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How to watch the Boston Marathon

By Nick ZaccardiApr 10, 2018, 12:27 PM EDT
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Brooke Raboutou is first U.S. Olympic sport climbing qualifier Danielle Williams cemented as world No. 1 hurdler in Birmingham Women’s hurdlers take center stage as Diamond League hits crunch time; how to watch

The 122nd Boston Marathon airs live on NBCSN and streams commercial free for NBC Sports Gold “Track and Field Pass” subscribers on Monday at 8:30 a.m. ET.

A preview show airs Sunday at 4 p.m. ET on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA.

NBCSN and Olympic Channel coverage also streams on NBCSports.com/live and the NBC Sports app for subscribers. Olympic Channel coverage also streams on OlympicChannel.com and the Olympic Channel app for subscribers.

Monday’s race start times (ET)
9:02 a.m. – Wheelchair Men
9:04 a.m. – Wheelchair Women
9:32 a.m. – Elite Women
10 a.m. – Wave #1 + Elite Men

U.S. runners could sweep the women’s and men’s titles for the first time in 35 years.

Boston area native Shalane Flanagan headlines a deep U.S. women’s contingent, five months after notching her first major marathon title in New York City. The 36-year-old, four-time Olympian has a best finish of fourth in three Boston starts.

She’s joined by Jordan Hasay (third in Boston last year in her marathon debut), Desi Linden (second, fourth and fourth in past Boston Marathons) and Molly Huddle (third in her only previous marathon in New York City in 2016).

The last U.S. female runner to win Boston was Lisa Rainsberger in 1985.

The U.S. men are not as deep as the women but are strong at the top with Galen Rupp, the 2016 Olympic marathon bronze medalist and 2012 Olympic 10,000m silver medalist. Rupp, 31, has finished in the top three of all four of his marathons, each one faster than his last, including a runner-up in his Boston debut last year.

Abdi Abdirahman and Dathan Ritzenhein, who have seven Olympics between them, are also trying to become the first U.S. man to win Boston since Meb Keflezighi in 2014. Keflezighi, who retired from elite marathoning last year, is running in a non-competitive capacity on Monday.

The international fields are led by 2017 champions Edna Kiplagat and Geoffrey Kirui, both Kenyans.

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Brooke Raboutou is first U.S. Olympic sport climbing qualifier

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By OlympicTalkAug 18, 2019, 5:45 PM EDT
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Brooke Raboutou, 18, became the first American to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in sport climbing by reaching Tuesday’s combined final at the world championships in Hachioji, Japan, USA Climbing confirmed.

She qualified ninth into that final.

Raboutou, the daughter of two world-class climbers who has competed since age 7, became the seventh American across all sports to qualify for the 2020 Olympics after three open-water swimmers, two modern pentathletes and a triathlete.

Olympic sport climbing will feature one set of medals per gender, the event combining three disciplines: lead, speed and bouldering.

From Tokyo 2020: Speed climbing pits two climbers against each other, both climbing a fixed route on a 15-meter wall at a 95-degree angle. Winning times are generally between five and eight seconds. In bouldering, climbers scale a number of fixed routes on a four-meter wall in a specified time without safety ropes. In lead climbing, athletes attempt to climb as high as possible on a wall measuring over 15 meters in height within a fixed time with safety ropes.

A nation can qualify up to two athletes per gender into Olympic sport climbing.

The sport debuted at the Youth Olympics in 2018 in Buenos Aires, but no Americans were entered.

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Danielle Williams cemented as world No. 1 hurdler in Birmingham

By OlympicTalkAug 18, 2019, 2:52 PM EDT
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Brooke Raboutou is first U.S. Olympic sport climbing qualifier Women’s hurdlers take center stage as Diamond League hits crunch time; how to watch Swedish women’s hockey players boycott over pay dispute

The 100m hurdles has been one of the U.S.’ deepest events the last several years, but Jamaican Danielle Williams looks like the favorite at the world championships in early October.

Williams, who owns the world’s fastest time this year, easily beat world-record holder Kendra Harrison and Olympic champion Brianna McNeal at a Diamond League meet in Birmingham, Great Britain, on Sunday.

Williams crossed in 12.46 seconds despite hitting her knee on one hurdle, but still two tenths clear of Harrison, whose world record is 12.20. It marked Harrison’s first loss in nine meets this year and the first time a non-American has ever beaten her at a Diamond League stop.

It looked like Williams wouldn’t make it to worlds in Doha when she false started out of the Jamaican Championships. But the final was soon after strangely canceled, and Jamaican media reported last week that Williams, the 2015 World champion who failed to make the Rio Olympics, is eligible to be chosen next month by the federation.

The U.S. had at least the two fastest women in the world each of the previous six years. Then Williams re-emerged with a Jamaican record 12.32 on July 20.

The meet airs Monday on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA at 4 p.m. ET and NBCSN at 7 p.m. ET. The Diamond League moves to Paris on Saturday.

In other events Sunday, Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo overtook Brit Dina Asher-Smith and Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in the 200m in 22.24. Miller-Uibo extended her unbeaten streak to two years across all distances.

It appears Miller-Uibo will not be racing the 200m at worlds, given it overlaps with the 400m. She ranks third in the world this year at the shorter distance, trailing Jamaican Olympic champion Elaine Thompson, who clocked 22.00 on June 23 but was not in Sunday’s field. Miller-Uibo has ranked No. 1 at 400m four straight years.

Yohan Blake won the 100m in 10.07 seconds, holding off Brit Adam Gemili, who had the same time with a 2 meter/second tailwind. Blake, the second-fastest man in history with a personal best of 9.69, hasn’t been the same since suffering a series of leg injuries starting in 2013.

Sunday’s field lacked the world championships favorites — Americans Christian Coleman and Justin Gatlin, who clocked 9.81 and 9.87 on June 30.

Surprise U.S. champion Teahna Daniels placed third in her Diamond League 100m debut, clocking 11.24 seconds. The field lacked world championships favorites Thompson and Fraser-Pryce, who each ran 10.73 at the Jamaican Championships on June 21.

American record holder Ajeé Wilson won an 800m that lacked all three Rio Olympic medalists, who are barred from racing the event due to the IAAF’s new testosterone cap in middle distances. Wilson’s time, 2:00.76, was far off her 2019 world-leading time of 1:57.72 among eligible women.

Olympic and world heptathlon champion Nafi Thiam broke the Belgian long jump record twice, winning with a 6.86-meter leap. That ranks ninth in the world this year. The field lacked the last two Olympic champions, Americans Tianna Bartoletta and Brittney Reese.

A meeting of the last two Olympic pole vault champs went to Rio gold medalist Katerina Stefanidi of Greece, who cleared 4.75 meters in swirling wind. London 2012 champ Jenn Suhr was third but remains No. 1 in the world this year with a 4.91-meter clearance from March 30.

Croatian Sandra Perkovic, the 2012 and 2016 Olympic discus champion, lost her third straight Diamond League meet to start the season as she returns from injury. Perkovic, who placed third behind winner Cuban Yaimé Pérez, had not lost in back-to-back meets since returning from a six-month doping ban in 2011, according to Tilastopaja.org.

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