Olympic Gold and Silver Medalists Ryan Crouser, Joe Kovacs to Battle Once More in Millrose Games’ Thorne Men’s Shot Put

(Left) Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs, currently the world’s top two shot putters, will return to The Armory on Saturday, January 29th for the 114th Millrose Games’ Thorne Men’s Shot Put. Crouser photo by John Nepolitan; Kovacs photo by Ross Dettman.

NEW YORK, NY, December 2, 2021 – The two best shot putters in the world will bring an electric show to New York City as they renew their rivalry at the center of The Armory’s New Balance Track & Field Center, in a shot put event sponsored by health technology company, Thorne.

World record-holder and two-time Olympic gold medalist Ryan Crouser will take on 2019 world champion Joe Kovacs, twice the Olympic silver medalist in the 114th Millrose Games’ Thorne Men’s Shot Put. These two titans of throwing will join dozens of other Olympians at the Millrose Games, scheduled for Saturday, January 29th, 2022.

“I am excited to return to the Millrose Games to showcase one of Team USA’s strongest events,” Crouser said. “It’s an honor to compete in one of the premier indoor meetings at such a historic venue.”

Crouser is currently riding the most impressive run in the history of the shot put.

During the U.S. Olympic Trials last June, Crouser threw 23.37 meters to break the 31-year-old world record. He followed that performance with a truly dominant showing at the Olympic Games, defending his gold medal and launching all six of his throws further than his own previous Olympic record.

Crouser, 28, will open his 2022 season at the Millrose Games as he aims to continue pushing the record books out of reach.

But Kovacs will be no pushover.

In 2019, Kovacs threw his personal best of 22.91 meters to win gold at the Doha World Championships, edging out Crouser by one centimeter. He then threw beyond 22 meters four times in Tokyo to earn his second consecutive Olympic silver medal.

“I am so excited to come back to compete at the Millrose Games,” Kovacs said. “This 2022 season will be one to remember in the United States and it starts at The Armory.  I look forward to competing against Ryan Crouser and the rest of the field in front of family, friends, and the very knowledgeable New York track & field community.”

The shot put at the Millrose Games takes place in the middle of the infield, putting these spectacular athletes front and center for The Armory spectators to witness. This marks the third year of utilizing this unique format. Crouser was the champion at the previous two Millrose Games, with Kovacs placing second on both occasions.

“I’m thrilled the world’s top two shot put stars will return to The Armory on January 29th,” said Armory Foundation Co-President Rita Finkel, “and I’m just as excited for our fans who will be attending the Millrose games. Our track & field fans will witness firsthand what the world saw in Tokyo over the summer from Ryan and Joe.

“Both of them will be performing at the top of their game from the center of The Armory infield and will be motivated by an electric atmosphere at The Armory and from a national, international television audience. That’s very special.” 

Thorne, a health and technology company that is one of the two vertically integrated brands under Thorne HealthTech, a leader in developing innovative solutions for a personalized approach to health and wellbeing, will be sponsoring the men’s shot put event.

“Thorne is honored to be part of this historic event, as the track and field community exhibits the epitome of personal wellness and fitness,” said Vice President of Athletic Business Development for Thorne Health Tech, Wes Barnett. “We look forward to supporting two titans of the sport battling supremacy and sharing our data-driven health solutions geared towards optimizing health and performance at the event.”

The Millrose Games is the most storied event in indoor track and field. Stay tuned over the coming months as more athletes are announced for the 114th Millrose Games. U.S. Olympic Trials champions and Tokyo Olympic finalists Elle Purrier St. Pierre and Cole Hocker are the first two athletes to be announced for the 2022 women’s and men’s WHOOP Wanamaker Miles, respectively. They will be a part of the two signature events of the Millrose Games.

Millrose Games alumni earned 29 medals at the Tokyo Olympics, including 13 gold medals. With highest-level competition at the youth, high school, collegiate, club, and professional levels, there is truly something for everyone at the Millrose Games.

Tickets can be purchased by going to https://www.millrosegames.org/get-tickets

For more information on all Armory Track events go to www.armory.nyc.

Follow The Armory on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @armorynyc.

About Thorne

Thorne is a health and technology company, and one of the vertically integrated brands under Thorne Health Tech, a leader in developing innovative solutions for a personalized approach to health and wellbeing. By combining testing with nutritional supplement interventions and diet, exercise and lifestyle recommendations, Thorne is at the forefront of personalized health, with a mission to help consumers take control of their health and live a healthy life. By leveraging its sophisticated analytical software, Thorne helps consumers uncover health insights and confidently take action to optimize health outcomes. Based on individual test results, Thorne’s technology and team can deliver a personalized plan on what to eat, how to exercise, and which Thorne supplements to take. Thorne is also a proud partner of several U.S. Olympic Teams. For more information visit www.thorne.com/

About The Armory Foundation

The Armory Foundation is a New York City non-profit institution, with the mission of "Keeping Kids on Track." Each season The Armory – the proud home of the Millrose Games – hosts more than 100 track & field meets and welcomes more than 220,000 visits. Among its many youth sports and educational programs, including the acclaimed Armory College Prep program, The Armory runs the leading collegiate indoor track meets with the Dr. Sander Invitational Columbia Challenge and the HBCU Showcase, and hosts the largest high school indoor track meets with the U. S. Air Force Hispanic Games, The New Balance Games, New Balance Nationals Indoor, the Energice Coaches Hall of Fame Invitational and Marine Corps Holiday Classic. New York Road Runners is a proud sponsor of all athletic events at The Armory. The Armory runs the Columbia & NewYork – Presbyterian Indoor Marathon Team Relay presented by New York Road Runners, which is the world’s largest indoor marathon relay. The Armory is also the home to the National Track & Field Hall of Fame and dozens of very large education-focused events. For more: Please visit Armory.NYC and ArmoryTrack.com.

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114th Millrose Games Announces WHOOP Wanamaker Miles

Left: Olympian and 2021 NCAA indoor mile and outdoor 1500-meter champion Cole Hocker; Olympian and defending Wanamaker Mile champion Elle Purrier St. Pierre during the 113th Millrose Games at The Armory. Hocker photo by Kirby Lee; Purrier St. Pierre Photo by Ross Dettman.

Defending champion Elle Purrier St. Pierre and current NCAA champion Cole Hocker to Headline the WHOOP Wanamaker Miles

NEW YORK, NY, Nov. 19, 2021 – The Armory Foundation has announced that WHOOP, the human performance company, will be the title sponsor of the 2022 WHOOP Wanamaker Men’s and Women’s Miles in the upcoming 114thMillrose Games.  The Wanamaker Miles are the most prestigious and historic indoor miles in the world and have been the centerpiece of the Millrose Games since its inception.  Past winners of the fabled Wanamaker Miles include Matthew Centrowitz, Sifan Hassan, Colleen Quigley, Jenny Simpson, and legendary runners such as Bernard Lagat, Francie Larrieu, Marty Liquori, Eamonn Coghlan, and so many others.

U.S. Olympic Trials champions and Tokyo Olympic finalists Elle Purrier St. Pierre and Cole Hocker are the first two athletes to be announced for the 2022 WHOOP women’s and men’s Wanamaker Miles, respectively. They will be a part of the two signature events of the Millrose Games, scheduled to take place on Saturday, January 29, 2022, at The Armory’s New Balance Track & Field Center.

Purrier St. Pierre is the American indoor mile record holder and the defending Wanamaker Mile champion, with a time of 4:16.85 set at the last Millrose Games on February 8, 2020. Purrier St. Pierre, the 2018 NCAA indoor mile champion, also won the U.S. Olympic Trials with a meet record of 3:58.05 over 1500 meters.  Purrier St. Pierre also holds the American two-mile record indoors.

Hocker is the current 2021 NCAA indoor mile and outdoor 1500-meter champion.  Following his second NCAA championship, Hocker won the U.S. Olympic Trials, defeating Olympic gold medalist Matthew Centrowitz.  Running a series of personal bests, Hocker finished sixth at the Olympics in 3:31.4, a time that was under the former Olympic record set two days prior.

“The Millrose Games is an ideal place to showcase the different ways WHOOP can help some of the world’s most elite athletes optimize their performance,” said WHOOP SVP of Marketing John Sullivan. “Fans will also get to experience this historic event like never before with new competitor insights featured in broadcast via WHOOP Live.”

