Something big is brewing for Paris, and it simmered at the Pre Classic
The scene at Hayward Field, where a crowd of 12,009 watched Saturday’s 49th Prefontaine Classic
Updated 5/26/2024 10:53 PM
EUGENE — It’s not Sebastian Coe vs. Steve Ovett, or Jim Ryun vs. Marty Liquori, or John Landy vs. Roger Bannister — at least not yet. But 12,009 fans at Hayward Field and a national television audience got a first look at what could be a fascinating duel for supremacy August 6 at the Olympic Games in Paris, and perhaps for years to come.
“If anything, this is going to be an exciting summer,” Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen promised media after finishing second to Scotland’s Josh Kerr in the Bowerman Mile, the premier event in the 49th Prefontaine Classic.
Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen pronounced himself “definitely satisfied” with his second-place finish in 345.60 in the Bowerman Mile
There was a world record set in the women’s 10,000 and a half-dozen 2024 world bests in other events, but nothing matched the competition and sheer drama provided by the Bowerman Mile on a calm, cloudy Willamette Valley Saturday.
The mile is historically the signature event in U.S. men’s track and field, but don’t tell that to Ingebrigtsen, who has been raised on the metric system.
“I’m not a fan of the mile event because it has nothing to do with my culture,” said Ingebrigtsen, the reigning Olympic champion and world indoor record-holder in the 1,500 meters. “That is definitely something British and American, which I am not that familiar with.”
I am guessing Kerr feels just fine about imperial measurements after motoring to victory in 3:45.34 on the way to breaking the British mile record of 3:46.32 set by Steve Cram in 1985.
“Fantastic,” Kerr — who outkicked Ingebrigtsen to win the 1,500 at the World Championships in Budapest last summer — told the media after Saturday’s race. “We are heading into the golden era of 1,500-meter running in Europe.”
Josh Kerr’s “dumb” decision to take off with 600 meters to go paid off in the Scot’s victory in the Bowerman Mile in a scorching 3:45.34
I don’t think the future is limited to Europe. Kerr and Ingebrigtsen — who finished second Saturday in 3:45.60 — are the headliners, but there are others worthy of a place on the world stage.
Yared Nuguse, The American record-holder at 1,500 who in last year’s Bowerman Mile set the American record of 3:43.97 — the fourth-fastest clocking ever — finished third this time in 3:46.22.
Former Oregon standout Cole Hocker — who beat Notre Dame’s Nuguse for the NCAA 1,500 title in 2021 — came back from a near-tripping incident with another runner to place seventh in 3:48.95.
Over the years, there have been 403 sub-four-minute Bowerman miles run at the Pre Classic, more than at any other meet. This year, nine runners lined up with PRs of better than 3:50. On Saturday, nine runners bettered that mark. Five of the top 11 finishers — including Cameron Myers, who ran 3:50.15 for 11th — set personal records. Cooper Teare, who finished 14th, ran 3:53.92.
Kerr is 26. Ingebrigtsen is 23. Nuguse and Hocker both turn 23 the first week in June. Myers, an Australian, turns 18 on June 9. American Hobbs Kessler, who quit Saturday’s race after the incident involving Hocker, is 21. He ran the mile in 3:48.66 indoors to finish second behind Nuguse in the Wanamaker Mile in February.
Brits Neil Gourley and Jake Whiteman, who finished fourth and fifth in 3:47.74 and 3:47.83, respectively, are both 29. Kenya’s Reynold Cheruiyot, who set the world junior mile record of 3:48.06 at last year’s Pre meet, was sixth this time in 3:48.59. He is 19. Spain’s Mario Garcia, who ran 3:47.69 to place fourth in last year’s Pre meet, was 10th this time in 3:50.14. He turns 25 on June 29.
You get the picture. The world record of 3:43.13 set by Hicham El Guerrouj in 1999 still stands, but there are plenty of contenders in line to take a shot at it.
