As women's athletics was not added to the Olympic programme until 1928, only a men's trials was held.

The meeting also served as the 1920 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, unlike future editions which were held separately.

[1][2][3] A maximum of four athletes could be named to the team per event, unlike the three-athlete-limit of future Olympics.

Also unlike future Olympic trials, the 1920 trials results were not completely determinative of the team; in several cases athletes who finished outside of the top 4 were selected based on consistency of previous results.

The top Americans at each of these races (Charles Mellor, 2:30:04 for 1st in Detroit; Arthur Roth, 2:30:21 for 2nd in Boston; Joseph Organ, 2:51:06.2 for 2nd in New York) were named to the team, along with Carl Linder who was the 2nd American finisher in Boston (2:23:32 for 3rd overall).