2016 Olympic GamesAug 24, 2016 by Johanna Gretschel
Eleven Teenage Boys Prospects For The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
Eleven Teenage Boys Prospects For The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
The Team USA track and field Olympic delegation to the Rio Games was the youngest in history, thanks in part to the presence of teenage stars Sydney McLaugh
The Team USA track and field Olympic delegation to the Rio Games was the youngest in history, thanks in part to the presence of teenage stars Sydney McLaughlin, Vashti Cunningham and Lexi Weeks. Which athletes from the current generation of junior stars could make waves at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo?
Athlete: Noah Lyles
School: T.C. Williams, VA
Graduation Year: 2016
Event: 100m, 200m, 4x100m
The versatile Noah Lyles looks primed to be Team USA's replacement for 34-year-old Justin Gatlin, who competed in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay at this year's Olympic Games. The nineteen-year-old nearly made his first Olympic team this summer by placing fourth in the 200m at the Trials. He owns PBs of 20.09 for 200m (the national high school record) and 10.14 for 100m; the IAAF World U20 champion for 100m signed a professional contract with adidas this summer. Bypassing the NCAA seasons will make his focus razor sharp and his body ready to graduate from the heartbreaking fourth spot to a top three berth at the 2020 Olympic Trials.
Athlete: Michael Norman
School: Vista Murrieta, CA/USC
Graduation Year: 2016
Event: 200m
Michael Norman has said he isn't sure which events he will focus on at USC, as he's had great success in the 100m, 200m and 400m. The 200m is his bread and butter --he ranks No. 4 all-time for high schoolers with his PB of 20.14-- and he placed fifth at the U.S. Olympic Trials this year, so we're picking the half lapper as his event for 2020.Of Team USA's 2016 200m Olympians, two are no longer in their twenties and questionable entrants for 2020: Justin Gatlin is 34 and LaShawn Merritt is 30. Ameer Webb is just 25, so he could potentially stick around for another Games.
Athlete: Josephus Lyles
School: T.C. Williams, VA
Graduation Year: 2016
Event: 400m
Noah Lyles' younger brother, Josephus, planned to compete in the 400m at the U.S. Olympic Trials before an injury halted his outdoor track season in early May. Josephus is one of few athletes in the nation who can defeat Noah and has great range, as he won the 60m at indoor nationals this year (6.65 PB) and took runner-up honors at the IAAF World Youth (U18) Championships in the 400m last summer (45.46 PB). Josephus, like Noah, signed with adidas last month. As he regains form, look for him to rise quickly to the nation's top ranks at the senior level.
Athlete: Drew Hunter
School: Loudoun Valley, VA
Graduation Year: 2016
Event: 1500m
Drew Hunter capped a historic senior year that saw him break several national high school records (7:59.33 3K, 3:57.81 indoor mile) by signing a professional contract with adidas. A bout with Lyme disease limited his outdoor track season, though Hunter did come back to set a new mile PB of 3:57.15 at the Sir Walter Miler in Raleigh, N.C. Four years from now, Hunter will be a seasoned pro and perhaps training with fellow adidas middle distance signee and 2016 Olympian Robby Andrews in New Jersey.
Athlete: Grant Fisher
School: Stanford
Graduation Year: 2015
Event: 5K
Grant Fisher was a media darling during his nearly undefeated prep campaign that saw him break four minutes in the mile and win two Foot Locker Nationals titles. He's been just as good as a freshman at Stanford: he was sixth at NCAAs in the 5K with a time of 13:30.13, the third-fastest time in U.S. junior history. He also competed at the U.S. Olympic Trials, where he placed ninth in his prelim heat. 41-year-old Bernard Lagat will not return for the 2020 Trials, leaving a 5K spot open for the next generation.
Athlete: Deakin Volz
School: Bloomington South, IN/Virginia Tech
Graduation Year: 2015
Event: Pole Vault
Deakin Volz was one of the nation's leading pole vaulters in his senior year of high school, as he traded national records back and forth with Paulo Benavides during the indoor season. He sustained a wrist injury during the summer of 2015 that hampered his training heading into his freshman year at Virginia Tech. Volz took fourth at NCAA Indoors but no heighted at the outdoor championship.
But the Indiana native --whose father, Dave Volz, was fifth at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona-- mounted an impressive comeback at the IAAF World U20 Championships. He was the surprise winner in finally breaking his high school PB with a mark of 5.65m, a clearance that would have won the NCAA Outdoor Championships and qualified for the Olympic Trials.
In 2020, Volz will be ready to continue his father's legacy at the Olympic Games.
Athlete: Armand Duplantis
School: Lafayette, LA
Graduation Year: 2018
Event: Pole Vault
Armand Duplantis represents Sweden at the international level, but he competes in the state of Louisiana so we can still talk about him here. The sixteen-year-old won the IAAF World Youth Championships last summer and took home the bronze medal at this summer's IAAF World U20 Championships. He is the world record holder for seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven and twelve-year-olds as well as the national high school record holder for freshman and sophomores, and the Swedish junior national record holder. He's progressed from 17-4.75 to 18-1 in one year and says he hopes to begin competing at the senior international level as early as next year.
