(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone isn’t running the 400-meter hurdles, the event she has dominated since 2021. Fred Kerley isn’t competing in the 100, one year after claiming the world championship. You won’t see Athing Mu in the 800, Noah Lyles in the 200 or Michael Norman in the 400.
There’s a reason for all that movement. Each owns a bye into August’s world championship in their signature event by virtue of winning last year’s world title.
That has led to experimentation this weekend at the U.S. championships, where McLaughlin will run the 400, Kerley the 200, Lyles the 100 and Norman the 100 and 200.
Norman’s and Mu’s intentions behind the switch in events are slightly different than the others, as Norman’s goal this season — one slowed by discomfort behind a knee in early May that led him to withdraw from competitions — was to transition to the 100 all along.
Although Mu’s coach, Bobby Kersee, has teased the idea of a future 800- and 1,500-meter double, that might not be the case this season, as her fastest 1,500 is more than 13 seconds slower than the standard to reach the world championships.
It sets up the possibility of McLaughlin-Levrone, Kerley and Lyles doubling up at the world championships should they qualify in their secondary events. Lyles has made no secret it is his intention to try.
“We haven’t had a doubler since [Usain] Bolt,” Lyles told reporters Wednesday in Eugene, Ore. “And it’s about time we had one. Why not me?
McLaughlin won’t decide which event she would run at the world championships until after the U.S. championships.