USATF Indoor Championships Preview: Athletes, Storylines To Watch

By David Melly

The first U.S. championship of 2024 is right around the corner! Beginning tomorrow, February 16th, the 2024 USATF Indoor Championships kick off in Albuquerque, New Mexico. With two team spots on the line in each event for the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, the stakes are high and the competition will be fierce.

With a two-day championship format and smaller event list than outdoors, the schedule is compact, streamlined, and easily digestible for even the most casual of fans. With just two rounds for each the sprint events and straight finals for the 1500m and 3000m, doubling up on events is easy and common. And with names like Noah Lyles, Elle St. Pierre, Ryan Crouser, and Yared Nuguse on the entry lists, there is plenty of star power to go around.

An event schedule, live results, and entries can be found here. Day 1 of the competition will be streaming only on USATF.TV+ (subscription required) but Day 2 will be shown live on NBC and Peacock from 4pm to 6pm E.T.

Below, we preview the top events, athletes, and storylines to watch at this weekend’s championship.

Men’s Sprints: Possible Favorites For World Indoors Toe The Line

It’s a good time to be a fan of short indoor track. We shouldn’t take for granted that in an Olympic year, it’s a big deal that so many of the sport’s biggest stars have decided to race through the winter rather than train through it before opening up in April or May. That’s especially true in the two shortest events. Almost all the heavy hitters are toeing the line in Albuquerque, meaning that Team USA will likely be favored for gold in both the men’s 60m and 60m hurdles.

With Grant Holloway being the world record holder and never having lost a 60m hurdles race in his career, it goes without saying that he’ll be the favorite to defend his title from 2022. The U.S. also has a good chance to send two medal contenders to Glasgow with a healthy Trey Cunningham on the line, as well as Cordell Tinch and Daniel Roberts vying for the team. In the men’s 60m, Noah Lyles and Christian Coleman will race head-to-head for the first time this year (assuming they both qualify for and contest the final) – but watch out for Emmanuel Wells, the WSU alum who just dropped a 6.48 in Spokane at the beginning of the month.

The men’s 400m is fairly wide open, with seven of the 16 entrants opening up their season at USAs, so we’ll have to wait until the first round to see what kind of shape folks are in. Hurdler Trevor Bassitt had a fantastic indoor campaign in 2022 with a national title and World Indoor silver medal in the 400m, so he’ll be one to watch. But with guys like Bryce Deadmon and Elijah Godwin in the field, it’s hardly a sure thing that he’ll make the team again. And we’ll be on the lookout for any hints that 400-meter success indoors means that Matthew Boling will be concentrating on the long sprints, rather than the 200m, this year.

Women’s Sprints: Wide-Open Fields Ripe For Breakouts

With Sha’Carri Richardson skipping the indoor season and Aleia Hobbs not quite at her winter 2023 level yet, the women’s 60m feels a lot more wide open than some of the other events on the schedule this weekend. Another former LSU tiger, Mikiah Brisco, could challenge Hobbs for the title, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see someone like Tamara Clark playing spoiler.

In the hurdles, it’s probably a two-woman race – but the door is open for a few savvy veterans to mix it up. Tia Jones is the U.S. leader by a good margin with her 7.72 win at New Balance last month and Masai Russell is next on the list at 7.84. But you can’t count out longtime game-day players like Alaysha Johnson, Christina Clemons, or co-American record holder Sharika Nelvis.

In the women’s 400m, Talitha Diggs is the on-paper favorite, coming off a 300-meter win and PB at the Millrose Games, but Alexis Holmes, the hero of Team USA’s mixed 4x400m relay gold in Budapest, comes in with a 50.80 season’s best and is not going to be taken down easily. It’ll be hard to take on the formidable Dutch 1-2 punch of Femke Bol and Lieke Klaver at World Indoors, but those two making the team gives the U.S. a fighting chance.

Men’s Distance: Rising Stars Stake Their Claim To Medal Contention

The big headline in the distance events is Yared Nuguse’s decision to forego the 1500m. Instead, he’s solely focusing on the 3000m, where he’ll face off with the likes of former U.S. champs Cole Hocker and Cooper Teare, reigning U.S. 5000m champ Abdihamid Nur, and U.S. road 5k champ Morgan Beadlescomb. This is an event where Albuquerque’s 5,300 feet of elevation may play a significant role, which may favor Nuguse and Nur by virtue of their training at altitude year-round. Unless someone steps up in a big way, Nuguse is the heavy favorite to win his first U.S. indoor title.