“We have created some awesome story lines,” Kerr said before Saturday’s race.
The best story line has to be Kerr vs. Ingebrigtsen. After Kerr knocked off Ingebrigtsen at Budapest, Jakob called him “just the next guy.” Josh told the media Jakob has some “major weaknesses.” They shook hands after Saturday’s race, but it is clearly not a mutual admiration society. At the least, it looks like a testy rivalry.
Kerr broke to the front of the pack with 600 meters remaining and led the rest of the way. He had a curious way of explaining his early move afterward. For shock value, it would seem.
“I thought it was a dumb decision,” Kerr said. “I knew if I thought it was a dumb decision then it probably was, that (it) was going to scare myself and everyone else around me. I was just testing myself early in the season, testing my fitness. I felt I was going to be one of the fitter athletes out there today. And if it was going to scare me, it was going to scare everyone else.
“We weren’t massively quick through 800, so I had a little bit left in that last 600. Who better to press (the pace) than the current world champion? I wanted to go out there and test myself and also test the field behind me.”
Ingebrigtsen said he was “a little bit” surprised Kerr went at the 600 mark. In his post-race remarks, he didn’t mention his rival by name, but certainly by insinuation.
“Historically, people have a tendency to not do what they say they are going to do so they can feel very confident when they have to hold their mask,” Ingebrigtsen said. “But when we start racing, everybody is very insecure. It says a lot about the preparations. It was as expected, but maybe still surprising that somebody is all of a sudden ready to start racing.”
Both runners showed strong kicks down the final straight. Ingebrigtsen chased Kerr to the tape but could never catch him.
“I tried to fight him, but for me, today was more of a time trial,” the Norwegian said. “We were racing, but there were definitely some differences in terms of approach to this race. For some people, this is their final test before the Olympics in Paris. This is not my final test. There is a big difference the way we all saw this race. But it was a good fight.”
An Achilles tendon injury caused Ingebrigtsen to sit out the entire indoor season. He started his training for the outdoor season in February.
“Because I lost so much training, I have had to push specific work as close to this race as possible,” he said. “So I feel it is a pretty good performance today. It is a pretty good start (to the season). I am running on strength right now. Of course I am not going to be near my best. It is definitely better than I was expecting in terms of fitness; at the same time, it is not where it has to be. But I am definitely satisfied with today.”
Kerr is not without confidence as he draws within 10 weeks of the Olympics 1,500 final.
“I didn’t ask for certain 800 splits or anything like that today,” he said. “I just rolled with the punches and raced like a champion should race. I knew I could run pretty fast. I was just excited to go out and race against a world-class field and show I am still the best 1,500 runner in the world.
“Today was about winning this race, and if I was going to win this race, it was probably going to be under 3:46. (A clocking of) 3:45 right now is good enough, but we’ve got to make some progress between now and Paris.”
Ingebrigtsen made it known he isn’t conceding a thing.
“Some of my competitors have clearly taken a step in the right direction, but not a big step,” he said. “Not as big of a step as maybe is needed to be a favorite in Paris.”
Nuguse can’t be counted out as a potential gold medalist. He was pleased with his Saturday showing.
“A great start to the season for me,” he said. “I feel like I am in a really good position strength-wise. This is the strongest I have been. I am not quite as gassed as I normally am after a race.
“I was able to keep with (Kerr and Ingebrigtsen) and stick in a place where I wanted to be. Now it’s just working on that last 100, where I usually have a little stronger (kick). There is a little more that I want to do.”
Hocker had reason for optimism, too, despite getting legs tangled up early in the race with Kessler. His time was less than a second off his PR set late last season.
“I got spiked a little bit on the back of my leg,” he said. “I was falling but I caught myself. I was lactic for the next 200 meters but got back into it, which I was really happy with.
