We marveled when Oslo meet organizers introduced Usain Bolt in a race car last month. It appears the London Anniversary Games did one better. Bolt came out in a rocket at the Olympic Stadium on Friday.
Bolt’s return to the site of his triple gold performance in 2012 begins with a 100 meters at 4:48 p.m. ET on Friday. He’s also expected to run in the 4×100 relay Saturday.
NBC Sports and NBC Sports Gold combine to air daily live coverage of the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships from Thursday through Sunday in Des Moines, Iowa.
Athletes will compete for national titles and spots on the team for the first Athletics World Cup in London next month. More details on Athletics World Cup qualifying here.
While veteran Olympic champions will miss the event, a new generation of sprinters headlines the entry lists. A full competition schedule is here.
Noah Lyles and Michael Norman, who were fourth and fifth in the 2016 Olympic Trials 200m as 18-year-olds, have been the most impressive U.S. male sprinters this season and go head-to-head for the first time in two years.
Sydney McLaughlin, who reached the Rio Olympic 400m hurdles semifinals as a 17-year-old, is entered in the 400m.
Olympic and world champions also scatter the distance races and field events, including Matthew Centrowitz and Jenny Simpson (1500m), Emma Coburn (3000m steeplechase), Christian Taylor (Olympic triple jump champ also entered in the 400m), Tianna Bartoletta and Jeff Henderson (long jump), Jenn Suhr (pole vault) and Michelle Carter and Ryan Crouser (shot put).
OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!
MORE: Usain Bolt’s Olympic spikes stolen
Follow @nbcolympictalk| Day | Time (ET) | Network | Key Events |
| Thursday | 2-11 p.m. | NBC Sports Gold | 100m first round, 10,000m finals |
| Friday | 12:30-11 p.m. | NBC Sports Gold | 100m finals, 400m semifinals |
| 11 p.m.-1 a.m. | NBCSN, Gold | ||
| Saturday | 11 a.m.-6 p.m. | NBC Sports Gold | Finals: 400m, 1500m, 100m hurdles |
| 4-6 p.m. | NBC, Gold | ||
| Sunday | 12:30-6 p.m. | NBC Sports Gold | Finals: 200m, 5000m, 110m hurdles |
| 4-6 p.m. | NBC, Gold |
Olympic gold medalists Allyson Felix, Justin Gatlin, Tori Bowie, LaShawn Merritt, Brianna McNeal, Kerron Clement and Dalilah Muhammad are among the stars not entered in this week’s USATF Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.
Christian Coleman, who took 100m silver at 2017 Worlds between Gatlin and Usain Bolt, will also miss the event.
Any athlete not on the current entry list will not compete.
Big-name absences aren’t shocking this year given it is the only year in the four-year cycle without an Olympics or world championships to qualify for at nationals.
Felix, Gatlin, Bowie and Coleman have all dealt with injuries or withdrawn from international meets this spring. Merritt hasn’t raced on the Diamond League circuit this season.
Felix, the American record holder with 25 combined Olympic and world outdoor championships medals, will not race at senior nationals for the first time since 2002, when she was 16 years old.
A new generation of sprinters will headline nationals, including Noah Lyles and Michael Norman in the 200m and Sydney McLaughlin in the 400m. Phyllis Francis, the world 400m champion, is entered in the 200m. Kori Carter, the world 400m hurdles champion, is in the 100m hurdles with world-record holder Kendra Harrison.
OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!
MORE: Usain Bolt’s Olympic spikes stolen
Follow @nzaccardi
