Track and field is arguably America’s most well-known Olympic event. The sprint events led the way with Noah Lyles, who won gold in the 100 meter and bronze in the 200 meter; Sha’Carri Richardson, who won gold in the 100 meter and 4×100 meter relay; Masai Russell in 100 meter hurdles; and many, many more. Even distance events had their moment in the spotlight — moments which are very few and far between in popular culture. Cole Hocker and Yared Nuguse stunned by beating Jakob Ingebrigtsen for gold and bronze, respectively, in the 1500 meter. Grant Fisher won bronze in the 10,000 meter distance, and Kenneth Rooks had an amazing final lap to grab silver in the 3,000 meter steeplechase. Sifan Hassan, although not an American, deserves a place in any and all news, as she completed the 5,000 meter, 10,000 meter and marathon distances, and won medals in all three!
Despite its popularity every four years, track and field competitions outside of the Olympics remain stubbornly obscure in comparison. The professional track season, named the Diamond League, is a series of around 14 meets which begin in late spring (April–May) and end with a final in September. These meets happen all over the world. This season, locations ranged from Eugene, Ore. to Xiamen, China to Rome, Italy. Every meet had breakout moments! Whether it’s Faith Kipyegon or Ingebrigtsen breaking world records, or rival races like the exhibition 100 meter between Karsten Warholm and Mondo Duplantis, there was always something entertaining going on.
The Diamond League Final was held in Brussels, Belgium this year and saw many Olympics rematches. Julien Alfred took the 100 meter title once again, leaving Richardson to finish eighth and withdraw from her 200 meter the next day. Jasmine Camacho-Quinn took the 100 meter hurdle title with ease, snubbing gold medalist Russell, who finished out of the top three. Ingebrigtsen claimed a first-place finish in the 1500 meter just ahead of now-rival Hocker.
The Diamond League is currently available to watch on NBC Sports and Peacock. Starting next season, it will be (to much controversy and uproar from track fans) only available behind a paywall on FloTrack.
Partially in response to this decision, a new professional track league named Grand Slam Track was announced in February 2024. The series, created by former sprinter Michael Johnson, is set to have its first season begin in April 2025. It will be shown on cable television, although the network and other rights information has not been released.