The 4 Events You Need to Watch This Weekend: Lyles v Coleman, Chelimo & Kelati Tackle the 10K, & More

For the second straight weekend, there is no Diamond League meet (the series returns next weekend in Rabat) but there are a number of pro meets taking place around the world. By themselves, none of them are amazing, but each has an event or two worth watching. As a track fan, it sure would be nice if those events could be combined into two-hour meet, perhaps as some sort of worldwide track & field tour, as opposed to being spread across three days and three continents. Alas…

The biggest head-to-head showdown of the weekend comes in Bermuda, where Noah Lyles will face Christian Coleman in the 100 meters on Sunday. Earlier in the day, 7,500 miles away, world champ Fred Kerley will also be in action as he will race his first 100 meters of 2023 at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Yokohama, Japan. For distance fans, the big meet is in London on Saturday — the Night of the 10,000m PBs, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary by welcoming such stars as Worlds silver medalist Stanley Waithaka Mburu and Americans Paul Chelimo and Weini Kelati, who will be hunting World Championship standards.

Here’s your guide to the four best events of the weekend, presented in chronological order.

1) The $8,000 800s (Friday, 9:02 p.m. ET)

Meet: Track Night NYC

*Schedule/entries *Free YouTube stream

What do you do if you’re a smaller meet looking to create some buzz? Well if you’re Track Night NYC, a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meet that will be held at Icahn Stadium on Friday, you try to load up on one big-time event. The result: the $8,000 800s, where the winners of the men’s and women’s 800s will both receive $8,000. Runners-up get $1,000. Everyone else? Zip.

Hoppel beat Harris to win USA Indoors in February

It’s not a bad idea. Professional athletes tend to follow the money, and in the running world, $8,000 is a lot of money (a Diamond League win pays $10,000). Perhaps unsurprisingly, a number of top US 800 runners are showing up for this one. The men’s race is led by reigning US champ Bryce Hoppel and also features 1:43 man Tonatiu Lopez of Mexico, veteran Americans Johnny Gregorek and Isaiah Harris, 1:44 Kenyan Festus Lagat, and Puerto Rico’s Ryan Sanchez, who has been in good form this spring (1:13.97 for 600 in March, 1:46 win at Miramar in April). Hoppel was beaten in his 800 opener on March 30 by DII star Oussama El Bouchayby but won his next race at the Kansas Relays — albeit in a slow 1:50.74.

It will take much faster than that to win on Friday, but in keeping with the high-stakes, winner-takes-most format, there will be no pacer in this race. (Athletes from the B section are also eligible for prize money, so there is still an incentive to run fast).

The women’s race has a clear favorite in World Indoor champion Ajee’ Wilson, who has come out firing in 2023, winning her first six races between indoors and outdoors. 1:58 performer Allie Wilson figures to be her biggest competition, but keep an eye on Rhode Island high schooler Sophia Gorriaran. Gorriaran’s pb of 2:00.58 puts her #5 on the all-time US high school list and this is the same meet last year in which Juliette Whittaker became just the second high schooler under 2:00.

2) Top Americans (and many more) looking to run fast 10,000s (Saturday, 3:40 p.m. ET)

Meet: Night of the 10,000m PBs

*Schedule/entries *Free YouTube stream

The Night of the 10,000m PBs has been one of the sport’s great success stories during the 10 years of existence, drawing thousands of fans to North London with the promise of beer tents, fast times, and the chance to get closer to the athletes than any other meet on the circuit. The event has served as the British Olympic and World trials for the 10,000 meters — and will again in 2023 — and this year’s fields are among the strongest in event history.

Stanley Waithaka Mburu of Kenya — the reigning Worlds silver medalist — is the top draw, and despite his runner-up finish last year at Worlds, Mburu has never actually hit the 2023 Worlds standard of 27:10.00 (if qualifying ended today, Mburu would still be able to get in via his world ranking). That’s the pace the leaders will be trying to hit, a group that could also include 22-year-old Ren Tazawa (27:23 pb, second all-time among Japanese runners), Burundi’s Egide Ntakarutimana (27:24 pb), Brit Andy Butchart (27:36 pb), and Israel’s Gashau Ayale (who ran 2:05 at the Seville Marathon in February).

Kelati and Kurgat at USA XC in January (Kevin Morris photo)

American fans will be watching Paul Chelimo closely. Chelimo had a disappointing debut for his new sponsor, Kiprun, by running 62:22 at the Berlin Half on April 2 but is back on the track, where he has won three medals in his career — though all of them came at 5,000 meters. Chelimo’s coach Scott Simmons did not reveal a specific time goal but told LetsRun.com, “We want to test his aerobic strength before looking at the 5000m. He’s more prepared than he was with his windy cold Stockholm debut in 2019, so I’d like to see where his fitness is.” Chelimo ran 27:43 at that race in Stockholm and has not run a 10,000 on the track since.