The 1500m will be a battle between youth and experience, as Teare and Hocker – both doubling back from the 3000m – along with newly-minted 3:48 miler Hobbs Kessler take on veteran indoor racers like Craig Engels (2019 U.S. indoor champ), Josh Thompson (out for revenge after his 2023 DQ), and Sam Prakel (the eventual double champ in 2023). Kessler enters the race with the most hype, but it may be a tall order for the 20-year-old to keep his hot streak alive for the third straight weekend of high-profile racing.

The men’s 800m will be a test to see if Bryce Hoppel can win his fourth indoor U.S. title against the usual suspects: Isaiah Harris, Brannon Kidder, and U.S. 1000m record holder Shane Streich. But don’t sleep on the newest Brooks Beast, Brandon Miller, who looked really strong, dropping a 1:14.03 600m last weekend. If he can stretch that kind of performance out another 200 meters he’ll be a legit threat to the title.

Women’s Distance: St. Pierre Continues Her Hot Streak

It’s exciting to see so many big names lined up for U.S. indoors this weekend, but it is a slight bummer that we won’t get to see the U.S. record holder at 2 miles face the U.S. record holder at 3000m head-to-head. Alicia Monson has opted to skip the meet to prepare for the TEN and the rest of the outdoor season. But Elle St. Pierre will keep her indoor season rolling, and with a silver medal in this event from 2022 World Indoors, she’s got to have gold on the mind for Glasgow.

St. Pierre is also entered in the 1500m – we’ll see if she actually contests the double or if the shorter event, which occurs second, is more of an insurance policy. But if she does, it will be cool to see her tee off against reigning champ Nikki Hiltz. Then there’s St. Pierre’s teammate Emily MacKay, the U.S. leader indoors (although that’s partially due to most people running the mile this season). It would be cool to see the unheralded Binghamton alum make her first U.S. team.

The most intriguing part of the 800m start list is U.S. champ Nia Akins racing her specialty distance for the first time this year. Given that Akins has notched PBs at 600m and 1 mile this season already, she’s clearly fit and ready to take on rivals like Olivia Baker and Allie Wilson. 

And the women’s 800m might sneakily be a little more wide open internationally than it looks. Of the seven women under two minutes indoors this year, a couple are already out for Worlds. LSU’s Michaela Rose won’t be at World Indoors as she’ll contest NCAAs. Ethiopia has three sub-twos on the list but can only send two runners to Glasgow. If any of the American women can show up to the championship in something like 1:59 shape, they’ll have a good shot at a medal.

Men’s Field: Crowded Pole Vault Field Competes For Two Spots

The men’s pole vault has to be one of the most top-heavy fields of the entire weekend, with six men entered with personal bests of 5.90m or higher. KC Lightfoot is the U.S. leader at 5.92m, but he knows better than to discount Chris Nilsen or Sam Kendricks. And with guys like Austin Miller and Zach Bradford also jumping well, there’s a good chance the bar gets very, very high in this competition.

In the men’s shot put, Ryan Crouser will open up his season in the hunt for the World Indoor title that eluded him in 2022, and with no Joe Kovacs in the field, he should sail to his fourth U.S. indoor title. The men’s long jump and high jump have long start lists (particularly compared to the triple jump, with only five entrants), and it’ll be fun to see if hurdler Cordell Tinch does, in fact, double back to the LJ a day after racing. Another multi-event star, JuVaughn Harrison, has opted to focus on just the horizontal jumps this time around; he’ll be going for team USA in the long jump as well, leaving the high jump team wide open.

Women’s Field: Long Jumpers Have Best Shot At Gold In Years

Even without 2022 U.S. indoor champion Quanesha Burks entered, the women’s long jump field is stacked to the brim with medal contenders. Tara Davis-Woodhall is the U.S. leader and world #2 at 6.86m, and the PUMA duo of Monae’ Nichols and Jasmine Moore could be podium threats if they make the team as well. Moore is coming back to the triple jump on Saturday to face off with Keturah Orji, and those two will be heavily favored to make the team in that event.

The pole vault gold and silver medalist from the most recent World Indoor champs are back in action in Albuquerque as Sandi Morris and Katie Moon line up for another round of their epic, but friendly, rivalry. But with Bridget Williams setting a lifetime best of 4.81m at age 27 only two weeks ago, there’s no guarantee that both the gold and silver medalists will make another team. And although it’s not contested at World Indoors, it’ll be fun to see Janeah Stewart and Brooke Anderson face off head-to-head in the women’s weight throw as the only two 25m+ throwers in the field.

No matter who comes out on top, U.S. Indoors will be a jam-packed two days of action and a thrilling ride for the fans. Follow along with us to catch all the updates and interviews on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube!