1936 United States Olympic Trials (track and field)

1936 United States Olympic Trials (track & field)
Host city	New York City (men) Providence, Rhode Island (women)
Date(s)	July 11 – July 12 (men) July 4 (women)
Main stadium	Randall's Island Stadium (men) Brown Stadium (women)
Level	Senior
Type	Outdoor
← 1932 1948 →

The 1936 United States Olympic Trials for track and field were held in July 1936 and decided the United States team for the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. The Trials for men and women were held separately; men's events were held at Randall's Island Stadium in New York City on July 11 and July 12, while women competed at Brown Stadium in Providence, Rhode Island on July 4. The top three athletes in each event qualified for the Olympic Games. The women's meeting also served as the annual outdoor track and field championships of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU); the men's AAU championships were held separately a week before the Olympic Trials.

Official world records were set in the men's meet by Cornelius Johnson and Dave Albritton in the high jump; Glenn Morris's winning score in the decathlon was also a world record, but not ratified. Harold Manning, winner of the 3000 meter steeplechase, set an unofficial world best. Jesse Owens won three events, equaling the world best for 200 meters around a curve.

The 1936 Olympic Trials were marked by the emergence of African-American athletes, including Owens, Johnson and Albritton; as many black athletes qualified for the men's team in 1936 as at all previous Olympic Trials combined. On the women's side, Tidye Pickett qualified in the 80-meter hurdles, becoming the first African-American woman to compete in the Olympics.

As in previous years, athletes qualified for the men's Olympic Trials by competing in preliminary meetings; these included the 1936 NCAA championships and three regional semi-final tryout meets. At the final Trials, the top three finishers in each event qualified for the Olympic team.

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