WHOOP plans to work with The Armory to integrate real-time, near-real-time and post-event physiological data from certain athletes into the live broadcast of The Millrose Games with WHOOP Live and WHOOP 4.0.

WHOOP is a personalized 24/7 digital fitness and health coach that helps people unlock their inner potential and make meaningful lifestyle changes via actionable feedback on sleep, recovery, and strain. WHOOP insights are grounded in industry-leading accuracy across measurements of key health indicators like heart rate variability, resting heart rate, respiratory rate, sleep staging, skin temperature, and blood oxygen levels.

Elite track athletes and Millrose Games alumni who use WHOOP include Drew Hunter, Colleen Quigley, and Olympic bronze medalist Gabby Thomas. Michael Phelps and Patrick Mahomes are among the legendary athletes in other sports who have become WHOOP devotees.

“We are delighted to have WHOOP join us as title sponsor of the Wanamaker Miles,” said Armory Foundation Co-President Rita Finkel. “This sponsorship puts a spotlight on WHOOP technology for athletes all over the world and helps bring the Millrose Games to the next level of innovation in sports.”

“The Millrose Games will be broadcast live on NBC in the United States, and for the first time internationally as part of the prestigious World Athletics Indoor Tour,” said Jonathan Schindel, Armory Foundation Co-President.

Ray Flynn, Meet Director of the Millrose Games, added: “With the great success and athlete performances during the Olympic Games in Tokyo, we hope to stage the greatest Millrose Games yet at The Armory.”

The 114th Millrose Games is anticipated to be the most thrilling edition of the meet to date, with dozens of Olympians competing on The Armory's “Fastest Track in the World.” 

Millrose Games alumni earned 29 medals at the Tokyo Olympics, including 13 gold medals. Millrose Games tickets can be purchased at https://www.millrosegames.org/get-tickets.

Stay tuned throughout the fall as athletes who will be competing at the Millrose Games are announced, including the full fields for the iconic WHOOP Wanamaker Miles. 

About WHOOP

WHOOP, the human performance company, provides a membership for 24/7 coaching to improve health. The WHOOP membership comes with the new WHOOP 4.0 hardware, a coaching platform designed to optimize behavior, and a community of high performers. WHOOP members include professional athletes, Fortune 500 CEOs, fitness enthusiasts, military personnel, frontline workers and anyone looking to improve their performance. Studies show WHOOP can positively change behavior, increase sleep, and improve physiological biomarkers. Founded in 2021, WHOOP is based in Boston and has raised more than $400 million in venture capital. Visit whoop.com for the latest company news and connect with WHOOP on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

About The Armory Foundation

The Armory Foundation is a New York City non-profit institution, with the mission of "Keeping Kids on Track." Each season The Armory – the proud home of the Millrose Games – hosts more than 100 track & field meets and welcomes more than 220,000 visits. Among its many youth sports and educational programs, including the acclaimed Armory College Prep program, The Armory runs the leading collegiate indoor track meets with the Dr. Sander Invitational Columbia Challenge and the HBCU Showcase, and hosts the largest high school indoor track meets with this past season’s 26th U. S. Air Force Hispanic Games, The New Balance Games, New Balance Nationals Indoor, the Energice Coaches Hall of Fame and Marine Corps Holiday Classic. New York Road Runners is a proud sponsor of all athletic events at The Armory. The Armory runs the Columbia & NewYork – Presbyterian Indoor Marathon Team Relay presented by New York Road Runners, which is the world’s largest indoor marathon relay. The Armory is also the home to the National Track & Field Hall of Fame and dozens of very large education-focused events. For more: Please visit Armory.NYC and ArmoryTrack.com.

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Purchase Tickets to 114th Millrose Games Starting Friday

Historic Meet to Welcome Track & Field’s Best on January 29th  

     Spectators can cheer on the world’s top track & field athletes up close as they perform at The Millrose Games at The Armory’s New Balance Track & Field Center. Photos by Ross Dettman (Wilson, left) and John Nepolitan (Crouser, right)

NEW YORK, NY, Oct. 7, 2021 – The Armory Foundation announces tickets for the 114th Millrose Games on Saturday, January 29 will go on sale to the public beginning this Friday, October 8th.

