U.S. Olympic Men’s Track & Field Team

The official Olympic term for track and field is “athletics.” and is the embodiment of the Olympic motto, which translated means “faster, higher, stronger.” The ancient Greek games began with mere footraces. Today the track and field events, from the 100 meter sprint to the marathon to the discus throw, showcase some of the Olympic Games most high-profile competitors.

Between the men and women’s teams, the U.S. will have 15 Olympic medalists, 31 world outdoor championship medalists and 11 individual outdoor American record holders. On the men’s team, previous gold medal winners are Shawn Crawford, Jeremy Wariner, Angelo Taylor and Darold Williamson. The average age of the men’s track and field team this year is nearly 27.

The head coach of the men’s Olympic track and field team for the United States is Bubba Thornton, who is the head of the University of Texas at Austin’s track and field team.

100 meters

Tyson Gay (Clermont, Fla.)

Walter Dix (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

Darvis Patton (Fort Worth, Texas)

200 meters

Walter Dix (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

Shawn Crawford (Los Angeles, Calif.)

Wallace Spearmon (Fayetteville, Ark.)

400 meters

LaShawn Merritt (Suffolk, Va.)

Jeremy Wariner (Waco, Texas)

David Neville (Valencia, Calif.)

800 meters

Nick Symmonds (Springfield, Ore.)

Andrew Wheating (Eugene, Ore.)

Christian Smith (Eugene, Ore.)

1,500 meters

Bernard Lagat (Tucson, Ariz.)

Lopez Lomong (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

Leonel Manzano (Austin, Texas)

5,000 meters

Bernard Lagat (Tucson, Ariz.)  

Matt Tegenkamp (Madison, Wisc.)

Ian Dobson (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.)

10,000 meters

Abdi Abdirahman (Tucson, Ariz.)

Galen Rupp (Portland, Ore.)

Jorge Torres (Boulder, Colo.)

Marathon

Ryan Hall (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.)

Dathan Ritzenhein (Eugene, Ore.)

Brian Sell (Rochester Hills, Mich.)

4×100 meter relay pool

Tyson Gay (Clermont, Fla.) 

Walter Dix (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) 

Darvis Patton (Fort Worth, Texas)

Travis Padgett (Shelby, N.C.) 

Rodney Martin (Raleigh, N.C.) 

Leroy Dixon (Los Angeles)

plus anyone already on the roster in an individual event  

4×400 meter relay pool

LaShawn Merritt (Suffolk, Va.) 

Jeremy Wariner (Waco, Texas) 

David Neville (Valencia, Calif.)

Reggie Witherspoon (Baltimore)

Calvin Smith (Gainesville, Fla.)

Darold Williamson (Waco, Texas)

plus anyone already on the roster in an individual event

110 meter hurdles

David Oliver (Kissimmee, Fla.) 

Terrence Trammell (Atlanta) 

David Payne (Hampton, Va.) 

400 meter hurdles

Bershawn Jackson (Raleigh, N.C.)

Kerron Clement (Gainesville, Fla.)

Angelo Taylor (Decatur, Ga.)

3,000 meter steeplechase

Anthony Famiglietti (Knoxville, Tenn.)

William Nelson (Longmont, Colo.)

Joshua McAdams (Orem, Utah)

20 kilometer race walk

Kevin Eastler (Aurora, Colo.)

50 kilometer race walk

Philip Dunn (San Diego)

High jump

Jesse Williams (Eugene, Ore.)

Andra Manson (Austin, Texas)

Dustin Jonas (Lincoln, Neb.)

Pole vault

Derek Miles (Tea, S.D.)

Jeff Hartwig (Jonesboro, Ark.)

Brad Walker (Mountlake Terrace, Wash.)

Long jump

Trevell Quinley (Chula Vista, Calif.)

Brian Johnson (Baton Rouge, La.)

Miguel Pate (St. Francisville, La.)

Triple jump

Aarik Wilson (Lawrence, Kan.)

Kenta Bell (Decatur, Ga.)

Rafeeq Curry (Tallahassee, Fla.)

Shot put

Reese Hoffa (Athens, Ga.)

Christian Cantwell (Columbia, Mo.)

Adam Nelson (Charlottesville, Va.)

Discus throw

Ian Waltz (Chula Vista, Calif.)

Michael Robertson (Beebe, Ark.)

Casey Malone (Fort Collins, Colo.)

Hammer throw

A.G. (Alfred) Kruger (Ashland, Ohio)

Javelin throw

Leigh Smith (Destrehan, La.)

Mike Hazle (Chula Vista, Calif.)

Breaux Greer (Scottsdale, Ariz.)

Decathlon

Bryan Clay (Glendora, Calif.)

Trey Hardee (Austin, Texas)

Tom Pappas (Manhattan, Kan.)

To learn more about track and field events in the Olympics, go to the official website. If you want to see all the U.S. Olympic Qualifiers in every sport for the Beijing games starting in August, start your search on this official U.S. Olympics page.