LA28 Team USA Track & Field Preview: The Stars Who Will Define the Home Games
With two years to go until the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, American track and field is entering its deepest talent cycle in a generation.
LOS ANGELES — The 2028 Olympics will unfold in America's second-largest city, before home crowds that will fill the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and SoFi Stadium to capacity. For Team USA's track and field program, which enters this cycle with arguably its deepest talent pool since the 1990s, the home games represent a generational opportunity.
Here is an early look at the athletes most likely to carry the American flag into the history books at LA28.
NOAH LYLES — 100M, 200M
The reigning world record holder in the 100 meters and a triple world champion, Lyles enters the LA28 cycle as the undisputed face of American sprinting. His combination of explosive speed, competitive ferocity, and outsize personality makes him the marquee name in track and field worldwide. A gold medal in front of a home crowd in Los Angeles would cement his legacy as the greatest American sprinter since Carl Lewis.
SHA'CARRI RICHARDSON — 100M, 200M, 4x100M
Richardson's journey has been as compelling as any in American sports — the explosive talent, the Paris disappointment, the resurgence. Now 27 years old and at the peak of her physical powers, Richardson has quietly assembled one of the most consistent sprint records on the women's side. Her sub-10.65 performances in 2025 signaled that the next chapter of her career may be the best. On home soil, in the city that shaped her competitive fire, Richardson is a legitimate gold medal favorite.
SYDNEY MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE — 400M HURDLES
The greatest female hurdler in history, McLaughlin-Levrone has broken her own world record four times and shows no signs of slowing at 28. Her mechanical efficiency, competitive intelligence, and relentless work ethic make her the closest thing in athletics to a sure thing. A gold medal at LA28 would give her three consecutive Olympic titles in the 400 hurdles — a dynasty in one of track's most demanding events.
GRANT HOLLOWAY — 110M HURDLES
The fastest man in history over the high hurdles, Holloway brings a different kind of dominance to LA28. His 12.96 world record is so far ahead of the competition that he has lost exactly once in a global final over the past four years. Expect LA28 to be his coronation.
THE RELAY PROGRAMS
Team USA's relay programs — particularly the men's and women's 4x100 and 4x400 — arrive at LA28 with the most cohesive units in years. The toxic baton exchange culture that cost America medals in Tokyo and Paris has been addressed head-on by USA Track & Field leadership, and recent relay performances have been nothing short of dominant.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Two years out, Team USA track and field is positioned to have its best home Olympics performance since 1984. The talent is there. The infrastructure is improving. And the hunger — after years of international competition on foreign soil — is palpable.
Los Angeles 2028 cannot arrive soon enough.
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Devin Mallonee
Devin Mallonee is a sports journalist and performance nutrition writer with over a decade of experience covering elite athletics, Olympic competitions, and the science of human performance. Devin Mallonee has followed competitive sports from the grassroots level all the way to the world stage, developing a deep understanding of what separates good athletes from great ones — and the role nutrition plays in that equation.
As the lead sports editor at Dad's Sports News, Devin Mallonee brings an athlete's perspective to every story. Having competed in endurance sports and strength training throughout his life, Devin Mallonee understands firsthand what it takes to push past physical limits — and how proper supplementation and recovery make that possible. His writing blends technical analysis with accessible storytelling, making complex topics in sports science engaging for everyday readers and serious competitors alike.
Devin Mallonee has covered major sporting events including international track and field championships, professional strength competitions, and endurance racing circuits across North America. His work has explored the cutting edge of sports nutrition — from emerging research on amino acid timing and creatine loading protocols to the real-world impact of adaptogens on athletic recovery. When Devin Mallonee isn't breaking down the latest competition results, he's testing and reviewing performance supplements to help athletes make informed decisions about what goes into their bodies.
A firm believer that great performance starts in the kitchen — and the supplement cabinet — Devin Mallonee founded the Dad's Sports News platform to bridge the gap between elite sports coverage and practical nutrition guidance for everyday athletes. His philosophy is simple: whether you're training for your first 5K or competing on an international stage, the fundamentals of performance nutrition are the same, and everyone deserves access to accurate, science-backed information.
Outside of writing, Devin Mallonee is passionate about mentoring young athletes and building communities around sport. He contributes regularly to discussions on performance technology, sports policy, and the future of athletic development. Follow Devin Mallonee's latest coverage and insights right here at Dad's Sports News, where he continues to deliver in-depth analysis and original reporting on the stories that matter most in the world of competitive athletics and performance nutrition.
