
43:52
But don't. Wasn't it being explained that
43:54
shirts come off like if your team is doing bad, our team's
43:57
going to be doing great? All right, maybe.
44:01
Our shirts are off in the beginning and then we put them
44:05
back on well. Depends on how team New Balance
44:08
is doing in the other races. The start of this race, yeah,
44:11
because you know Rachine is not going to lead in the beginning.
44:13
She's been coming on strong. So when she's not winning the
44:16
first half, shirts are off and then as soon as she starts
44:20
coming, shirts back on. I got to get like a couple push
44:23
ups and a couple of AB workouts in between now and the final.
44:27
But if I'm going to have any comfort.
44:28
Level. Of being.
44:30
Shirtless, we have a second shirt on underneath.
44:31
A tank top. But yeah, all right, I think
44:35
we're both going Rosheen for the victory in the final.
44:38
What finals do we have tomorrow? Tomorrow earlier start to the
44:43
day. OK, so the the the kids over at
44:47
Joy, MO. OK, you have this theory.
44:51
I have a theory that Joy MO has been I talked I talked to the
44:55
higher ups at Joy MO OK and attorney tell it turns out it's
44:59
just three little kids in a trench coat who Claude coded
45:05
this this streaming website together and they didn't buy the
45:09
highest level of the Claude subscription.
45:12
And so that's why we have so much time between me just
45:15
because they're waiting for to mark for they don't, they don't
45:19
have enough and they can't, they didn't, they don't have a credit
45:22
card because they're nine years old.
45:27
This is This is the story Kyle came up with in between events
45:31
today. He's like, huh, who can we blame
45:34
for this? It's freaking joy, MO, I know.
45:38
All right, so the finals start earlier, start tomorrow.
45:40
And also not on Joy MO. It's it'll be on NBC and
45:43
Peacock. You, you kids did great.
45:46
Let your dogs take it from here. OK, so first track final starts
45:54
at at 3:00, about 3:00 with the women's 400, men's 400.
46:01
And then we've also got the women's steeple, men's steeple,
46:05
women's shop put, men's 1500, women's 1500, women's 100 meter
46:10
hurdles, women's pole vault, men's discus throw.
46:13
So the final men's triple jump. The finals are starting to pile
46:16
up tomorrow. We could have thrown one or two
46:19
more finals into today. Into today, Yeah, I think so.
46:22
Tomorrow will be a good one. Yeah.
46:24
Tomorrow will be good. All right.
46:26
New Balance. Today we had a group run.
46:29
Great turn out. Great turn out for Friday.
46:31
Everyone's going to work after. Yeah.
46:34
And then tomorrow we've got a brunch.
46:39
Brunch trivia. A brunch and some trivia for
46:42
folks who got invited to the CDs Mag New Balance Cheer Zone.
46:44
And then we've got an after party on Sunday night.
46:48
If you slide into the CDs Mag dams, maybe you get the details,
46:52
maybe you don't. Just try.
46:55
All right, Well, that does it. From Icon Stadium, day two of
46:59
the 2026 USATF Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the
47:03
books. I'm Erica Chavez.
47:05
This is Kyle Merber and we will see you tomorrow.