After navigating a grueling qualification process, the top American track and field athletes have made their way to the pinnacle of the sport this summer. Starting this Saturday, August 19, Team USA will take on the best athletes from around the globe at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest. The 9-day competition will feature thrilling rivalries, world record attempts, and medal pursuits, among other must-see storylines. Here are six U.S. athletes worth following at the championships.
Sha’Carri Richardson
Women’s 100 meters
In addition to being one of the fastest women in the world, Richardson is fascinating to watch off the track as well.
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Before she won the U.S. 100-meter title, Richardson was vocal on social media about athletes having a greater voice in the sport. At the championships in Eugene, Oregon, the sprinter announced on her Instagram account an athletes-only meeting to “start this union that we most definitely deserve.”
Her victory at Hayward Field was one of the most exciting races to watch. Before she stepped into the blocks for the final, she threw off her orange wig and tossed it to the track behind her. She then overcame a lackluster start to chase down the field and win in 10.82 seconds. The performance marked her first national title after her 2021 win was removed from the records when she tested positive for marijuana.
Budapest will be Richardson’s first global championship, a meet that will feature a budding rivalry between her and Jamaican sprint star Shericka Jackson. So far this season, the two athletes have gone back and forth with world-leading times. Richardson beat Jackson at the Silesia Diamond League meeting, but Jackson has the world lead with a season’s best of 10.65 from the Jamaican national championships.
Based on Richardson’s performances this year, she has a strong shot to claim her first world championship title, now with a renewed mindset.
“Well I’ve been a champion, that’s for one,” she told NBC commentator Lewis Johnson after winning the national title. “But the thing I remember the most, I think I stood here in this stadium with you and I did an interview when I knew I wasn’t ready to do one. Now I stand here with you again and I’m ready. Mentally, physically, and emotionally, and I’m here to stay. I’m not back, I’m better.”
Athing Mu
Women’s 800 meters
While the reigning Olympic and world champion is still a question mark on competing at the meet, she leads a highly anticipated 800-meter event.
On August 2, the Los Angeles Times reported Mu might opt to focus on her training to prepare for the 2024 Olympics. Bobby Kersee, the American record-holder’s coach, told the Times, “the training is going well but our thought process, openly, is that we’re going to just train here in L.A. for the next two weeks and the next time she gets on the plane it’ll either be on vacation or to Budapest.”
Since turning pro as a college freshman, Mu has taken the women’s 800 meters by storm. She won Olympic gold in 2021 and later that summer, broke the American record. She also won the event at the 2022 world championships in Eugene, Oregon.
So far this year, she’s raced sparingly. Because she earned an automatic bye into the world championships as the defending 800-meter champion, Mu competed in the 1500 meters at the USATF championships in July. There she finished second and took almost 13 seconds off her previous personal best but before the final, she alluded to the pressure she feels when racing.
“Coming into these meets, whether it’s a small competition, big competition, there’s just so much pressure just overall,” she told reporters at the championship. “You know, you’re overthinking your race days before you’re even out there. So I mean, just the overall pressure that you feel when it comes to competing is a lot and so I think, you know, the past few years have been a lot for me.”
If she competes in Budapest, Mu will have her work cut out for her with rivals Keely Hodgkinson of Great Britain and Mary Moraa of Kenya running season’s bests under 1:56.85. But she is still the heavy favorite to defend her title.
Alicia Monson
Women’s 5,000 and 10,000 meters
So far this year, Alicia Monson has broken three American records, and it looks like she’s just getting started on what is shaping into a breakthrough season.
Her most recent performance at the London Diamond League meet left track fans stunned, including herself. The runner who trains with the On Athletics Club in Boulder, Colorado, told Outside she was surprised when she clocked 14:19.45 in the 5,000 meters, breaking the American record while finishing fifth against a stacked field of world champions and medalists. Now she’s ranked No. 8 in the world so far this year.
The 5,000-meter national record is the latest historic mark for the University of Wisconsin graduate, who also broke American records in the 10,000 and indoor 3,000 meters earlier this year.
After finishing runner-up in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the USATF Outdoor Championships, Monson is set to double in Budapest. While her times are still a ways off the world record-holders who currently lead the global rankings in each event, Monson is ranked No. 8 and No. 9 in the distances, respectively. Depending on how the races play out, Monson could be in a position to contend for a medal one year after finishing 13th in the 10,000 meters at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene.
Yared Nuguse
Men’s 1500 meters
The Notre Dame graduate has been on a tear in his second year as a professional runner.
Nuguse, who trains with On Athletics Club in Boulder, Colorado, kicked off the season with two American indoor records. He broke the record in the mile with his 3:47.38 at the Millrose Games, which is also the second-fastest indoor mile of all time. Later, he set an American record for the 3,000 meters (7:28.24).
The momentum continued through outdoors with an area record in the 1500 meters. In June, the 24-year-old finished a blistering Oslo Diamond League event in 3:29.02. In the process, he cut four seconds off his previous personal best set in May. Though the time is considered an area record—the fastest time by a male from North and Central America—Nuguse isn’t the American record-holder due to a complicated ratification process.
However, that breakthrough combined with a decisive victory at the U.S. championships put him in the podium conversation heading into the world championships. Right now, he is ranked No. 3 in the world behind Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway (3:27.14) and Mohamed Katir of Spain (3:28.89).
Though Nuguse has qualified for Team USA before—he made it to the Tokyo Games but didn’t race because of injury—Budapest will mark his first time competing in a global championship. And based on how he’s fared so far this year, it could be another record-breaking performance.
Noah Lyles
Men’s 100 and 200 meters
The three-time world champion is attacking some big goals in Budapest. Weeks ahead of the meet, Lyles told NBC Sports that his “greatest aspiration” is winning three golds and breaking the world record in the 200 meters. That record belongs to the legendary Usain Bolt, who ran 19.19 in 2009.
At the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, last year, Lyles broke the American record by winning the 200-meter title in 19.31, the third-fastest performance of all time.
So far this year, Lyles has clocked 19.47, a world lead ahead of Letsile Tebogo at the London Diamond League meet. He also qualified to represent Team USA in the 100 and 200 meters after returning from a bout of COVID a week before the meet.
Last year, Lyles went into the world championships with a season’s best of 19.61 before breaking the American record in Eugene. If he continues the same progression this summer, he could be on pace to meet his goal.
“Me and coach have looked at each other quite often [this season] and said, ‘Yeah, this is getting real scary,’” Lyles told NBC Sports.
Woody Kincaid
Men’s 5,000 and 10,000 meters
After lowering his personal best and unleashing a blazing kick to win the men’s 10,000-meter final at the USATF Outdoor Championships, Kincaid is looking poised for a medal in Budapest.
He started the year with a record. In January, the 2021 Olympian broke the American indoor record for the 5,000 meters, running 12:51.61 at the Boston University Terrier Invitational.
In March, Kincaid won The Ten in 27:06, the third-fastest 10,000-meter performance in the world so far this year. Only Ethiopians Berihu Aregawi and Selemon Barega have run faster in 2023.
The Flagstaff, Arizona, runner followed the breakthrough in July with a decisive victory in the 10,000-meter final, his second national title in the event. He tapped into his lethal closing speed to chase down American record-holder Grant Fisher and Joe Klecker on the last lap. He finished in 28:23.01 after closing with a 54.76 split for the final 400 meters.
While the competition at the world championships will be much tougher, Kincaid is riding the momentum of his best season to date and looks to be in perfect position to snag a medal. If he makes the podium, Kincaid would be the first American to medal in the event since Galen Rupp earned silver at the 2012 Olympic Games.
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.
