The US Championship for the women’s 800 meters will be an absolute battle to get those top three spots, which will represent the United States at the World Championships in August. The women’s 800m has been a very successful event for the US over recent years. There are multiple athletes that are medal contenders and even more that could make the world final. It will certainly be a highlight of the US Championships.
Tune into CNBC at 9:18 est. on July 9 to witness the spectacular final. Click below for more instructions on how to watch all of the action.
It cannot be understated just how deep of a field that this championship has. Even just making the final will be a monumental task, at which point it will be a fierce battle for the win.
One important note to make is that the 800m World Champion, Athing Mu, will not contest the event because she already has the bye into the World Championships. This means that the United States has the opportunity to send three other athletes alongside Mu, which could mean yet another medal contender in contention at the World Championships.
Ajee Wilson comes in as one of the favorites in the field. The experience that Wilson has cannot be downplayed. She is a World Indoor Champion, as well as a two-time World Bronze Medalist over 800m. Wilson certainly has the experience to win the US Championship. She has run a season’s best of 1:58.16 over 800m and seems to be heading in the right direction for another spectacular post season.
Raevyn Rogers is another one of the elite contenders in this field. She is coming in as an Olympic Bronze Medalist, World Silver Medalist, and World Indoor Champion over 800m. Rogers is highly experienced and will bring a strong desire to get back on the podium at Worlds after a sixth place finish last year. Her post-season campaign to Worlds all begins this week.
There are a whole host of other athletes that could contend for the 800m team. Many decorated athletes will likely be right there with 200 meters to go.
Sage Hurta-Klecker went on an absolute tear last season after missing the US team. She broke 2 minutes on four separate occasions after the US Championships, and capped her season off with a third place finish in the Diamond League Final. Hurta-Klecker has not let her foot off the gas coming into this meet with a season’s best of 1:59.01. She is will certainly be looking to represent the United States for the first time on the international stage.
Olivia Baker and Allie Wilson are two more athletes that could make a push for that podium. The duo representing Atlanta Track Club both have run 1:58.0 marks and seem to be peaking at the right time. Each had strong finishes in the NYC Grand Prix with Baker finishing fifth and Wilson finishing third. It seems as though they are moving well towards the US Championships.
Nia Atkins has been performing extremely well this indoor and outdoor season. The Brooks Beast athlete is coming off an Indoor US Championship and has continued that momentum to an outdoor season’s best of 1:59.37. She could be looking to add another US title to her resume.
There are even a few collegiate athletes that could push for those podium spots. The young Stanford duo of Roisin Willis and Julia Whittaker are certainly capable of challenging quite a few of the pros, each boast sub-2 personal bests and finished first and second respectively in the Indoor NCAA 800m final. There is also the Outdoor NCAA 800m Champion, Michaela Rose. She ran an utterly dominant race in the NCAA final and is a proven sub-2 minute performer. Any one of these young stars could challenge for the podium.
The list goes on with all of the potential athletes that could slide into those three coveted spots to represent Team USA. The 800m always seems to bring out some of the best competition, especially in a championship field like this.
In order to win in this field, it will take a master tactician to get the job done. There are plenty of athletes in this field that have learned to master tactical awareness.
When the 800m comes down to crunch time in championships, the margins become even more narrow. Last year’s US 800m Championship came down to a 0.07 second difference between first and second.
When looking at all 800 meters of the race, that margin of just a tenth of a second is miniscule. The difference between making a world team could come down to a single stride.
When watching the race on Sunday, pay especially close attention from 200 meters to go to 100 meters to go. This is where the moves are made for positioning in those final meters of the race. The race is really won in this section. An athlete has to maximize their energy dispersement over every single stride in order to gain that extra meter that could be the difference between a National title or missing a world team.
It will be a battle for any competitive advantage over the final 200 meters in a field like this.
The US Championship Women’s 800m final is setting up to be a thriller. Tune into CNBC on July 9 at 9:18 est. to witness it all.
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Featured image courtesy of Mark Shearman.
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