2020 Tokyo Olympic Distance Previews

by LetsRun.com
July 29, 2021

There are a lot of events at an Olympic track and field /athletics meeting. Below you will find the race previews we have published for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Come back later as we are publishing them a few days before the event starts.

Women’s 800: USA Leads the Way as Teenager Athing Mu Goes For Gold In the history of the Olympics, only two American women have ever won Olympic gold in an event longer than 400. Could 19-year old Athing Mu make it 3? Yes she can.

Men’s 800: Can Olympic Medallists Nijel Amos & Clayton Murphy Upgrade to Gold, or Will a New Star Emerge? The GOAT David Rudisha will not be in Tokyo, which means we will have a new Olympic champion in 2021. Can world leader Nijel Amos finally get it done on the big stage? If not, this race is wide open.

Women’s 1500: Can Anyone Stop Faith Kipyegon From Becoming Just The Third Repeat 1500 Champion? Only Seb Coe (1980 and 1984) and Tatyana Kazankina (1976 and 1980) have ever repeated as Olympic 1500 champs. Faith Kipyegon hopes the exclusive club increases in size by 50% this year.

Men’s 1500: Timothy Cheruiyot Is the Man to Beat, But Will We Get Another Olympic Upset? Our Jonathan Gault thinks an upset is in the cards and picks Josh Kerr to win it.

Women’s Steeplechase: In A Race With 5 Legitimate Gold Medal Contenders, Can Emma Coburn Bring Home The Gold To The USA? Three women in the field have won global titles but none have ever won Olympic gold. This should be a great one. *Discuss

Men’s Steeple: Lamecha Girma Battles Soufiane El Bakkali in an Event in Flux 2016 medalists Conseslus KiprutoEvan Jager, and Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad are all absent, as is the 2019 Diamond League champ, Getnet Wale. Is this finally the year when Kenya’s dominance (nine straight men’s Olympic steeple titles) comes to an end?

Women’s 5K : Part 1 of Sifan Hassan’s Triple? Or Will It Be Gold for Gudaf Tsegay? Hassan may try for an unprecedented three women’s distance golds, and if she pulls it off it would go down as perhaps the greatest feat in women’s Olympic track & field history. Consider: only seven women have won three individual Olympic golds in their career. Hassan is trying to do that in the span of nine days.

Men’s 5k: 2020 Olympic Men’s 5K Preview: Redemption for Uganda? Gold for Mohamed Katir? A Medal for America? Katir was a 3:36/13:50 guy at the start of the year but could end it as Olympic champion. Or could Paul Chelimo win the US’s first gold in this event since Bob Schul in 1964?

Women’s 10k: 2020 Olympic Women’s 10K Preview: Can Hassan Defeat World Record Holder Gidey in her Sixth Race in Nine Days? Sifan Hassan might have her hands full with Letesenbet Gidey even if she wasn’t trying to triple. We preview the women’s 10,000m.

Men’s 10K: Who Will Follow in the Footsteps of Legends? Haile GebrselassieKenenisa Bekele, and Mo Farah have split the last six Olympic 10k titles as Haile owned the ’90s, Kenny owned the ’00s, and Farah owned the ’10s. Who is going to rule the 20s?Uganda has WR holder Joshua Cheptegei & Jacob Kiplimo who will be looking to earn their country’s 1st Olympic distance medals on the track, Ethiopia has Selemon Barega Yomif Kejelcha, and Kenya has a very fit Rodgers Kwemoi.

Additional pre-Tokyo coverage: Jake Riley Dreaming Big: “There’s a Big Part of Me That Wants to Try and Go For a Medal” Jake Riley’s rise to the top of the US marathoning world has not been an easy one. He’s got his sights set even higher in Tokyo.

 

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