Fred Kerley, Sha’Carri Richardson in weekend track action; TV, stream schedule
The track and field season is beginning to heat up, and the sprints will be sizzling on Saturday and Sunday, live on NBC Sports and Peacock.
First up is the Los Angeles Grand Prix, live on Saturday from 4:30-6 p.m. ET on NBC, NBCSports.com/live, the NBC Sports app and Peacock.
The most stacked race there is the 100m hurdles, pitting the two fastest women in history (Nigerian Tobi Amusan and American Keni Harrison) plus Olympic gold medalist Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico. The winner likely becomes the favorite for August’s world championships in Budapest.
LA boasts more world record holders in the pole vault (Mondo Duplantis of Sweden) and shot put (American Ryan Crouser), plus a women’s 100m that includes Sha’Carri Richardson, the world’s fastest woman this year, and most of the other top contenders for July’s USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships.
Then on Sunday, the Diamond League resumes in Rabat, Morocco, live from 2-4 p.m. ET on CNBC, NBCSports.com/live, the NBC Sports app and Peacock.
The marquee event there is the men’s 100m including American Fred Kerley, the world champion, countryman Trayvon Bromell, the world bronze medalist, and Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala, the world’s fastest man this year. Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs withdrew Thursday with a minor health issue.
Here are the start lists: Los Angeles | Rabat. Here’s the schedule of events (all times Eastern):
Los Angeles (Saturday)
3:25 p.m. — Women’s Shot Put
4:02 — Women’s 100m (Round 1)
4:10 — Women’s/Men’s Javelin
4:20 — Men’s Pole Vault
4:22 — Men’s Mile
4:32 — Men’s 400m Hurdles
4:40 — Women’s 200m
4:48 — Men’s 200m
4:55 — Women’s 100m Hurdles
5 — Men’s Shot Put
5:03 — Men’s 400m
5:11 — Women’s 1500m
5:20 — Women’s 800m
5:29 — Men’s 800m
5:37 — Women’s 400m
5:45 — Women’s 100m
5:53 — Men’s 100m
Rabat (Sunday)
1:37 p.m. — Women’s Shot Put
2:04 — Women’s 400m Hurdles
2:05 — Women’s High Jump
2:15 — Men’s 800m
2:27 — Men’s Discus
2:29 — Men’s 110m Hurdles
2:38 — Women’s 1500m
2:40 — Women’s Triple Jump
2:52 — Men’s 400m
3:02 — Women’s 200m
3:11 — Men’s 1500m
3:25 — Men’s 100m
3:34 — Women’s 800m
3:46 — Men’s 3000m Steeplechase
Here are five events to watch:
Men’s Pole Vault — Saturday, 4:20 p.m. ET
A meeting of the world’s top three over the last several years: world record holder Mondo Duplantis of Sweden, American Chris Nilsen, who took silver to Duplantis at the last Olympics and worlds, and American Sam Kendricks, world champion in 2017 and 2019. Kendricks missed the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19, then missed almost all of last season due to a knee injury. So this is the first time that all three are competing against each other outdoors since Nilsen joined the 6-meter club.
Women’s 100m Hurdles — Saturday, 4:55 p.m. ET
Camacho-Quinn enters on best form. Last Sunday, she clocked 12.17 seconds with a 3.5 meter/second tailwind (legal limit is 2.0), the third-fastest all-conditions time in history behind Amusan’s semifinal and final runs at last July’s worlds. Amusan’s best time this year is 12.59. Harrison’s is 12.44. The fastest wind-legal time this year is 12.36 from the University of Kentucky’s Masai Russell, who is not in this field.
Women’s 100m — Saturday, 5:45 p.m. ET
Richardson ran 10.76 in the Diamond League opener on May 5 in Doha, beating world silver medalist Shericka Jackson of Jamaica with the the best time in the world this year. Richardson is arguably the early favorite for the world title, but she has run fast early in the season before and yet to compete at an Olympics or worlds, plus reigning world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has yet to race this season. To make worlds, Richardson must be top three at USATF Outdoors in July, and many of her domestic rivals will be in Saturday’s race. That includes the last four women to win the national title: Aleia Hobbs, Teahna Daniels, Javianne Oliver and Melissa Jefferson.
Men’s 1500m — Sunday, 3:11 p.m. ET
The first head-to-head between Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway and Yared Nuguse, who in the winter ran the second-fastest indoor mile in history and broke the American indoor 3000m record. There are other standouts in this field — Kenyan Abel Kipsang, Australian Ollie Hoare, Spaniard Mario Garcia Romo — making this the 23-year-old Nuguse’s first outdoor measuring stick race against international competition.
Men’s 100m — Sunday, 3:25 p.m. ET
Kerley opened his 100m season by running 9.88 and 9.91 in Japan last Sunday to rank second in the world this season behind Omanyala (9.84). Given Kerley ran 9.76 last year, he is likely just starting to ramp up. Plus, keep in mind he has a bye into the world championships 100m as defending champion. Bromell has no such luxury, so he needs to be in form by July’s USATF Outdoors. A strong showing in Rabat will keep him among the favorites to grab one of the three open spots on the U.S. team.
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Fred Kerley, Sha’Carri Richardson in weekend track action; TV, stream schedule originally appeared on NBCSports.com
