PREFONTAINE CLASSIC Another foreign invasion
Bosworth, Todd
International athletes continue to flock to the Prefontaine Classic
By Ron Bellamy
The Register-Guard
Posted to Web: Wednesday, Jun 3, 2009 12:14AM
Appeared in print: Monday, Jun 1, 2009, page C6
Over the years, foreign athletes have had an impact on the annual Prefontaine Classic track and field meet at Hayward Field.
In the very first Pre Classic in 1975, when the Restoration Meet was renamed in memory of Steve Prefontaine shortly after the death of the world-famous distance runner, a Jamaican sprinter, Don Quarrie ran a world-best time of 19.9 seconds in the 220-yard dash, defeating Steve Williams, who ran the same time.
In mid-1980s, Joaquim Cruz, Jose Luiz Barbosa and other Eugene-based Brazilian runners coached by Luiz de Oliveira were fixtures in the Pre Classic, and in 1993, the presence of Ukranian pole vaulter Sergey Bubka, who set world records many times over, helped snap the Pre Classic out of a stretch of struggling years.
Just a year earlier, a runner from Mozambique, Maria Mutola, who had graduated from Springfield High School and continued to live and train in the Eugene-Springfield area, won for the first time in the Pre Classic and became an annual headline attraction as she won 16 straight Pre Classic races, most at 800 meters, through last year.
And arguably the most dramatic moment in the history of the meet came in 2001, when Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco ran what was then the fastest mile ever recorded outdoors in the United States, while in the same race teen-aged Alan Webb broke Jim Ryun’s long-standing prep record.
But as the Pre Classic returns to Hayward Field on Sunday morning, for its 35th edition, the international flavor of the meet has never been stronger.
“It’s amazing,” Pre Classic meet director Tom Jordan said, crediting the influence of the meet’s major sponsor, Nike. “Their reach into the world of track and field is unparalleled, and so with the exception of a few big-name athletes, if there’s someone out there the Pre Classic wants in the race we’re able to get them. …
“Ten years ago, if we had a foreign athlete, more often than not, they were based in the United States. That’s completely changed. Our travel budget alone is over $150,000 this year. Ten years ago, that would have been the budget for the meet.”
In fact, the 1999 Pre Classic included 40 athletes from 21 nations beyond the United States. The biggest foreign contingents that year consisted of eight athletes running for Kenya, and seven from Canada. By last year, there were 73 foreign athletes, from 24 nations, including 15 from Kenya, nine from Jamaica and seven each from Ethiopia and Russia.
Based on preliminary entry lists for Sunday’s meet, the numbers will be even larger this year — unofficially, 91 athletes from 28 nations beyond the United States, including 23 from Kenya, 13 from Jamaica, 10 from Russia and six from Ethiopia, with the numbers likely to change somewhat when start lists are finalized.
In some events, Jordan said, the Pre Classic will be “almost like a dress rehearsal for the World Championships in Berlin.”
Certainly, the talent-laden foreign presence tests even the most knowledgeable Hayward Field fans. Even Jordan admits that last year, he had to be convinced to give a place on the starting line to Kenyan 1,500 runner Nancy Lagat, whose times at that point were not special. Lagat finished second in the Pre Classic, however — and went on to win the Olympic gold medal.
She’s in the meet again this year. So is Alfred Kirwa Yego of Kenya, last year’s Pre Classic winner at 800 meters who was ranked No. 1 in the world last year and was the Olympic bronze medalist, a year after winning the World Championships.
So is Brimin Kipruto of Kenya, gold medalist in the men’s steeplechase; Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya, silver medalist in the men’s 5,000; Saif Shaheen of Qatar, world record-holder in the steeplechase; Andrey Silnov of Russia, gold medalist in the men’s high jump; Tomasz Majewski of Poland, gold medalist in the men’s shot put; Pamela Jelimo of Kenya, gold medalist in the women’s 800; and Oskana Menkova of Belarus, gold medalist in the women’s hammer.
With entries like that, some highly accomplished foreign athletes tend to fall under the radar.
In the women’s 800, for example, Janet Jepkosgie of Kenya was a world champion in 2007; in the men’s 3,000, Sileshi Sihine of Ethiopia was the silver medalist in the 5,000 and 10,000 in 2005 World Championships. And so on.
Jordan believes that the international tone the Pre Classic will become even stronger next year, when the meet moves to July 3 and becomes part of the IAAF’s new Diamond League, which will consist of at least a dozen major international meets, with enhanced prize money and contracts that would commit the top 15 athletes in the world to compete in a certain number of the meets.
The Diamond League status could also help the Pre Classic draw some of the top non-Nike athletes, such as a U.S. 400 star Jeremy Wariner, or Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt.
“Currently, we look at who are the best Americans and what events they are in and try to get the best foreign competitors against them,” Jordan said. “With the athletes who will be available to us because of the Diamond League status, we can create great events no matter what they are.”
In Jordan’s estimation, each of the 19 events in this year’s Pre Classic is capable of producing something remarkable, but here are some key events to watch:
The men’s 300 meters: LaShawn Merritt won the 400 in the Olympic Trials and the Olympic Games and was ranked No. 1 in the world in that event. In the shorter distance, he’ll be challenged by 200-meter specialists Shawn Crawford, ranked No. 2 in the world last year; Wallace Spearmon, ranked No. 4; and Xavier Carter. Merritt has run the fastest 300 ever at sea level, 31.31 seconds.
The Bowerman mile: Haron Keitany of Kenya was ranked No. 1 in the world in the 1,500 last year, though he couldn’t make the Kenyan Olympic team; countryman Asbel Kiprop was the Olympic silver medalist. There have been 208 sub-four-minutes miles in the history of the Pre Classic, and Jordan believes that in favorable conditions the winner will run under 3:50.
The women’s 400: Sanya Richards pulled out of the Reebok Grand Prix; assuming she remains in the field for the Pre Classic, the world’s top-ranked runner at this distance will take on No. 3 Novlene Williams and No. 4 Shericka Williams, both of Jamaica, and No. 6 Yuliya Gushchina and No. 7 Anastasiya Kapachinskaya, both of Russia.
The men’s shot put: Nine of the top 10 throwers in the world last year, as ranked by Track & Field News, including the top six, led by Majewski and silver medalist Christian Cantwell.
“Our travel budget alone is over $150,000 this year.”
— tom jordan,prefontaine classic meet director
35TH PRE CLASSIC
Sunday at Hayward Field
Time: 10:45 a.m. to 1 p.m.
TV: NBC, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Men’s events: 100, 300, 800, mile, steeplechase, 400-meter hurdles, high jump, pole vault, long jump, shot put.
Women’s events: 100, 400, 800, 1,500, 2,000, 100 hurdles, long jump, discus, hammer throw.
Tickets: Reserved seats $28.50 and $25.50; adult general admission $19.50; seniors and students $16.50; children general admission (ages 2-10) $3.50. Tickets sold at the Casanova Center ticket office, or on goducks.com, or by calling 1-800-WEBFOOT.
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