Athlete: Donavan Brazier
School: Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills, MI/Texas A&M
Graduation Year: 2015
Event: 800m
Donavan Brazier made headlines at the NCAA Championships this year when he won the 800m in 1:43.55; the time broke Jim Ryun's American junior record on the day of its 50th anniversary. The mark helped Brazier sign a pro contract with Nike and made him a favorite heading into the U.S. Olympic Trials, though he ultimately failed to advance beyond the preliminary round. Whether or not Olympic bronze medalist Clayton Murphy decides to stay in the 800m or move up to the 1500m, Brazier is surely the future of the event and will use the disappointment of 2016 to propel himself to a qualifying spot in 2020.
Athlete: Marcus Krah
School: Hillside, NC/University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Graduation Year: 2016
Event: 110m Hurdles
Make a man give up football and see how fast he progresses on the track. That's what happened to Marcus Krah.
In 2015, Krah was runner-up at the North Carolina state meet. In 2016, the Tarheels commit won the state title, but that was just the beginning as he swept New Balance Nationals Outdoor, USATF Junior Nationals and the IAAF World U20 Championships. The undefeated year also culminated with a new PB of 13.25, a mark that would have placed fifth at the Olympic Trials.
Athlete: Vernon Turner
School: Yukon, OK
Graduation Year: 2017
Event: High Jump
Vernon Turner is the nation's most promising young high jump athlete. As a sophomore in 2015, his best clearance was 6-8 to win the Oklahoma state title. As a junior in 2016, he cleared seven feet for the first time, then jumped an astounding 7-4, then 7-4.5 to defend his state title. Turner qualified to compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials and though he no heighted at the championship in Eugene, Ore., the experience was surely a learning one for the young star.
If he had cleared his PB, he would have made the Olympic team as third-placer Bradley Adkins cleared a best mark of 2.21m/7-3. He's also a top-ranked basketball recruit, so it will be interesting to see where he decides to take his talents next year.
Athlete: Tyrese Cooper
School: American, FL
Graduation Year: 2019
Event: 400m
Tyrese Cooper is the youngest athlete on this list at sixteen years old. The rising sophomore has rewritten the national freshman class records this year: 20.62 for 200m, 45.23 for 400m and a 10.36 100m PB to boot! (Note: the 100m time is not a record). But could he really make the Olympics in 2020? The star has shown he's nearly unbeatable already at the high school level --especially in his signature event, the 400m-- and has sought out open professional and collegiate competition as a ninth grader. Consider him the wildest wildcard of this list.
Athlete: Noah Lyles
School: T.C. Williams, VA
Graduation Year: 2016
Event: 100m, 200m, 4x100m
The versatile Noah Lyles looks primed to be Team USA's replacement for 34-year-old Justin Gatlin, who competed in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay at this year's Olympic Games. The nineteen-year-old nearly made his first Olympic team this summer by placing fourth in the 200m at the Trials. He owns PBs of 20.09 for 200m (the national high school record) and 10.14 for 100m; the IAAF World U20 champion for 100m signed a professional contract with adidas this summer. Bypassing the NCAA seasons will make his focus razor sharp and his body ready to graduate from the heartbreaking fourth spot to a top three berth at the 2020 Olympic Trials.
Athlete: Michael Norman
School: Vista Murrieta, CA/USC
Graduation Year: 2016
Event: 200m
Michael Norman has said he isn't sure which events he will focus on at USC, as he's had great success in the 100m, 200m and 400m. The 200m is his bread and butter --he ranks No. 4 all-time for high schoolers with his PB of 20.14-- and he placed fifth at the U.S. Olympic Trials this year, so we're picking the half lapper as his event for 2020.Of Team USA's 2016 200m Olympians, two are no longer in their twenties and questionable entrants for 2020: Justin Gatlin is 34 and LaShawn Merritt is 30. Ameer Webb is just 25, so he could potentially stick around for another Games.
Athlete: Josephus Lyles
School: T.C. Williams, VA
Graduation Year: 2016
Event: 400m
Noah Lyles' younger brother, Josephus, planned to compete in the 400m at the U.S. Olympic Trials before an injury halted his outdoor track season in early May. Josephus is one of few athletes in the nation who can defeat Noah and has great range, as he won the 60m at indoor nationals this year (6.65 PB) and took runner-up honors at the IAAF World Youth (U18) Championships in the 400m last summer (45.46 PB). Josephus, like Noah, signed with adidas last month. As he regains form, look for him to rise quickly to the nation's top ranks at the senior level.
