Noah Lyles, Ryan Crouser, Grant Holloway among men's headliners at U.S. Olympic Trials

Noah Lyles is looking to continue his global domination in Paris this summer after sweeping the 100- and 200-meter titles last August at the World Athletic Championships in Budapest.

But he'll have to shine in Eugene first before making it to the Summer Games.

The U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials are at Hayward Field Friday through June 30, and the men's sprints are expected to be as thrilling as any event on the schedule.

Besides Lyles in the 100, Christian Coleman, a five-time world outdoor and indoor gold medalist, is attempting to make his first Olympic team in an individual event. Fred Kerley won Olympic silver in 2021 and world championships gold in 2022.

Also keep an eye on Christian Miller, an 18-year-old who is headed to Georgia in the fall, who ran 9.93 seconds in April to set the U.S. U20 record. He’s tied for second-fastest in U.S. this year.

Two-time Olympian Trayvon Bromell will miss the meet with an abductor injury.

In the 200, Lyles has won three-straight world titles and was the Olympic bronze medalist in Tokyo. He’s run 19.77 this season, which puts him behind Kenny Bednarek (19.67) and Courtney Lindsey (19.71). Bednarek is the reigning Olympic silver medalist and the 2022 world championships silver medalist. Erriyon Knighton has been rising the past two years on the global stage. He won bronze in Eugene in 2022 and silver in Budapest in 2023.

Here's a look at some of the other top men's events at the Olympic Trials.

• 1,500 — This might be the hardest men’s team to make, and it might also be the most entertaining competition. Four runners — Cole Hocker, Hobbs Kessler, Cooper Teare and Yared Nuguse — come in having already met the Olympic standard of 3:33.50 (or a mile time of 3:50.40), so expect some fast times as others attempt to get qualified. Nuguse is the favorite, having established himself as one of the best in the world the past few years. Hocker and Teare are former U.S. champions, and two of seven Ducks in the field, including 2016 Olympic champion Matthew Centrowitz and current Oregon standout Elliott Cook.

• 5,000 —Teare, Hocker and Nuguse are doubling back in the 5,000 and they have three of the five fastest times by a U.S. runner this year. That doesn’t make them the favorites, however — not when the field also includes decorated veterans like Grant Fisher and Woody Kincaid. Fisher is the American record holder who was sixth at the 2022 world championships after winning the U.S. title that year. He has the fastest time by an American this season at 12:51.84. Kincaid made the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and was the U.S. runner-up in 2022. Northern Arizona’s Nico Young has also run 12:57.14 indoors this year. Two-time Olympic medalist Paul Chelimo, 33, is also entered.

• 10,000 — Fisher is also the American record-holder in this event and finished fourth at the 2022 world championships in Eugene. Kincaid is the reigning U.S. champion and placed 11th in Budapest. He also was the Olympic Trials winner in 2021. Young is the collegiate record-holder. Those three put on a show in March when all three ran the Olympic standard of 27:00 during a meet in California. Fisher won in 26:52.04, followed by Young (26:52.72) and Kincaid (26:57.57).

• 110 and 400 hurdles — Grant Holloway is bonafide superstar with few peers. He won world titles in the 110 hurdles in 2019, 2022 and 2023, and in the 60 hurdles indoors in 2022 and 2024. He was also the Olympic silver medalist in Tokyo. He’s the second-fastest all-time in the 110s and is the world record-holder indoors. Rai Benjamin has been nearly as impressive. He is the American record-holder in the 400 hurdles and won three straight U.S. titles from 2019-2022 (he didn’t compete at the 2023 national meet). On the global stage, Benjamin has silver medals from the 2019 and 2022 world championships and 2021 Olympics. He was the bronze medalist in Budapest last summer.

• Shot put — When Ryan Crouser performs at Hayward Field, it’s always appointment viewing. The two-time Olympic gold medalist has been the world record-holder since throwing 76 feet, 1¾ inches during the 2021 Olympic Trials in Eugene, though he has since upped that mark to 77-3¾. The man who has challenged him the most is Joe Kovacs, the two-time Olympic silver medalist who also won world championship gold in 2019 and the 2023 Diamond League title.

• High jump — Soon after ending his 2021 collegiate season, JuVaughn Harrison went on to win U.S. titles in the high jump and long jump and then was an Olympic finalist in Tokyo in both events. He has narrowed his focus to the high jump this season, and the 2023 world championship silver medalist comes in as the favorite with a season-best of 7-8. He’ll be challenged by Shelby McEwen who was the silver medalist at indoor worlds in March and the 2023 U.S. runner-up. His season-best is 7-7¾. Behind those two is a slew of collegians, including NCAA leader Tyus Wilson, a junior from Nebraska who has cleared 7-6.

• Pole vault — The top-three finishers during the 2021 Olympic Trials were Chris Nilsen, Sam Kendricks and KC Lightfoot, respectively. Those three remain odds on favorites to make another Summer Games' team. Nilsen went on to claim silver in Tokyo and followed with silver at the 2022 world championships. He has the best mark by an American this season at 19-8¼. Kendricks, who was the bronze medalist in Rio in 2016, tested positive for COVID-19 in the Olympic Village in Tokyo in 2021 and had to withdraw. He has a season-best clearance of 19-6¼. Lightfoot has cleared 19-5 this season.

Follow Chris Hansen on X @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Noah Lyles, Ryan Crouser headline men's U.S. Olympic Trials