This Weekend In Track And Field: It’s Literally On Joymo

By Alex Predhome

“It’s on FloTrack. It’s literally on Runnerspace. It’s on YouTube with ads. It’s probably on Inside Track. Dude, it's on USATF dot TV. You can watch it on Joymo. You can go on to Joymo and watch it. Log into Joymo right now.” 

This is often the script for trackheads worldwide, and this weekend is no exception. Time to get familiar with various apps and have plenty of tabs open to follow track and field. All headaches aside, there will be some good competition this weekend, so let’s get into it.  

Sound Running Track Fest

At Occidental College, Sound Running will host another edition of Track Fest, a meet that will combine the vibes of a festival and fast times of a prestige meet, with a focus on distance events. World Athletics has given this meet a Silver label and it has absorbed the USATF Distance Classic. What this means is that the competition has consolidated and the powers that be have deemed this as the real deal. In other words, we should see some fast times and good head-to-head matchups. 

There will be a few comeback arcs to watch out for here. Canadian Olympian Justyn Knight and World champion Jake Wightman have both struggled with injuries for years, but are both listed in the men’s 5000m and 1500m, respectively. If you’re a fan of Olympic gold medalist Athing Mu and are rooting for her return, she is now entered in the third heat of the women’s 1500m, which is a faster field than who she ran against at a Division II Last Chance Meet. 

Beyond that, this meet will be full of heavy hitters, including over 30 Olympians and national champions. In the men’s 800m, Ireland’s Mark English will go up against Mexican Olympian Tonatiu Lopez, and Isaiah Harris and Craig Engels. The women’s 800m field will have Olympic bronze medalist Raevyn Rogers clash with On Athletic Club’s Sage Hurta Klecker and USATF Indoor champion Allie Wilson. The women’s 1500m field will have high school national record holder Sadie Engelhardt face off against British Olympian Katie Snowden, American steeplechasers Colleen Quigley and Courtney Wayment, along with World Indoor silver medalist Shelby Houlihan. The steeplechase fields will be fast up front as they include 2023 U.S. champion Krissy Gear and and Olympic silver medalist Kenneth Rooks as well as Olympic Trials finalists Olivia Markezich and Kaylee Mitchell. 

If you are a fan of the distance events, you’ll want to catch this one. 

Handy links: Results | Entries (Scroll down to Schedule)

How to watch: This meet will be streamed on Flotrack with a subscription and it starts at 8:30 PM E.T. on Saturday. 

USATF Throws Festival

Up next, we have the Tucson Elite Classic, AKA the USATF Throw Festival, which will be held at the University of Arizona. This meet is a similar deal to the Track Fest. USATF slapped its name on an existing meet, World Athletics gave it a Silver label, and the competition is set to be intense. However, it’s centered around field events instead of distance running and you’ll need a different subscription to watch it. 

The meet’s lineup is a who’s-who across many events. Olympic gold medalist Valarie Allman will headline the women’s discus along with World Champion Laulauga Tausaga-Collins and Olympian Veronica Fraley. Women’s shot put will have World Indoor medalist Danniel Thomas-Dodd, Olympian Jaida Ross, and Olympic silver medalist Raven Saunders. The men’s triple jump will feature a clash between Olympians Russell Robinson and Jordan Scott, World Indoor bronze medalist Donald Scott, and World Indoor champion Will Claye. 15-time U.S. champion Vashti Cunningham and Olympic Trials champ Charity Hufnagel will headline the women’s high jump. The women’s hammer will feature World champion Brooke Andersen, DeAnna Price, World medalist Janee’ Kassanavoid, and U.S. Olympic Trials champion Annette Echikunwoke. Olympian Daniel Haugh will look to assert his dominance in the men’s hammer throw field. 

If you like using the phrase “field and track,” then this meet is likely for you. 

Handy links: Results and Entries

How to watch: This meet will be streamed on USATF.TV with a subscription. The Elite sections start at 2:00 PM E.T. on Saturday. 

Zagreb Meeting

This meet is the oldest sporting event in Croatia and it’s an annual three-day meet that regularly hosts World and Olympic stars. This year will be no different, with headliners such as Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred in the 200m, World Indoor champion Tom Walsh in the men’s shot put, legendary two-time Olympic champ Sandra Elkasevic in the women’s discus, and nine-time global medalist Gudaf Tsegay in the women’s 1500m.

Aside from the global champions, this meet will also be full of other global stars. USA’s Roger Steen and Payton Otterdahl will face off against Italian Olympian Leo Fabbri in the men’s shot put. World Indoor silver medalist Elijah Hall leads a men’s 100m that includes three men with PBs under 10 seconds. Olympic silver medalist Wayne Pinnock will headline the long jump and Alaysha Johnson will look to make a statement in the notoriously chaotic women’s 100m hurdles. The rivalry between USA and Jamaica will play out again in the men’s 110 hurdles, where there will be a clash between American Dylan Beard and Jamaica’s Omar Mcleod. 

Handy links: Results | Entries

How to watch: This meet will be streamed on FloTrack with a subscription and the stream will start at 12:00 PM E.T. on Saturday. 

Rabat Diamond League

The good folks over at The Lap Count previewed this meet in their last newsletter, which you can read here. 

Handy links: Results and Entries

How to watch: This meet will be streamed on FloTrack with a subscription and the stream will start at 2:00 PM E.T. on Sunday. U.S. viewers can stream online with a subscription, or on YouTube for most international viewers.

One Good Song For Your Weekend

Lucy Dacus is a fantastic storyteller, in my opinion. I thought that this track was gorgeous and that the music video was really cute.

The Best of CITIUS MAG this week: This Week In Track And Field On The CITIUS MAG Podcast | Olipop’s Steven Vigilante On The CITIUS MAG Podcast | Rabat Diamond League Preview | Why We Need Conference Meets Now More Than Ever | What's Going On In The Women’s 100m This Season? | Imagining The Fever Dream Meet: An Ode To Bizarre Distances | The Lap Count Newsletter | NCAA Conference + Regionals Updates | 48 Hours In Tokyo With Drew Hunter

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