“Without that trip, I think I’d have been able to move with (the top three finishers) as well. I don’t know if I would have finished with them, but I could have been with that top group with 100, 150 meters to go. It is disappointing to have some weird thing like that happen, but I am pretty happy with where I’m at.”
Another great duel came in the women’s 800, with 22-year-old Brit Keely Hodgkinson outkicking Kenya’s Mary Moraa to win in a world-best 1:55.78. The race featured five of the top eight in the 2023 World Championships, including Moraa, the reigning world champion.
Hodgkinson, who took silver at Budapest, won the 800 at last year’s Pre meet in a national-record 1:55.19. On Saturday, her tactics were much different than that of Kerr. She stayed on Moraa’s shoulder down the backstretch and swept by her on the final straight.
“I told myself to be patient, use my strength and kick it to win,” she said. “When (Moraa) is ahead, she is hard to gun down. She is a really good racer. But I could tell (the pace) was fast. I didn’t want to go that fast, so I decided not to go that fast. I hung back, and used my speed at the end. You have to think on your feet and see what’s going on ahead of you.”
Hodgkinson skipped the indoor season after suffering a knee injury in November.
“It was actually good for me,” she said. “I had a nice break and after that came back with some zest.
“Today was a nice confidence-booster. It shows that my speed has improved, and it’s nice to see that I’m in really good shape.”
Former Barlow Bruin Ryan Crouser, the two-time Olympic champion and world record-holder, was a late scratch in the shot put, evidently stemming from health concerns. In his absence, World No. 2 Joe Kovacs shined, winning on his final throw with a world-best 75-10 3/4. Crouser’s world record is 77-3 1/2.
“I wanted everybody to be here — even the Italians who have been throwing far,” Kovacs said. “You want this meet to be a big thing, but it’s a weird year. Everybody is making decisions what they think is best for them going into the trials and the Olympics.
“Ryan is a little banged up, so he is being conservative about not taking a chance on getting hurt before the trials. You always want the best to happen, but you know the showdown is going to be the Olympic trials and Paris. That’s what we’re all trying to build for.”
Among other meet highlights:
• The run at the world record in the women’s 10,000 was set up for Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay, who set the world 5,000 mark at the Pre meet a year ago. But Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet swooped in to steal the show, winning in 28:54.14 to better the old record by nearly seven seconds. It was the seventh world mark in Pre Classic history, including those set by Tsegay and Armand Duplantis (men’s pole vault) last year.
• Americans Christian Coleman, Kenny Bednarek and Sha’Carri Richardson swept to impressive spring victories. Coleman held off Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala and win the 100 in 9.95, just off the 2024 world best of 9.93. Bednarek, the silver medalist at 200 in the 2020 Olympics, won the event easily in 19.89 Saturday. Richardson, the 2023 women’s 100-meter gold medalist and ranked No. 1 in the world, won going away in 10.83 in a race featuring six of the top seven-ranked runners in the world.
• In one of the day’s best races, Grant Holloway used a terrific start to win the 110 hurdles in a world-best 13.03, just ahead of Daniel Roberts in 13.13. Holloway in a three-time gold medalist in the World Championships, won silver at the 2020 Olympics and is ranked No. 1 in the world. His PR of 12.81 is the second-fastest in history. Roberts is a three-time national champion.
• Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji went wire to wire in claiming the women’s 1,500 title in 3:53.5. In a great battle for second, Australian Jessica Hull, the ex-Oregon Duck, finished in 3:55.97 to hold off Elle St. Pierre (3:56.00) and Brit Laura Muir (3:56.35). St. Pierre registered the second-fastest clocking ever by an American.
• There were also boys and girls 1,500 races, where middle-school and high-school age participants were able to compete on the same track as the global stars. I couldn’t help but notice the sportsmanship shown by Evangeline Johnson Hess, the 1,500 girls winner, who stayed to offer hand slaps or hugs to every single other competitor as they finished the race behind her. That’s as impressive as anything I saw on the track Saturday.
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