USATF to Implement First-Round Byes in Shot Put, Pole Vault at 2025 USAs, Scraps Plans to Do Same in Steeple

USATF will implement a pilot program at the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships (July 31-August 3 in Eugene) in which it will award first-round byes to select athletes in the men’s and women’s shot put and pole vault. For now, the byes will limited to only those two events and only the 2025 championships, but if feedback is positive, USATF could offer byes in other events in future years.

USATF had initially planned on adding byes for top athletes in the men’s and women’s steeplechase at the 2025 US champs but scrapped those plans after receiving negative feedback from athletes and coaches.

In previous US championships (outside of Olympic Trials years), the shot put and pole vault had been staged as straight finals with large fields. As a result, athletes would have to wait a significant amount of time between attempts early in the competition. Over the last five US championships (not including Olympic Trials), the average US shot put final has featured 17.4 athletes and the average US pole vault final has featured 17.9 athletes. Olympic and World Championship shot put finals feature just 12 athletes. Olympic and World Championship pole vault finals vary in size because the top 12 plus ties qualify for the final.

The new format for the 2025 US championships will introduce a 16-person preliminary round and 12-person final in both the pole vault and shot put. There will also be up to four byes available that would allow athletes to qualify directly to the final. These byes would be offered to the following athletes:

• The 2025 USATF indoor champion
• Top American at a specific meet during the 2025 regular season (either the USATF NYC Grand Prix, USATF LA Grand Prix, or USATF Throws Festival)
• The two athletes with the best performances during the 2025 season before USAs

The aim, in those events, is to reward top performers from the regular season and create a more efficient final structure with athletes not having to wait as long in between attempts. USATF held a webinar on Monday to explain the program to athletes and coaches and so far, the reception among shot put/pole vault athletes and coaches has been largely positive.

Initially, USATF had also planned on offering up to four byes to the final in the men’s and women’s steeplechase at the 2025 US championships. Those byes would have gone to the top American at the 2025 USATF LA Grand Prix Distance Classic and the Americans with the three fastest performances during the 2025 season. But after receiving negative feedback on the proposal from athletes and coaches, USATF decided not to award byes in the steeplechase.

USATF’s High Performance Division has been discussing the idea of byes for top athletes for a few years, and it is not a new concept in the sport: the top-ranked athletes in the sprint events at the European Championships receive byes directly into the semifinal round. In addition, reigning world champions are offered byes into the next edition of the World Championships; historically, USATF has only required an athlete to show up and compete in a single round at the US championships in order to receive that bye.

A source told LetsRun.com that the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has also instructed USATF to become more focused on winning medals at global championships and that the idea of offering byes is related to the directive from the USOPC. The thinking behind the proposal was that by allowing top athletes to compete in one fewer round, they would come out of the Trials slightly more refreshed and in better position to medal at the Olympics or World Championships.

Under the current US championship format, Team USA has won the most medals in track & field at each of the last nine Olympics, and its 34 medals from Paris last summer were the most by any country since the US won 40 at the 1984 Olympics on home soil in Los Angeles. And Team USA’s 33 medals at the 2022 Worlds in Eugene were the most by any country in the history of the World Championships.

Discussion: What do we think of USATF proposal of allowing byes into the final at USA Champs?