US Olympic Track and Field Trials 2021 Day 4 Predictions: Elle Purrier, Sam Kendricks hot favorites for Tokyo qualification

The US Olympic Track and Field Trials 2021, which are being held at the newly renovated Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, enters its fourth day on June 21. The first three days of the event have been enthralling, with the best athletes in the country fighting hard to book a spot for the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

Sprinter Allyson Felix grabbed the headlines on Day 3 as she finished second, behind Quanera Hayem, in the women's 400m and qualified for her fifth Olympics. She had won silver in the same event at the Rio Olympics 2016. Allyson Felix will also be competing in the 200m which is slated for next week.

In the men’s 400m final Michael Norman finished first ahead of Michael Cherry and Randolph Ross. Keni Harrison won the women’s 100m hurdle to confirm her participation in the Olympics.

The men's 100m final was won by Trayvon Bromell as he clocked 9.80s. The victory was incredible considering the fact that he was making a comeback after multiple injuries and setbacks since making his first Olympic team in 2016.

Vashti Cunningham jumped 6 feet 5 inches in the women's high jump category to qualify for the Olympics. Interestingly, the two athletes who finished second and third in the final failed to qualify for the showpiece event. Inika McPherson, who finished a spot behind Vashti Cunningham and third-place finisher Nicole Greene, could not breach the 6 feet 5 inches mark which is the Olympic stardard for the high jump.

Keturah Orji along with Tori Franklin and Jasmine Moore will be representing the USA in the women's triple jump as the three athletes finished first, second and third respectively in the final.

Rudy Winkler qualified for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 in style as he won the men's hammer throw final. The throw, recorded at 82.71m, created a new American record. Rudy Winkler was head and shoulders above every other thrower in the final as no one else in the 12-man field could breach the 80m-mark. Daniel Haugh came second and Alex Young was third.

Day 4 of the US Olympic Track and Field Trials 2021 will see the finals of six events. These are men’s pole vault, men’s javelin, men’s triple jump, women’s 1,500m, men’s 800m and women's 5,000m.

Predictions for US Olympic Track and Field Trials 2021 Day 4

The men's pole vault final is expected to be clinched by Sam Kendricks. The 28-year-old finished third at the Rio Olympics 2016 with a jump of 5.85m. Sam Kendricks also has two back-to-back world championships to his name.

All eyes will be on Elle Purrier as she is a firm favorite to win the women's 1,500m final. In February, she set an American record for an indoor two mile clocking 9:10.28 and in May, she ran the fastest 1,500m in the country this year with a timing of 3:58.36.

Donavan Brazier is a firm favorite in the men’s 800m final. With a time of 1:42.34 he had clinched gold in this event at the world championships back in 2019. His recent victory at the Portland Track Festival in May, where he clocked 1: 45.09, showed that the sprinter is in red-hot form.

Karissa Schweizer has been chosen by the experts as the favorite for the finals of the women's 5,000m. Two years back she had a disappointing world championship at Doha where she had finished ninth. But since then, Karissa Schweizer has developed into a serious contender to not only win the US Olympic Track and Field Trials 2021 but also clinch a medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

Where can you watch the US Olympic Track and Field Trials 2021?

NBC Sports Network and NBC will air live coverage every day of the event. NBC’s television coverage will be streamed on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app.