Athlete: Drew Hunter
School: Loudoun Valley, VA
Graduation Year: 2016
Event: 1500m
Drew Hunter capped a historic senior year that saw him break several national high school records (7:59.33 3K, 3:57.81 indoor mile) by signing a professional contract with adidas. A bout with Lyme disease limited his outdoor track season, though Hunter did come back to set a new mile PB of 3:57.15 at the Sir Walter Miler in Raleigh, N.C. Four years from now, Hunter will be a seasoned pro and perhaps training with fellow adidas middle distance signee and 2016 Olympian Robby Andrews in New Jersey.
Athlete: Grant Fisher
School: Stanford
Graduation Year: 2015
Event: 5K
Grant Fisher was a media darling during his nearly undefeated prep campaign that saw him break four minutes in the mile and win two Foot Locker Nationals titles. He's been just as good as a freshman at Stanford: he was sixth at NCAAs in the 5K with a time of 13:30.13, the third-fastest time in U.S. junior history. He also competed at the U.S. Olympic Trials, where he placed ninth in his prelim heat. 41-year-old Bernard Lagat will not return for the 2020 Trials, leaving a 5K spot open for the next generation.
Athlete: Deakin Volz
School: Bloomington South, IN/Virginia Tech
Graduation Year: 2015
Event: Pole Vault
Deakin Volz was one of the nation's leading pole vaulters in his senior year of high school, as he traded national records back and forth with Paulo Benavides during the indoor season. He sustained a wrist injury during the summer of 2015 that hampered his training heading into his freshman year at Virginia Tech. Volz took fourth at NCAA Indoors but no heighted at the outdoor championship.
But the Indiana native --whose father, Dave Volz, was fifth at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona-- mounted an impressive comeback at the IAAF World U20 Championships. He was the surprise winner in finally breaking his high school PB with a mark of 5.65m, a clearance that would have won the NCAA Outdoor Championships and qualified for the Olympic Trials.
In 2020, Volz will be ready to continue his father's legacy at the Olympic Games.
Athlete: Armand Duplantis
School: Lafayette, LA
Graduation Year: 2018
Event: Pole Vault
Armand Duplantis represents Sweden at the international level, but he competes in the state of Louisiana so we can still talk about him here. The sixteen-year-old won the IAAF World Youth Championships last summer and took home the bronze medal at this summer's IAAF World U20 Championships. He is the world record holder for seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven and twelve-year-olds as well as the national high school record holder for freshman and sophomores, and the Swedish junior national record holder. He's progressed from 17-4.75 to 18-1 in one year and says he hopes to begin competing at the senior international level as early as next year.
Athlete: Donavan Brazier
School: Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills, MI/Texas A&M
Graduation Year: 2015
Event: 800m
Donavan Brazier made headlines at the NCAA Championships this year when he won the 800m in 1:43.55; the time broke Jim Ryun's American junior record on the day of its 50th anniversary. The mark helped Brazier sign a pro contract with Nike and made him a favorite heading into the U.S. Olympic Trials, though he ultimately failed to advance beyond the preliminary round. Whether or not Olympic bronze medalist Clayton Murphy decides to stay in the 800m or move up to the 1500m, Brazier is surely the future of the event and will use the disappointment of 2016 to propel himself to a qualifying spot in 2020.
Athlete: Marcus Krah
School: Hillside, NC/University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Graduation Year: 2016
Event: 110m Hurdles
Make a man give up football and see how fast he progresses on the track. That's what happened to Marcus Krah.
In 2015, Krah was runner-up at the North Carolina state meet. In 2016, the Tarheels commit won the state title, but that was just the beginning as he swept New Balance Nationals Outdoor, USATF Junior Nationals and the IAAF World U20 Championships. The undefeated year also culminated with a new PB of 13.25, a mark that would have placed fifth at the Olympic Trials.
Athlete: Vernon Turner
School: Yukon, OK
Graduation Year: 2017
Event: High Jump
Vernon Turner is the nation's most promising young high jump athlete. As a sophomore in 2015, his best clearance was 6-8 to win the Oklahoma state title. As a junior in 2016, he cleared seven feet for the first time, then jumped an astounding 7-4, then 7-4.5 to defend his state title. Turner qualified to compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials and though he no heighted at the championship in Eugene, Ore., the experience was surely a learning one for the young star.
If he had cleared his PB, he would have made the Olympic team as third-placer Bradley Adkins cleared a best mark of 2.21m/7-3. He's also a top-ranked basketball recruit, so it will be interesting to see where he decides to take his talents next year.
Athlete: Tyrese Cooper
School: American, FL
Graduation Year: 2019
Event: 400m
Tyrese Cooper is the youngest athlete on this list at sixteen years old. The rising sophomore has rewritten the national freshman class records this year: 20.62 for 200m, 45.23 for 400m and a 10.36 100m PB to boot! (Note: the 100m time is not a record). But could he really make the Olympics in 2020? The star has shown he's nearly unbeatable already at the high school level --especially in his signature event, the 400m-- and has sought out open professional and collegiate competition as a ninth grader. Consider him the wildest wildcard of this list.