Key keywords: 2026 USATF Championships, Day 1 live updates, USATF outdoor nationals, 2026 World Athletics Championships qualifying, track and field results, sprint highlights, distance running upsets, field event records, Hayward Field Eugene The first day of the 2026 USATF Outdoor Championships kicked off under clear skies at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on Thursday, drawing more than 21,000 fans to the iconic track venue as athletes competed for spots on Team USA’s roster for the 2026 World Athletics Championships in Rome. The day’s schedule featured 12 preliminary rounds and 4 final events, with no shortage of surprise performances and record-breaking runs across sprint, distance, and field competitions. Morning action opened with the men’s and women’s 20km race walk finals, where 28-year-old Nick Christie took the men’s title in a personal best 1:19:42, while 31-year-old Katie Burnett won the women’s crown by a 2-minute margin, locking in their spots for the world championships roster. The first track prelims of the day started at 1:30 PM local time, with the women’s 100m heats taking center stage first. Defending world champion Sha’Carri Richardson cruised to the fastest overall preliminary time of 10.72 seconds, easing up in the final 20 meters to save energy for the semi-finals and final on Day 2. The biggest surprise of the women’s 100m rounds came from 19-year-old University of Oregon standout Mia Brahe-Pedersen, who ran a personal best 10.89 seconds to win her heat, beating 2024 Olympic relay gold medalist Gabby Thomas to finish as the third-fastest overall qualifier. In the men’s 100m prelims, reigning 100m and 200m world champion Noah Lyles posted the top time of 9.83 seconds, leading all qualifiers, while 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Trayvon Bromell was eliminated after he slipped halfway through his heat and finished fifth, failing to advance to the semi-finals. The first track final of the day was the men’s 10,000m, where 2024 Olympic silver medalist Grant Fisher pulled away from the field in the final 600 meters to win in a championship record 26:31.08, beating second-place finisher Woody Kincaid by nearly 4 seconds. The women’s 5000m final followed, with Elle St. Pierre taking the title in 14:22.37, holding off a late charge from 18-year-old high school phenom Katelyn Tuohy, who finished second to secure her first senior world championships roster spot. On the field side, the men’s pole vault final delivered one of the day’s most memorable moments, as 2016 Olympic champion Sam Kendricks cleared 6.02 meters to break the 11-year-old championship record, beating 2024 Olympic gold medalist Chris Nilsen, who finished second with a clearance of 5.94 meters. Day 1 action wrapped up with the first two rounds of the men’s and women’s 400m hurdles, with both defending world champions Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Rai Benjamin advancing easily to the semi-finals on Day 2. Organizers reported no weather delays through the full day of competition, with ticket sales for the remaining three days of the championship already 20% higher than the 2024 edition of the event.