Emily Mackay

Chris Chavez and Kyle Merber recap the final day of the 2026 USATF Outdoor Championships at Icahn Stadium

We discuss:

FINALS:

– Cooper Lutkenhaus, 17 years old, dominated the men's 800m in 1:43.48, winning his second US title of 2026 and negative-splitting a 52.26-51.23 for a 1.07-second margin over Wes Ferguson. Six 800m finals in 2026. Six wins. Now including a US title against a full professional field.

– Melissa Jefferson-Wooden ran a stadium-record 21.69 to win the women's 200m — just 0.01 off her winning time at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo. She got out of the blocks like a rocket and had the race decided before the straightaway. Cambrea Sturgis was second in 22.22.

– The men's 200m turned into drama for the wrong reason. Garrett Kaalund, running for USC, won in 20.04 — becoming the first collegian to win the US 200m title in 18 years. But two-time defending champion Noah Lyles pulled up with an apparent injury coming off the turn and walked it in for last.

– Cordell Tinch won a men's 110m hurdles final decided by 0.004 seconds.

– Nia Akins won her fifth US 800m title in 1:59.25, timing her kick perfectly to overhaul early leader Roisin Willis and runner-up Addy Wiley.

– Anna Cockrell led from the first hurdle to break her own stadium record in the 400m hurdles at 52.94.

– Chris Robinson finally broke through with a 47.61 for his first US title in the men's 400m hurdles.

– Emily Mackay made up for her dive-to-the-line third-place 1500m by winning the women's 5000m in 14:55.82.

– Vince Ciattei took the men's 5000m in 13:46.75 with a 26.71 last 200m in a photo finish over Cooper Teare and Sam Prakel.

– Valarie Allman won her eighth consecutive US discus title with a 69.54m throw — a streak that dates back to 2018.

Plus a moment worth mentioning: longtime NYC middle-distance coach Frank Gagliano was honored at Icahn Stadium in front of literally hundreds of former athletes and coaches he mentored. Six decades of coaching, dozens of Olympians, and lineage that runs through Chris Miltenberg, Diljeet Dosanjh Taylor, Vin Lananna, and much of the current generation of American middle-distance coaching.

Day 3 delivered upsets, dynasties extended, and a mayor in the stands — NYC's Zohran Mamdani made it out to Randall's Island for what has become the sports event of New York's summer, alongside the Knicks' NBA title and the World Cup.

We discuss:

FINALS:

- Women's 400m — Aaliyah Butler, 49.93: In her first full season as a professional, the 22-year-old ran a perfectly executed race to win her first USATF outdoor title. Alexis Holmes was second in 50.47.

- Men's 400m — Chris Bailey, 44.39: Bailey adds an outdoor title to his 2025 U.S. indoor crown — but not without drama. Justin Robinson crossed first in 44.31 before being disqualified for a lane violation, promoting Bailey to gold.

- Women's steeplechase — Lexy Halladay-Lowry, 9:12.54: A stadium record and a successful title defense. Halladay-Lowry let Gabbi Jennings lead the first six laps before unleashing a devastating final 600m to pull away. Jennings held on for second in 9:17.42 — a career-best championship finish.

- Men's steeplechase — Nate Mountain, 8:13.81: The upset of the meet. Mountain finished ninth at NCAAs just six weeks ago. On Saturday, he dove for the line to beat Carson Williams by 0.07 seconds (8:13.88 — a lifetime best for Williams). A national champion nobody saw coming.

- Women's 1500m — Nikki Hiltz, 4:06.92: Eight consecutive U.S. 1500m titles, stretching back to 2023 indoors. Hiltz ran a 58.80 final 400m to hold off Addy Wiley by 0.04 seconds, who in turn beat Emily Mackay by 0.02. Three athletes separated by six hundredths of a second at the line.

- Men's 1500m — Nathan Green, 3:50.27: A comically slow tactical race set up a predictable conclusion — Green showed his tactical savvy with a 51.65 final 400m to take the win.

- Women's 100m hurdles — Alia Armstrong, 12.38: The unsponsored hurdler wins her first national title in a stacked final, running a season's best 12.38 to beat Alaysha Johnson by 0.04 seconds. A breakthrough moment for an athlete still without a shoe deal.

- Women's pole vault — Sandi Morris, 4.90m: Ten U.S. titles. Morris cleared 4.90m on her first attempt to defend her 2025 outdoor title.