This Millrose Games will be fresh off the heels of a sensational track & field showing by Team USA during the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

“The Millrose Games is renowned as the oldest and most famous indoor meet in the world,” said Millrose Games Meet Director Ray Flynn. “For more than a hundred years, many of the greatest track and field athletes in history have been its champions.

“Thirteen Millrose Games alumni recently won gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics Games, and we expect to welcome them and many more medal winners to the 114th edition at the world's fastest track at The Armory.”

Tickets can be purchased by going to https://www.millrosegames.org/get-tickets.

The Millrose Games is recognized as the most storied event in indoor track and field and annually takes place at the New Balance Track & Field Center at The Armory.

Two of the signature events of the Millrose Games are the men’s and women’s Wanamaker Mile, with a celebrated history of the world’s fastest men and women indoor milers.

“The Armory is excited to continue its tradition of hosting the most iconic indoor track & field meet in the world,” said Armory Foundation Co-President Rita Finkel. “Each year it’s truly an honor to welcome these amazing track & field athletes on all levels to the New Balance Track & Field Center in front of our loyal Armory supporters in New York City.

“This is the Kentucky Derby of the indoor track & field season.”

The Millrose Games moved to The Armory’s New Balance Track & Field Center in Washington Heights in 2012 after having called Madison Square Garden home from 1914 to 2011. The Games – established by employees of Wanamaker’s Department Store – features track and field’s most prolific male and female stars as well as collegiate, high school, club and youth competitors.

More than 200 athletes share the distinction of being both Millrose and Olympic champions.

This season, the Millrose Games is a part of the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold, a series of premier one-day professional indoor track and field competitions throughout the world to be televised live internationally. At the end of the tour, the athlete with the most points in each event earns the overall World Athletics Indoor Tour title along with securing $20,000.

For more information on all Armory Track events go to www.armory.nyc.

Go to www.millrosegames.org and www.armorytrack.com for latest news about the Millrose Games including athletes who will be participating in the January 29th meet.

Follow The Armory on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @armorynyc.

About The Armory Foundation

The Armory Foundation is a New York City non-profit institution, with the mission of "Keeping Kids on Track." Each season The Armory – the proud home of the Millrose Games – hosts more than 100 track & field meets and welcomes more than 220,000 visits. Among its many youth sports and educational programs, including the acclaimed Armory College Prep program, The Armory runs the leading collegiate indoor track meets with the Dr. Sander Invitational Columbia Challenge and the HBCU Showcase, and hosts the largest high school indoor track meets with this past season’s 26th U. S. Air Force Hispanic Games, The New Balance Games, New Balance Nationals Indoor, the Energice Coaches Hall of Fame and Marine Corps Holiday Classic. New York Road Runners is a proud sponsor of all athletic events at The Armory. The Armory runs the Columbia & NewYork – Presbyterian Indoor Marathon Team Relay presented by New York Road Runners, which is the world’s largest indoor marathon relay. The Armory is also the home to the National Track & Field Hall of Fame and dozens of very large education-focused events. For more: Please visit Armory.NYC and ArmoryTrack.com.

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Millrose Games Alumni Earn 29 Medals at Tokyo Olympics, 13 Gold Medals

Photo by Hannah Mckay, Reuters

The 2020 Olympic Games concluded this past weekend in Tokyo, after being delayed one year due to the pandemic. Despite the ongoing restrictions and the lack of fans, the athletes delivered on the biggest stage in sports, as the track & field action was highlighted by three world records and many other historically fast marks. 48 athletes who have previously competed at the Millrose Games represented Team USA in competition, with numerous Millrose alums representing other nations as well. Overall, these athletes earned thirteen gold medals, seven silver medals, and nine bronze medals, a tremendous haul that further solidifies the status of Millrose as the greatest and most historic indoor track & field meet in the world.

One of the highlights of the meet took place on the final day of track competition, as the United States “Dream Team” of Sydney McLaughlin, Allyson Felix, Dalilah Muhammad, and Athing Mu won gold in the women’s 4x400m relay, running 3:16.85, the fifth fastest time in history. All four of these athletes won individual medals earlier in the meet, and have all won individual golds at some point in their careers. They have also all competed at Millrose in the past, with McLaughlin, Muhammad, and Mu each hailing from the tri-state area. The amount of star power on this elite quartet was truly a sight to behold as they left the rest of the world in the dust, winning by nearly four seconds.

