After enduring the non-championship year of 2018, the USATF Outdoor Championships are upon us. Berths on the World Championships team are on the line. No stakes have been replaced by high stakes. Theoretical questions about what results might mean for a later date are rendered mute. We have arrived at the later date. 

The men’s sprints is the first installment of our four previews coming this week. 

Men’s 100m

Favorite: Christian Coleman

Challengers: Justin Gatlin, Cravon Gillespie, Mike Rodgers

Sleepers: Isiah Young, Ronnie Baker

Breakdown: Coleman should roll. He’s got the best personal best of the field and has been incredibly consistent this year with times of 9.86, 9.85 and 9.81. He’s also run two sub-20-second 200ms this year, races that will no doubt shore up the back half of his race and make his 9.79 personal best obsolete at some point this season. 

Gatlin reeled off back-to-back wins on the Diamond League. He has a bye to the World Championships and it’s unclear how many rounds he will run. Gillespie dropped a 9.93 at NCAAs to place second. He hasn’t looked as sharp post-Austin, running 10.05 and 10.14 in his two Diamond Leagues.

Rodgers has been consistent as always and was third in Monaco in 10.01 two weeks ago. 

Complicating Factors: Gatlin’s bye means the U.S. will have four entries in this event. Ronnie Baker, the second-fastest man in all of 2018, will be making his season debut in Des Moines after dealing with injuries this season. 

Men’s 200m

Favorite: Noah Lyles

Challengers: Christian Coleman, Kenny Bednarek

Sleepers: Andrew Hudson, Ameer Webb, Isiah Young

Breakdown: Anybody challenging Lyles would be a huge shock. His decision to focus solely on the 200m, cleared the decks for his best event and he should cruise through Des Moines. Coleman will likely be coming off a strong run in the 100m and his 19.91 season-best is behind only Lyles, Michael Norman and Kenny Bednarek. Norman isn’t running the 200m in this meet so that puts Coleman in a good spot to advance to the World Championships. 

Bednarek is an interesting case. He popped a 19.82 at the NJCAA Championships the day after running a wind-aided 19.49. Since that meet, he’s run a 20.51 200m and 47.02 400m in Europe. Now that he’s back in the United States, can he regain his form from May? If he’s anywhere close, he’s on the way to Doha. 

Complicating Factors: It’s likely that Lyles wins the Diamond League in this event meaning the U.S. will get to send four men in the 200m. That opens up an extra spot in an event that has the propensity to get weird at the end of the meet. 

Men’s 400m

Favorite: Michael Norman 

Challengers: Fred Kerley, Kahmari Montgomery, Trevor Stewart

Sleepers: Michael Cherry, Wil London, Tyrell Richard, Obi Igbokwe

Breakdown: Norman is another member of the young U.S. sprint triumvirate that enters this meet as a gigantic favorite. He’s undefeated on the year (including a 200m victory over Noah Lyles) and has the fastest time in the world by a wide margin, 43.45. Since that race, he’s run twice in the 44s though those times haven’t been concerning. Both were easy victories and he won’t need to run mid 43s to win in Doha, let alone here in Des Moines. 

Kahmari Montgomery and Trevor Stewart ran a neck-and-neck race at the NCAA Championships and have the next fastest times in the world, 44.23 and 44.25. Kerley hasn’t raced much in 2019, but his third place at the Prefontaine Classic was an indication that he’s in good shape. Richard, the NCAA indoor champion, was injured outdoors but has run a couple of 45s in July. 

Complicating Factors: Wil London was clutch in this meet in 2017, going from eighth at NCAAs to third at USAs. Igbokwe looked good at the London Diamond League, running a season-best of 45.06. Like the 200m, the U.S. will probably have the Diamond League champion in this event. Four could qualify in this event. 

Men’s 110m Hurdles

Favorite(s): Grant Holloway, Daniel Roberts 

Challengers: Devon Allen, Freddie Crittenden

Sleepers: Jarret Eaton, Isaiah Moore

Breakdown: Holloway and Roberts seem to be two of the only collegians impervious to the post-NCAA hangover. Holloway won his only race since his collegiate career wrapped--a 13.16 in Hungary, while Roberts went 13.11 in Lausanne. Neither matched what they did at the NCAA final in Austin, but it was more than enough to show that these two guys are in a great position to finish in the top three. 

The next fastest American on the yearly list is Devon Allen who ran 13.33 at the Prefontaine Classic. Eaton hasn’t made any Diamond League appearances in 2019, but has qualified for the last three US outdoor finals. 

Complicating Factors: Because of their college schedules, Holloway and Roberts will have a tougher time making their way to the Diamond League final. Getting four bids in this event will be harder than all of the other men’s sprints/hurdles. 

Men’s 400m Hurdles

Favorite: Rai Benjamin

Challengers: Quincy Hall, Amere Lattin, Norman Grimes

Sleepers: Kerron Clement, David Kendziera

Breakdown: Benjamin is a favorite in the model of Norman and Lyles. He’s yet to run a personal best this year and still he’s more than a second clear of the next fastest American on the yearly last. After Karsten Warholm grabbed his world lead last week, I expect a response from Benjamin. He didn’t need any competition to propel him to his 47.02 last year at NCAAs so he can lay a quick time down without any company in Des Moines. Hall, Lattin and Grimes all ran against one another at NCAAs with Hall walking away the victor. His mark of 48.48 is the fourth-best in the world this year. Lattin has been busy since the collegiate season wrapped, running in four different meets.  

Complicating Factors: Clement is the ultimate wild card. The 2016 Olympic champion has come out of nowhere throughout his career to make a team. At 33-years-old can he do it again? He’s only run once this year, a 51.47 in June.