Track and Field is one of the most incredible, inspiring, exciting and underappreciated sports in America.
Despite the competition and athletic talents on display, America only seems enamored with the sport during an Olympic year. For those of you who fall into that category, you’re missing out on watching some of the greatest athletes in the world.
Names like Carl Lewis, Florence Griffith Joyner, Edwin Moses, Gail Devers and Michael Johnson helped catapult the sport to greatness in the U.S. Athletes such as Tyson Gay and Allyson Felix maintained that greatness. Even sprinters such as Marion Jones and Justin Gatlin, who both suffered their own harsh yet deserving judgments in the sport, captured the attention of fans across the country.
Internationally, the sport receives much more consistent recognition and appreciation. Jamaican sprinters such as Usain Bolt, Merlene Ottey, Yohan Blake, and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce always dazzled fans around the world. This past weekend, 34-year-old Fraser-Pryce did it again when she swept the 100m and 200m at the Jamaica Olympic Track and Field Trials.
But track and field is more than an athletic competition.
It’s a home for expression, entertainment, thrills and messaging. And it’s always been that way.
Jesse Owens rained all over Hitler’s attempted Aryan parade by winning four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.
John Carlos and Tommy Smith raised their black-gloved fists in a demonstration of Black Power at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City.
Flo Jo brought talent, flair, and Black Girl Magic to the track. Before Serena Williams stunned tennis fans with her black catsuit, Flo Jo captivated audiences with her flashy spandex outfits. She destroyed the competition, setting world records in the 100m and 200m, and winning three gold medals at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.
Michael Johnson donned his gold Nike spikes and left the track ablaze with his gold medal-winning performances in the 200m and 400m at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
Those characteristics were resurrected at this past week’s 2021 US Olympic Track & Field Trials. And if you missed the action, you missed out on something very special.
Black Girl Magic
In the women’s 100m, Sha’Carri Richardson conjured up images of Flo Jo. She ran the second-fastest 100m of all time (10.64) in the semifinals, won the finals, screamed “I’m a f*ing Olympian!” and had viewers crying as she raced up the stands to collapse in her grandmother’s embrace.
In the women’s 400m finals, veteran Allyson Felix finished second and made her fifth Olympic team.
Gabby Thomas went out an shattered expectations in the 200m. She won the finals in 21.61. That time broke the meet record held by her idol, Allyson Felix, and was the was the second-fastest to only the late, great Flo Jo.
“I blacked out during that race,” said Thomas. “I know beforehand I wanted to focus on accelerating through the first 100 and keep the momentum — come off the turn feeling really good.”
After scorching temperatures delayed the event, the athletes returned to the track. That’s when 21-year-old Sydney McLaughlin had fans screaming. In the 400m hurdles final, McLaughlin ran through the line at 51.90 and sat stunned on the track. She set a new world record and became the first woman ever to run sub-52 in the event.
“Trusting the process,” said McLaughlin after setting the world record. “A lot of things you really can’t see coming, but just having that childlike faith and just trusting that everything’s going to work out.”
And in the 800m, 19-year-old Athing Mu dusted the field, running 1:56:07. That’s the second fastest time by an American ever.
Black Boy Joy
The men wowed fans with their performances as well.
Noah Lyles, who failed to qualify for the Olympics in the 100m, won the 200m and punched his ticket to his first Olympic Games. The 23-year-old blazed through the turn and never looked back as he crossed through the line in a time of 19.74. Also grabbing the spotlight in that race was 17-year-old phenom Erriyon Knighton, who finished third and became Team USA’s youngest track Olympian since Jim Ryun in 1964.
Trayvon Bromell cemented his status as the fastest man in the world in 2021. He won the 100m finals in 9.80, which is the second fastest time this season behind the 9.77 he ran a few short weeks ago. His blazing speed has the fastest man alive, Usain Bolt, backing him for Olympic gold.
HBCU men made their presence felt at the trials as all four members of NC A&T’s championship 4×400 team qualified for the Olympics.
While track events will always dominate the attention, the field athletes grabbed their share of the spotlight as well.
Brittney Reese won the women’s long jump, qualifying her for her fourth Olympic Games. JuVaughn Harrison won both the high jump and long jump and will compete in both in his Olympic debut in Tokyo. He will be the first American man to compete in both events in the Olympics since Jim Thorpe in 1912.
“That’s a lot of years for somebody not to do it,” said Harrison. “It’s really good for me to have my name in history like that.”
In the shotput, Ryan Crouser broke the world record by eight inches with a throw of 76 feet, 8.25 inches.
The women’s hammer throw was overshadowed by controversy as third place finisher, Gwen Berry, appeared not to acknowledge the playing of the national anthem. She was unfazed by the negative attention though.
“My purpose and my mission is bigger than sports,” said Berry. “I’m here to represent those … who died due to systemic racism. That’s the important part. That’s why I’m going. That’s why I’m here today.”
The US Olympic Track & Field trials gave us a week full of exciting moments and record-setting performances. It gave us more reasons to love and appreciate track and field as a sport, not just as an Olympic event.
Hopefully casual fans experienced a new-found love for the sport. It more than deserves consistent appreciation.
If not, that’s their loss.