McLaughlin and Muhammad put on a show in the women’s 400m hurdles, taking gold and silver with the two fastest times in history, as McLaughlin broke her own world record in 51.46, with Muhammad close behind in 51.58. Muhammad led over the first nine hurdles, determined to defend her gold from Rio, but McLaughlin was able to find another gear in the closing meters. The world record has now fallen in four consecutive races where these two athletes have faced off, taking the event into another stratosphere.

The 19-year-old phenom Mu powered away from the field in the women’s 800m, winning gold in an American record time of 1:55.21. Mu’s rise to the top of the sport has been meteoric, and still it seems that she is only scratching the surface of her unlimited potential. Raevyn Rogers, who helped set the 4x800m world record at Millrose in 2018, kicked past four athletes down the home straightaway, securing the bronze medal in the process.

Felix, who has already accomplished everything in the sport, added to her greatest of all-time resume with a bronze medal in the women’s 400m, along with her relay gold. Not expected to be a factor entering the meet, the 35-year-old legend found her form at the right time, running 49.46, her fastest time in five years. Felix has now won 11 Olympic medals over the course of her career, surpassing Carl Lewis for the most by any American track athlete. The gold medal in the women's 400m was won by Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas, who ran a personal best of 48.36 to top the field. Miller-Uibo had previously tied the world record in the 300m at the 2018 Millrose Games.

Sifan Hassan, the Dutch superstar who won the 2017 Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games, attempted perhaps the most ambitious triple in Olympic history, running the 1500m, 5000m, and 10000m over the course of six days. After falling to the track in her 1500m prelim and rallying to win the heat, Hassan returned just twelve hours later to win her first gold in the 5000m, taking down a stacked field in the process. She then claimed a hard-earned bronze in the 1500m final, which was the fastest 1500m race in Olympic history, before toeing the line the next morning in the 10000m. Battling exhaustion and the brutal Tokyo heat, Hassan outlasted the field over 25 laps to win her second gold, etching her name alongside the greatest distance runners ever.

There was an opening for the title of Fastest Man Alive following the retirement of Usain Bolt, and Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse staked his claim, winning three medals in Tokyo. De Grasse, who won his professional debut race at the 2016 Millrose Games, took bronze in the 100m before upsetting fellow Millrose champion Noah Lyles in the 200m to win gold and claim his first global title. De Grasse concluded his tremendous meet by anchoring Canada to bronze in the 4x100m relay.

Rai Benjamin, a 2020 Millrose champion, took silver in the men’s 400m hurdles in what was perhaps the greatest race in the history of track & field. Benjamin ran 46.17, slicing over half a second off the previous world record, but he couldn’t quite catch Norway’s Karsten Warholm, who won gold in an absolutely mind-boggling 45.94. Benjamin gained some redemption later in the meet, linking up with Michael Cherry, another Millrose champion, to win gold for Team USA in the 4x400m relay in 2:55.70, the third-fastest time ever.

The American duo of Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs have been the two best shot putters in the world for over a half a decade, and they proved it once again, repeating their gold and silver finishes from Rio 2016. Crouser, who set the world record at the Olympic Trials in June, came very close to that mark in Tokyo with an epic series that culminated in an Olympic record of 23.30 meters. Kovacs was not far behind with a fourth round toss of 22.65 meters that was further than Crouser’s previous Olympic Record entering competition. In addition to all their accomplishments on the world stage, Crouser and Kovacs have thrilled the Millrose crowd with their duels in 2019 and 2020 from the center of The Armory’s infield.

Emmanuel Korir won the men’s 800m in 1:45.06, marking the fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal in the event for Kenya. Korir also won at the 2018 Millrose Games with a time that remains on the top five all-time indoor list for the 800m.

Briana Williams, the teenage sprint standout who competed at Millrose in 2019, led off the stacked Jamaican women’s 4x100m relay team that stormed to gold in 41.02, the third-fastest time ever. Earning silver was Team USA, which featured three Millrose alums in the final (Javianne Oliver, Jenna Prandini, and Gabby Thomas), along with English Gardner, who competed in the preliminary heat.

World record holder Mondo Duplantis, who broke the high school pole vault record at Millrose in 2017, won gold for Sweden, clearing 6.02 meters. On the women’s side, American Katie Nageotte made it double gold for Millrose competitors, completing her dream season with a winning vault of 4.90 meters.