- Men's javelin — Curtis Thompson, 87.59m: The greatest throw saved for last. Thompson trailed UGA's Davis after an 82.36m final-attempt effort, then launched 87.59m on his own last throw — improving his mark by over 10 meters — to win his sixth U.S. title and complete a four-peat.

+ More from the 200m and 400m hurdles prelims.

Emily Mackay joins me on the podcast after a huge moment in her career, winning her first national title in the 3000 meters at the USATF Indoor Championships. Emily is no stranger to the world stage. She competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics and is also a World Indoor bronze medalist, but capturing her first national title was a really special milestone. In this episode we talk all about that race, what it felt like to finally get that win, and what the moment meant after years of competing at such a high level.

Emily is sponsored by New Balance and currently trains with Union Athletics Club under coach Pete Julian. Last summer she made the move from Team New Balance Boston to Union Athletics Club, and we talk about that transition, what training has looked like in this new environment, and how the change has helped her continue to grow as an athlete.

We also talk about what’s next as Emily prepares to compete at the World Indoor Championships in the 3000 meters in Poland. It’s always fun catching up with Emily. This is actually her fourth time on the podcast, and it’s been incredible to follow her journey over the years and see the progression in her career.

I hope you enjoy this conversation with Emily Mackay.

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Chris Chavez and Preet Majithia break down a chaotic weekend in American track and field headlined by a lead vehicle disaster at the USATF Half Marathon Championships and a slate of big results at the USATF Indoor Championships.

Discussed:

– The 2026 USATF Half Marathon Championships in Atlanta were thrown into chaos when a lead vehicle guided the top women off course in the final mile with Jess McClain holding a big lead at the time. Molly Born, who stayed on course, won in 69:43. McClain, Emma Grace Hurley and Ednah Kurgat all filed appeals immediately after.

– USATF’s jury of appeals acknowledged the course was inadequately marked but said it had “no recourse within the rulebook” to alter the results, which was a ruling that drew widespread backlash. Atlanta Track Club CEO Rich Kenah took full responsibility.

–  Because the race served as the selection event for the 2026 World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen, the wrong turn didn’t just cost the leaders prize money but also potentially cost them spots on Team USA. The selection situation is a tangled mess with no clean fix under current rules.

– Cole Hocker won the men’s 3,000m in a blanket finish in 7:39.25. Young missed the World Indoor team by .01 to Yared Nuguse after drifting off the rail in the home straight.

– Emily Mackay won the women’s 3,000m in a five-second personal best of 8:30.01, outkicking Elle St. Pierre in the final stretch for her first US title.

– Hocker and Yared Nuguse then faded to 5th and 4th in Sunday’s 1500m, won by former UW teammates Nathan Green and Luke Houser.

– 17-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus went 5-for-5 as a professional, winning the men’s 800m in 1:46.68 with a tactically sharp performance.

– Nikki Hiltz extended their US title streak to eight, winning the women’s 1500m in 4:11.34.

– Jordan Anthony won the men’s 60m in 6.45, beating Trayvon Bromell and Noah Lyles.

Plus: Tokyo Marathon recap, the Louis Hinchcliffe NCAA return and the Iowa State/Seth Clevenger doping investigation.

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Hosts: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ + Preet Majithia | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@preet_athletics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Produced by: Jasmine Fehr |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Olympic middle-distance star Emily Mackay joins us today, fresh off a blazing new 3,000m personal best set in February in Boston. 

Emily, who currently runs for Team New Balance Boston, is coming off a tremendous 2024 season where she represented Team USA in the Paris Olympics. She qualified for the 1,500m after coming in second during the trials with a time of 3:55–which puts her third all-time for American women in the distance. 

Prior to the Olympics, Emily was a bronze medalist in the 1,500m at the 2024 World Indoor Championships; she also took home bronze in the 1,500m at the 2023 Pan American Games in Chile. 

Emily graduated from Binghamton University as a five-time NCAA Division 1 All-American. She was a multi-discipline specialist, showing strength and versatility by placing a school-best 14th overall at the 2020 NCAA XC Championships, in addition to coming in seventh overall at the 5k in the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Track Championships.

She received her undergraduate in Psychology and went on to acquire her MBA in 2022. Emily is a very balanced and impressive person on many levels. Her current 800m PR is 1:57 and her PR in the 3,000m is 8:35 (which she ran at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix). 

