US Olympic Trials 2016: Track and Field Dates, TV Schedule and Live Stream

For the United States' track and field team, the run-up to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro begins nearly 7,000 miles away at Hayward Field in the city of Eugene, Oregon.

This is the sixth time Eugene has hosted the U.S. Olympic track and field trials since the men's and women's divisions combined their trials in 1976. There probably isn't a more fitting location for such an event in the entire country.

Eugene is Track Town, USA, the birthplace of Nike. It's the home of the University of Oregon, which has produced the likes of the legendary Steve Prefontaine and many other great Olympians. 

Here is the TV schedule for the track and field trials. Livestreaming will be available at NBC Sports Live Extra and NBCOlympics.com. A full rundown of events and times can be found at USATF.org.

Day	Time (ET)	Network
Friday, July 1	7 p.m - 9 p.m.	Digital/livestream
	9 p.m. - 10 p.m.	NBC
Saturday, July 2	12:45 p.m. - 2 p.m.	Digital/livestream
	2 p.m. - 5 p.m.	NBC
Sunday, July 3	1 p.m. - 7 p.m.	Digital/livestream
	7 p.m. - 9 p.m.	NBCSN
Monday, July 4	6:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.	Digital/livestream
	7 p.m. - 9 p.m.	NBCSN
Thursday, July 7	6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.	Digital/livestream
	8 p.m - 11 p.m.	NBCSN
Friday, July 8	6 p.m. - 8 p.m.	NBCSN
	8 p.m. - 9 p.m.	NBC
Saturday, July 9	6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.	Digital/livestream
	8 p.m. - 9 p.m.	NBC
Sunday, July 10	4:45 p.m. - 6 p.m.	Digital/livestream
	7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.	NBC

Athlete to Watch: Ashton Eaton

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

Considering the U.S. routinely churns out world-class athletes, many of them more than capable of medaling in their respective events, you can call the team trials the games before the games. The swimming trials are ongoing and have proven to be ruthlessly competitive.

One track and field competitor who seems likely to qualify easily and compete for gold in Rio is decathlete Ashton Eaton.

Eaton won the gold medal in the decathlon at the 2012 Olympics in London. A product of the University of Oregon, he's only gotten better in the ensuing years.

At the IAAF World Championships in Beijing last summer, Eaton broke his own decathlon world record—which was set at the 2012 U.S. Olympic team trials—to win gold, amassing a staggering 9,045 points. His closest competitor was Canada's Damian Warner, with 8,695 points. 

Eaton was dominant in a few of the events, per NWCN.com: "In the process, he set a world championships decathlon record of 10.23 seconds in the 100 and broke a 40-year-old world decathlon record with a time of 45.00 in the 400."

While many of Eaton's competitors can only dream of turning in scores like his, the 28-year-old isn't always content with his eye-catching displays. After failing to beat his own world record in the heptathlon at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in March but still capturing first place, Eaton was quick to find flaws in his technique, per USA Today's Paul Myerberg:

"

“To me, it’s just about pushing myself,” he said. “Maybe that’s why I think this is a subpar performance, because I obviously didn’t beat myself.”

Eaton called his jumping “good,” his pole vault “OK,” and added, “I definitely need to work on my high jump.” His throwing has been “great in practice,” but in competition “it’s a different feeling.”

"

Plenty of other strong competitors will likely emerge from the U.S. Olympic team trials and do well in Brazil, including sprinters Allyson Felix and Justin Gatlin. 

But Eaton is truly special and is one of the best bets to stretch the boundaries of his chosen disciplines. If you want to catch him before most of the world tunes in, check out his performances on familiar grounds at Hayward Field.