Full medal results for Millrose Games alumni are below. Millrose Games champions are denoted in bold.

Men’s Events

100m- Andre De Grasse (Canada), Bronze 

200m- Andre De Grasse (Canada), Gold

            Noah Lyles (USA), Bronze

800m- Emmanuel Korir (Kenya), Gold

1500m- Josh Kerr (Great Britain), Bronze

5000m- Mo Ahmed (Canada), Silver 

400m hurdles- Rai Benjamin (USA), Silver

4x100m- Andre De Grasse (Canada), Bronze

4x400m- Michael Cherry/Rai Benjamin (USA), Gold

Shot put- Ryan Crouser (USA), Gold

   Joe Kovacs (USA), Silver 

Pole vault- Mondo Duplantis (Sweden), Gold

Mixed 4x400m- Vernon Norwood (USA), Bronze

Women’s Events

200m- Gabby Thomas (USA), Bronze

400m- Shaunae Miller-Uibo (Bahamas), Gold

           Allyson Felix (USA), Bronze

800m- Athing Mu (USA), Gold

           Raevyn Rogers (USA), Bronze

1500m- Sifan Hassan (Netherlands), Bronze 

5000m- Sifan Hassan (Netherlands), Gold

10000m- Sifan Hassan (Netherlands), Gold

100m hurdles- Keni Harrison (USA), Silver

400 hurdles- Sydney McLaughlin (USA), Gold

        Dalilah Muhammad (USA), Silver 

4x100m- Briana Williams (Jamaica), Gold

  Javianne Oliver/Jenna Prandini/Gabby Thomas/English Gardner (prelim) (USA), Silver

4x400m- Sydney McLaughlin/Allyson Felix/Dalilah Muhammad/Athing Mu/Wadeline Jonathas

              (prelim) (USA), Gold 

Long jump- Brittney Reese (USA), Silver 

Pole vault- Katie Nageotte (USA), Gold

23 Millrose Games Champions Will Represent Team USA in Tokyo

Written by Owen Mittenthal of Armory Track

The U.S. Olympic Team Trials were held from June 18th-27th in Eugene, Oregon, bringing the best athletes in the nation together for the right to compete at the Olympic Games in Tokyo next month. While the athletes battled extreme heat over the latter half of the competition, the performances were no less incredible, highlighted by two world records and several other top all-time performances. Over 100 athletes punched their tickets to Tokyo by placing in the top three in their events, including 48 athletes who have competed at the Millrose Games during their careers, and 23 Millrose Games Champions.

Elinor Purrier-St. Pierre first announced herself as a world-class runner at the 2020 Millrose Games, where she won the Wanamaker Mile in 4:16.85, the second fastest time ever run indoors. In Eugene, Purrier-St. Pierre dominated the 1500m from the front, setting a Trials record of 3:58.03 to make her first Olympic team. Purrier-St. Pierre appears poised to dominate U.S. middle distance running for years to come, and she looks to be one of the favorites to medal in Tokyo. She will be joined on Team USA by Cory McGee, who won the Millrose high school mile in 2010, and Heather MacLean, who placed sixth in the 2020 Wanamaker Mile won by Purrier-St. Pierre.

Ryan Crouser set the tone for the competition early in the men’s shot put, uncorking a massive throw of 23.37 meters to smash the world record by nearly a foot. Crouser, the 2016 Olympic gold medalist, is also the back-to-back Millrose Champion, winning in 2019 and 2020. In both competitions, Crouser was followed in second by defending World Champion and Olympic silver medalist Joe Kovacs. The two superstar throwers will attempt to once again claim gold and silver in Tokyo, and they will be joined by Payton Otterdahl, who placed third in the 2020 Millrose shot put.

Ryan Crouser took first place in the men’s shot put at the Trials. Photo credit: Getty Images.

Athing Mu stunned the women’s 800m run field at the Olympic Trials. Photo credit: Getty Images.

19-year-old phenom Athing Mu dominated the women’s 800m, running 1:56.07, the second fastest mark ever by an American. The Trenton, NJ native won the junior 600m at the 2019 Millrose Games, before going on to completely rewrite the junior record book en route to her first Olympics. She will be accompanied by seven-time Millrose Champion, American record holder, and fellow Jersey girl Ajeé Wilson, as well as Raevyn Rogers, who ran with Wilson on the 4x800m relay team that set the world record at the 2018 Millrose Games. All three women will be medal threats in one of the least predictable events in all of track and field, with Mu appearing to be the favorite at this juncture.

