Track and field was supposed to suffer in 2018. Usain Bolt‘s first year in retirement. No Olympics or world outdoor championships. Even the other established stars — Allyson Felix, Justin Gatlin, Wayde van Niekerk — scarcely competed or missed the season altogether due to injury.
In their absence, new blood rejuvenated the sport in the middle of the Olympic cycle. Christian Coleman and Noah Lyles kept U.S. men’s sprinting to the top. The 400m and 400m hurdles will offer some of the most anticipated head-to-heads in 2019, with at least one world-record watch.