The women’s race does not boast quite the same level of talent. Ethiopia’s Hawi Feysa (6th at World XC) is the top entrant, but home favorite Jessica Warner-Judd (11th at 2022 Worlds) could spring the upset. Warner-Judd already has the Worlds standard of 30:40.00 — which is extra important this year. World Athletics changed the qualifying system in the 10,000 this year, awarding eight spots to athletes based on their world ranking in cross country. Which means that, as of now, no woman will be getting a bid based on their 10,000 world ranking (which is different from the the XC ranking). Barring scratches, if you’re not in the top eight in the XC rankings or you don’t have the standard, you’re not going to Worlds.

That’s why Americans Weini Kelati (31:10 pb, 5th at 2022 USAs) and Ednah Kurgat (31:21 pb, 18th at World XC) are flying all the way to England for this race. There aren’t many chances remaining to hit the standard, and without the standard, their chances of running at Worlds this year are virtually zero.

3) Fred Kerley opens up in the 100m (3:45 a.m. ET Sunday)

Meet: Seiko Golden Grand Prix

*Schedule *Start lists *WA Gold meets are broadcast free on youtube for certain IPs normally (Check WA for more broadcast rights)

It would be a lot more fun if Kerley was in Bermuda racing Noah Lyles and Christian Coleman, but considering Kerley is slated to race Marcell Jacobs next week in Rabat and Lyles next month over 200 meters in New York, it’s not fair to call him out for dodging anyone. If anything, Kerley should be praised for competing so much. With the bye as defending world champion and a big new Asics contract, Kerley could have stayed at home training and put all his energy into peaking for Budapest. Instead, he’s given the entire world a chance to watch him compete. By the end of next month, Kerley will have competed on five continents already this year.

Fred Kerley’s 2023 race schedule (so far)

It’s not hard to figure out why Kerley is running in Japan this weekend — it’s the home country of his sponsor, Asics, and he’s been there all week doing appearances. Considering no one else in the field this weekend has run faster than 10.08, Kerley should win this one handily — a nice tuneup for his looming showdown with Jacobs in Rabat.

There aren’t many other races worth watching in Yokohama, but for middle distance fans, Japanese record holder Nozomi Tanaka (3:59 pb) will be racing American Dani Jones in the women’s 1500.

4) Noah Lyles vs. Christian Coleman in Bermuda (Sunday, 2:27 p.m. ET)

Meet: USATF Bermuda Games

*Schedule/entries *Watch live on NBC, 2-4 p.m. ET

Both Noah Lyles and Christian Coleman have something to prove in the 100 meters in 2023. Lyles, who has dominated the 200 meters in recent years, wants to show he can conquer the world in the shorter event. Coleman has already done that, winning the 2019 world title, but he was only 6th in last year’s world final in Eugene. For Coleman, 27, it’s about showing he can return to the top after his 18-month ban for whereabouts failures in 2020 and 2021.

The potential is there for both men. When Coleman won Worlds in 2019, he had only one loss at 100m all year — to Lyles in Shanghai. Lyles then flashed his improved start earlier this year by running a pb of 6.51 over 60m to beat Trayvon Bromell in Boston — only for Coleman to remind him who is boss of the 60m in New York the following weekend.

Lyles won his 100m opener this year, running 9.95 in Gainesville on April 15, but upset the following weekend by a high schooler — albeit a very fast high schooler — when he finished second in 9.92 (+2.6) to Issam Asinga‘s 9.83 in Clermont. Since then, Lyles added a 150m win over Erriyon Knighton and Ferdinand Omanyala in Atlanta and should be ready for a real test on Sunday.

Coleman, meanwhile, is undefeated in 2023 and looked good in defeating Botswanan star Letsile Tebogo over 200 meters in Miramar last month, running 20.00. Sunday will be his first 100-meter race of 2023.

Removing Kerley (who has the bye), that leaves Lyles, Coleman, Marvin Bracy, Trayvon Bromell, Micah Williams, Michael Norman and more battling it out in July at USAs for just three spots at Worlds. The winner here will stake an early claim for one of those spots.

While Lyles and Coleman are the big names in Bermuda, don’t overlook Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake. Last year, Blake ran 9.92 as a 20-year-old and made it to the semis at Worlds. He’s a big talent.