Sydney McLaughlin (right) edges out Dalilah Muhammad to win the women’s 400m hurdles in world record fashion. Photo credit: BBC Sport.

On the final night of competition, Sydney McLaughlin broke the world record in the 400m hurdles, running 51.90 to become the first woman under 52 seconds. The previous record was held by Dalilah Muhammad, who placed second in 52.42 to secure her spot in Tokyo, where she will defend her Olympic title from 2016. Both athletes hail from the tri-state area and competed at the 2017 Millrose Games, and now their friendly rivalry has taken the 400m hurdles to new heights. McLaughlin and Muhammad will likely win gold and silver next month, the only question is who will come out on top.

On the men’s side, Rai Benjamin dazzled in the 400m hurdles, running 46.83, the second fastest mark of all time. Benjamin, the Mount Vernon, NY product who won the 300m at the 2020 Millrose Games, will head to Japan brimming with confidence as he prepares to take on his primary rival for gold, Norway’s Karsten Warholm.

Rai Benjamin was first to earn a ticket to Tokyo in the men’s 400m hurdles. Photo credit: Kevin Morris of Track & Field News.

The legendary Allyson Felix made her fifth Olympic team, taking second in the women’s 400m. The six-time Olympic gold medalist also won the 60m at the 2016 Millrose Games, and she is likely the greatest American sprinter of all time. Felix was followed home in third by Wadeline Jonathas, who secured her first Olympic berth a year after winning the 400m at the 2020 Millrose Games.

Never to be counted out, Matthew Centrowitz will have the chance to defend his Olympic gold medal after he finished second in the men’s 1500m. Always in the right spot, Centrowitz is one of the savviest racers of his era, and he won back-to-back Wanamaker Miles in 2015 and 2016.

Keni Harrison earned redemption, winning the women’s 100m hurdles to make her first Olympic team. Harrison set the world record in her event in 2016, but shockingly failed to qualify for Rio. After exorcising those demons, Harrison, who won the 60m hurdles at the 2020 Millrose Games, will join Millrose competitors Brianna McNeal and Christina Clemons in Tokyo as Team USA attempts to sweep the podium for the second consecutive Olympics.

Former high school standout Grant Fisher has realized his potential, placing second in both the 5,000m and 10,000m to make his first Olympic team. Fisher won the 3000m at the 2019 Millrose Games, and has steadily ascended to the top of the sport since his record-breaking high school days.

Vashti Cunningham took the crown in the women’s high jump, following her back-to-back Millrose victories in 2018 and 2019. Also going to Tokyo is Inika McPherson, who won at Millrose back in 2013.

Devon Allen and Daniel Roberts are going to the Olympics after placing second and third in the men’s 110m hurdles. Allen won the 60m hurdles at the 2019 Millrose Games, and Roberts did the same in 2020. These two athletes will join event winner Grant Holloway, who nearly set the world record in the semifinal.

Noah Lyles, who won a Millrose title as a high school athlete on the 4x200m relay, won a hard-fought 200m to make his first Olympic team. The defending world champion will go to Tokyo as the likely favorite for gold.

The other Millrose Games Champions who achieved their Olympic dreams last week are Javianne Oliver (women’s 100m), Alicia Monson (women’s 10,000m), Sandi Morris (women’s pole vault), Ronnie Baker (men’s 100m), Michael Cherry (men’s 400m), and Marquis Dendy (men’s long jump). Among the other Millrose competitors to qualify, Gabby Thomas deserves special mention. The former Harvard standout ran 21.61 to win the 200m, making her the second-fastest woman ever.

Congratulations to all of these incredible athletes, as well as everybody else who qualified to represent Team USA at the Olympic Games. If these Olympic Trials were any indication, this outstanding unit can be expected to lead the world in medals once again. Best of luck to all, and we hope to see many of these athletes back at Millrose in 2022!

2022 Millrose Games Date Announced

The 114th Millrose Games will be held on Saturday, January 29, 2022 at The Armory Track & Field Center in New York City.