Rant: The USATF event was marred by possibly the worst viewing situation in all of sports. The livestream on Peacock was last minute and arrived at the conclusion of the afternoon. No thought was placed into how viewership of track and field has evolved and grown. YouTube remains the best opportunity to catch parts of the Championships on NBC Sports, but the channel hasn’t created a playlist strictly for the USATF videos in 2023. There is hardly any coverage of each individual event in field and the events which are covered are extended into 7-8 minute multi-angle videos when that time could have been placed into building up educational opportunities for athletes who weren’t given any camera time. It’s absolutely shameful that an athlete like former LSU standout Juvaughn Harrison, who has been dominating High Jump in the Diamond League, doesn’t have a dedicated video. Vashti Cunningham who continues to shine in women’s high jump doesn’t have a dedicated video. Because there isn’t a play list the daily events and championship finals are jumbled together with video from other sports in the video view panel on YouTube. On Peacock there aren’t any markers or video breakout sessions to quickly find the sport you’re interested in. Whatever television contract USATF has worked out, whoever the marketing team is, they are doing a disservice to the sport.
But at least there is video of the amazing 19-year-old wonder Erriyon Knighton (above) taking down an undefeated Fred Kerley. There is also the record setting Gabby Thomas defeating Sha’Carri Richardson who put on a show in presentation in skill all weekend. The weekend saw the fruits of an sportswear industry in upheaval. Nike remained dominant in sponsoring athletes, but this year had an amazingly diverse mix of brands supporting athletes. You might be surprised that the Tracksmith and Lululemon won more events than long-time stalwarts like Puma and New Balance. 10 different brands took gold in the nationals. That’s a good sign for retailers if brands actually do the work in creating launches, or at least content to share with their retail partners, or for the smaller guys themselves.
| Event | Championship Winning Athlete | Brand Worn |
| 100m Men | Cravont Charleston | Tracksmith |
| 100m Women | Sha’Carri Richardson | Nike |
| 200m Men | Erriyon Knighton | adidas |
| 200m Women | Gabby Thomas | New Balance |
| 400m Men | Bryce Deadmon | Nike |
| 400m Women | Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone | New Balance |
| 800m Women | Nia Akins | Brooks |
| 800m Men | Bryce Hoppel | adidas |
| 1500m Men | Yared Nuguse | On Running |
| 1500m Women | Nikki Hiltz | Lululemon |
| 5000m Men | Abdihamid Nur | Nike |
| 5000m Women | Elise Cranny | Nike |
| 110m Hurdles Men | Daniel Roberts | Nike |
| 100m Hurdles Women | Nia Ali | Nike |
| 400m Hurdles Men | Rai Benjamin | Nike |
| 400m Hurdles Women | Shamier Little | adidas |
| 3000m men’s steeplechase | Kenneth Rooks | BYU-Nike |
| 3000m Steeplechase Women | Krissy Gear | HOKA |
| 10000m Women | Elise Cranny | Nike |
| 10000m Men | Woody Kincaid | Nike |
| Hammer Throw Men | Rudy Winkler | Tracksmith |
| Hammer Throw Women | Brooke Andersen | Nike |
| Long Jump Men | Marquis Dendy | Unattached |
| Women’s Long Jump | Tara Davis-Woodhall | Lululemon |
| High Jump Men | JuVaughn Harrison | Puma |
| High Jump Women | Vashti Cunningham | Nike |
| Javelin Throw Men | Curtis Thompson | Tracksmith |
| Javelin Throw Women | Maddie Harris | Nebraska-adidas |
| Shot Put Men | Ryan Crouser | Nike |
| Shot Put Women | Maggie Ewen | Nike |
| Pole Vault Men | Chris Nilsen | Nike |
| Pole High Women | Katie Moon | Nike |
| Triple Jump Men | Donald Scott | adidas |
| Women’s Triple Jump | Tori Franklin | Nike |
| Discus Throw Men | Sam Mattis | Nike |
| Discus Women | Valarie Allman | Asics |
| Heptathlon Women | Anna Hall | adidas |
| Decathlon Men | Harrison Williams | Nike |
| Master’s Women 200m | Angee Henry-Nott | – |
| Master’s Men 200m | David Gibbon | – |
| Men’s 20K RaceWalk | Nick Christie | – |
| Women’s 20K RaceWalk | Maria Michta-Coffey | – |
Brand Championship Breakdown:
- Nike 19 wins
- adidas 6 wins
- Tracksmith 3 wins
- Lululemon 2 wins
- New Balance 2 wins
- On Running 1 win
- Puma 1 wins
- Asics 1 win
- Brooks 1 win
- Hoka 1 win
Sources:
USATF Outdoor Championships 2023 Results: Here Are The Champions – FloTrack
2023 USATF Men’s Championships Final Formchart – Track & Field News (trackandfieldnews.com)