US nationals act as LA 2028 dress rehearsal as Hiltz, Richardson and Lutkenhaus take centre stage
A quieter-than-usual national meet still produced notable performances as Nikki Hiltz, Sha’Carri Richardson and Cooper Lutkenhaus seized the opportunity at the USA Track & Field national outdoor championships. With no Olympics or worlds this year, the weekend served as a low-stakes but meaningful showcase for established stars and emerging contenders.
In two years’ time, tens of thousands of fans will pack into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum — with tens of millions watching around the world — as the world’s fastest and strongest athletes compete at the 2028 Olympics. That global spectacle contrasts sharply with the scene this week in New York, where around 5,000 fans filed into New York’s Icahn Stadium for the national championships. The event offered athletes a chance to test themselves and build momentum in the long run-up to LA 2028.
The meet lacked the presence of a world championships or Olympic selection on the line, which lowered the immediate stakes for many competitors. Nonetheless, a number of high-profile names used the competition to make an impression; Nikki Hiltz, Sha’Carri Richardson and Cooper Lutkenhaus were among those who took advantage of the moment. Their performances helped define an edition of the nationals shaped more by opportunity than by do-or-die qualification drama.
While the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum looms as the future centrepiece for Olympic athletics, this weekend’s Icahn Stadium gathering represented a more intimate encounter between athletes and fans. The contrast between a stadium that will host tens of thousands and a meet attended by around 5,000 underlines the cyclical nature of attention in the sport. For athletes, the smaller crowd did not necessarily diminish the significance of strong showings.
For organisers and competitors alike, national championships in a non-Olympic, non-world year still have purpose: they offer competitive miles, measure progress and provide a platform for rising names to stake a claim. The presence of familiar international-level competitors alongside hopefuls ensured the calibre of competition remained high, even without global titles at stake. That mix of established talent and aspiring athletes gave the meet a sense of both continuity and fresh possibility.
Athletes and fans were reminded that elite track and field operates on a long timeline, with major events like the 2028 Olympics punctuating years of preparation. The USA Track & Field national outdoor championships at Icahn Stadium thus functioned as a useful waypoint, allowing performers to gauge form and gather momentum. In that respect, the weekend resembled a dress rehearsal for what supporters and athletes will experience on a much larger stage in Los Angeles.
The national meet showed that, even when the stakes are lower, performances can still carry weight for athletes plotting toward LA 2028. For those who impressed at Icahn Stadium, the coming two years offer time to build on what they achieved this weekend and to prepare for the wider spotlight at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.