In today’s conversation, Emily takes me through her recent success in sport, the journey to get to that point, how she has progressed over the years, her Olympic experience, her dreams for the future, training with the best in the US, and many other subjects relating to running, life, and well, coffee. 

Tap into the Emily Mackay Special.  

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Carrie recaps her exciting weekend at the 2024 NYRR NB Fifth Avenue Mile! Fresh off the Paris Olympic Games, she dives into all the action, from a press conference with Josh Kerr, Emma Coburn, and Emily Mackay to calling the race alongside fellow Olympians and broadcasters. Carrie breaks down the thrilling women’s race, where Karissa Schweizer tied the course record in a stunning finish, and the men’s race, where Josh Kerr shattered a decades-old record with a dominant performance. Tune in for winner interviews and all the race highlights in this high-energy episode!

In this episode, I’m so excited to have Emily Mackay as my guest! Emily recently competed in the Paris Olympics, representing Team USA in the 1500 meters. It was such a thrill to watch her make the team—what a stacked field! Emily had to run an incredible 3:55 to secure her spot on the Olympic ... more »

Did you miss us?!

The U.S. Olympic Trials are back and better than ever in the second half of the 8-day program, with incredible drama, upsets, and underdog stories across the board.

The race of the day (and perhaps the week?) was the women’s steeplechase, where a fast early pace and a topsy-turvy final lap ended with a whole slew of personal bests and rewriting of the record books. Tokyo Olympian Val Constien ended up on top thanks to a phenomenal final 400m, running 9:03.22 to PR by 11 seconds and land at #3 on the U.S. all-time list. Constien had ACL surgery last year and after a long road back is better than ever.

We got our first peeks at the 400m hurdles crew, and the main takeaway from the first round is that Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Rai Benjamin are looking like world beaters out for an easy jog. McLaughlin-Levrone in particular shut it down entirely over the final two laps and still ran 53.07, the third-fastest performance in the world this year behind her own season’s best and Femke Bol’s world lead.

Speaking of first looks, Erriyon Knighton doesn’t seem to have missed a step as he ran his first 200m in four months, cruising through the first round with a 20.15 just behind Noah Lyles’s 20.10 in an earlier heat. And a stacked final is set for the 5000m, where reigning U.S. champ Abdi Nur takes on two of the three members of Team USA in the 10,000m, the 1500m Trials champ, and two NCAA champs.

The middle-distance rounds will continue to get more and more cutthroat, with the women’s 1500m featuring Elle St. Pierre, Heather MacLean, Cory McGee, Emily MacKay, Elise Cranny, Nikki Hiltz, Sinclaire Johnson, and more heading to the semis and Olympians Bryce Hoppel and Clayton Murphy looking ready to once again do battle in the 800m.

"I feel the most confident I’ve ever been."

Emily Mackay is having a heck of a year on the run! The Team New Balance Boston athlete earned a bronze medal at World Indoor Championships in the 1500m earlier this year, and has kicked off her outdoor season with strong performances including a personal best at the Prefontaine Classic, where she ran 3:59.76. In this conversation, Emily reflects back on her early running days, and shares why she dreamed of going pro with the NB Boston team (including teammates Elle Purrier St. Pierre and Heather MacLean) and coach Mark Coogan. She talks about the confidence it took to make that major move with 400m to go at World Indoor Championships, and about why that race was both a confidence-booster and a big learning experience. And, with the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team Trials looming, Emily — who is absolutely one to watch in the 1500 — talks about the pressure to perform in an Olympic year.

FOLLOW EMILY @emily_mac7

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What you’ll get on this episode:

• What Emily’s watching right now (3:00)
• What a day in the life of a professional middle-distance runner is like (6:10)
• All about Emily’s 1500m personal best at the Prefontaine Classic (10:30)
• The confidence it took to make a major move at World Indoor Championships with 400m to go (15:00)
• Was that a breakthrough race for Emily? (18:40)
• The pressure to perform in an Olympic year (27:30)
• What it’s like when your teammates are your competitors on race day, and how Emily ended up on Team NB Boston (31:10)
• How — and why — Emily became a runner (39:35)
• What training looks like right now, with the Trials on the horizon (42:05)
• What will it take to make the U.S. women’s 1500m Olympic team? (46:25)

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