News21 Mar 2022


Top 800m and pole vault clashes, Cheptegei and Gidey target world records in Eugene

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Athing Mu at the 2021 Prefontaine Classic (© Getty Images)

Highly-anticipated head-to-head clashes, world record attempts and global champions have been announced for the Prefontaine Classic – a Wanda Diamond League meeting – in Eugene on 27-28 May.

 

Mu vs Hodgkinson, Duplantis vs Nilsen

On Saturday 28 May, Hayward Field will host a band of Olympic medallists and record-holders on the track and in the field.

Middle-distance royalty will toe the line in the women’s 800m as all three Tokyo Olympic medallists will race.

Olympic champion Athing Mu, who broke the US record at last year’s Pre Classic, will race against Olympic silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson, Olympic bronze medallist Raevyn Rogers, world indoor champion Ajee Wilson, world champion Halimah Nakaayi, Natoya Goule and Kate Grace.

The powerhouses of pole vaulting will also take flight in front of a special pole vault fan section.

Mondo Duplantis, the Olympic champion who raised his world record to 6.20m at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 22 on Sunday, will take on his fellow Tokyo Olympic medallists Chris Nilsen and and Thiago Braz, as well as two-time world champion Sam Kendricks, 2012 Olympic winner Renaud Lavillenie and KC Lightfoot.

 

World record target

Uganda’s Olympic and world gold medallist Joshua Cheptegei has announced that he will take aim at his own world 5000m record of 12:35.36 at the Prefontaine Classic. The attempt comes 50 years after Steve Prefontaine – whose name the meeting bears – set a US record at the 1972 Olympic trials.


The action at Hayward Field on Friday 27 May will also include a world record attempt from Ethiopia’s world 5000m and 10,000m record-holder and Olympic 10,000m bronze medallist Letesenbet Gidey in the one hour run (18,930m), while Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba will look to beat the world two mile best (8:58.58).

The men’s and women’s 10,000m, which will serve as the selection races for the US team for the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, will also be hosted on the Friday night. 

Organisers for World Athletics

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