The adidas Atlanta City Games take place on May 18 and are going to be a showcase of speed on the streets of ATL. The event is North America’s only “street meet,” taking world-class track and field out of the traditional stadium and onto a temporary straightaway and into Atlanta’s Piedmont Park, and promises a thrilling mix of youth and professional track and field events. The youth competitions are up first, featuring high school and middle school athletes in pole vault, hurdles, and sprints, split among various age groups.
The professional events begin at 3:45pm Eastern Time with the men’s long jump, followed by multiple heats in the 100m, 110m hurdles, and 200m sprints for both men and women. We will also get a women’s pole vault before the highly anticipated finals for the 100m and 110m hurdles in the evening, in addition to the oft-not-contested 150 meters. The action concludes with the Midtown Mile races, featuring top high school runners competing in multiple heats.
A full schedule of events and startlists is available here
HOW TO WATCH: The adidas Atlanta City Games will be broadcast live, beginning at 4:45pm ET, on both the adidas YouTube channel in addition to Noah Lyles’s YouTube channel. Lyles will also be hosting a pre-show with interviews the day before, Friday, May 17 beginning at 6:30pm ET.
WATCH: ATLANTA CITY GAMES 2024
Featured Events and Athletes
LONG JUMP
Ju’Vaughn Harrison, who we typically see in the High Jump (and is the 2023 Budapest World Championships silver medalist) will be jumping laterally at this competition instead of vertically, as he has become best known lately. That is not to say he is going to be out of place. Harrison has an impressive personal best in the long jump of 8.47 meters and is a three-time NCAA Champion in the event. Also competing is Jarrion Lawson, the 2017 London World Championships long jump silver medalist, and 2022 USATF Indoor Champion. He has a personal best leap of 8.58 meters.
Tara Davis-Woodhall and Quanesha Burks will be competing in the long jump on the women’s side. We also get to see Anna Hall take to the skies. Davis-Woodhall is fresh off her biggest ever season opener (7.16 meters), and Burks has put up solid performances at both the Tom Jones Memorial and the Shanghai Diamond League, where she finished in first and second place, respectively.
100 METER HURDLES
What do Anna Hall, Tobi Amusan, and Keni Harrison all have in common? They are all awesome and are scheduled to start the 100 meter hurdles at the event. Hall is expected to double in Atlanta, competing in this event and the long jump (as noted above). Double duty should be a light day for Hall as we typically competing in six events in the Heptathlon. Amusan and Harrison, a current and former world record holder in the hurdles are sure to put on a show. Harrison’s personal best 12.20 seconds came at the 2016 London Diamond League, and Amusan’s (wind-legal) personal best is 12.12 seconds from the 2022 World Championships in Eugene. This will be Harrison’s first hurdle race since the 2023 Pre Classic, whereas Amusan has consistently been running hurdle races from indoor season all the way through last week’s Jamaica Invitational.
110 METER HURDLES
Grant Holloway will be sure to put on a show ahead of his date with Hansle Parchment and Daniel Roberts at the Pre Classic the following weekend.
100 METERS
These are going to be absolute barn burners. Ferdinand Omanyala, Erriyon Knighton, Ronnie Baker, and Udodi Onwuzurike all scheduled to start in the men’s race, and we will get Aleia Hobbs, Mikiah Brisco, and Anavia Battle for the women. Where to even start with the incredible resumes of these athletes? Just tune in – this one if going to be phenomenal.
200 METERS
Wayde van Niekerk, a two-time world champion in the 400m and the Olympic gold medalist who set the still-standing world record in Rio, will be up against Steven Gardiner, coming in hot from a nice 400 meter victory in Doha.
150 METERS
A marquee of the Atlanta City Games is the 150 meters, a typically non-contested event, and is (obviously) a nice sweet spot between sister distances 100 / 200. Usain Bolt holds the world record in the event with a 14.35 second finish, with Noah Lyles currently in third all-time (14.56 seconds from last year’s event).
Lyles will line up against Zharnel Hughes, in addition to his brother Josephus Lyles, Alexander Ogando, and Akani Simbine. Hughes has a sub-20 under his belt already this season, with a 19.96 from the Jamaica Invitational. Josephus has a slightly windy 9.97 (+3.5) 100-meter result from last week, and interestingly Simbine has already raced the 150 this year, running 15.04 seconds at a meet in South Africa in February. This will be Noah’s first individual contest beyond 100 meters on the season (noting he competed in the 4×400 at World Indoors).
Favour Ofili, Talitha Diggs, and Candace Hill are all scheduled to start the event on the women’s side. Last year’s champion Tamari Davis will be there to defend her crown, and the 2023 runner-up Daryll Neita is poised to play spoiler for back-to-back victories. Neita is coming off a 10.98 second performance in the 100m in Doha, where she finished one one-hundredth of a second ahead of Davis. Shericka Jackson is the current world record holder in the event (16.09 seconds).
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
- 3:45pm: Men’s Long Jump
- 5:00pm: Women 100 Meter Heats (x2)
- 5:15pm: Men’s 100 Meter Heats (x2)
- 5:30pm: Women’s Pole Vault
- 5:30pm: Men’s 110 Meter Hurdle Heats (x2)
- 5:45pm: Women’s 100 Meter Hurdle Heats (x2)
- 6:00pm: Women’s 200 Meters
- 6:20pm: Women’s 150 Meters
- 6:25pm: Women’s Long Jump
- 6:30pm: Men’s 200 Meters
- 6:50pm: Women’s 100 Meter Final
- 7:00pm: Men’s 100 Meter Final
- 7:10pm: Men’s 110 Meter Hurdles Final
- 7:20pm: Women’s 100 Meter Hurdles Final
- 7:30pm: Men’s 150 Meters
