Previewing America's Diamond League Meet - The Pre Classic

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Stepping through Sunday’s Prefontaine Classic at Stanford’s Cobb Field and Angell Field, the only Diamond League meet in North America. The meet, in its 43rd year, has moved out of Eugene for the first time because of the re-construction of Hayward Field.

LIVE TV/WEBCAST INFO

(All Times Pacific)

12:43 p.m. – Men’s Pole Vault

The meet begins with one of the featured events of the program. Chris Nilsen and Mondo Duplantis, who staged an historic dual at the NCAA Division 1 Championships, take on Renaud Lavillenie, U.S. champion Sam Kendricks and Olympic champion Thiago Braz of Brazil. Duplantis, who recently turned pro after one year at LSU, owns the top mark in the world this year with 6.00 meters (19-8.25). Nilsen, who is staying at the University of South Dakota, is next with the 5.95m (19-6.25) he used to win the NCAA title.

12:57 p.m. – Women’s Shot Put

The past three global champions converge in the shot put – 2017 world champion Lijao Gong of China, 2016 Olympic champion Michelle Carter of the U.S. and 2015 world champion Christina Schwanitz of Germany. However, up-and-comers Chase Ealey and Maggie Ewen of the U.S. are out to prove that they are the next in line. Gong owns the best mark this year (19.84m), but Ealey isn’t far behind (19.67m).

1:03 p.m. – Men’s 400m Hurdles

This is a chance to see the ascendant talent of Rai Benjamin, who is one year out of USC. Benjamin, who prepped at Mount Vernon High north of New York City, seems poised to take over the event in the U.S. A much-anticipated matchup with Abderrahman Samba of Qatar won’t happen. The world leader at 47.27, Samba pulled out of the meet. Benjamin ran 47.02 last year to tie Edwin Moses for No. 3 all-time.

1:08 p.m. – Women’s High Jump

Top American Vashti Cunningham gets another crack at the top female high jumper in the world, two-time world champion Mariya Lasitskene of Russia, who competes as an Authorized Neutral Athlete. Lasitskene owns the top mark in 2019 (2.06m) and has taken attempts at the world record 2.09m. It’s a truly international event with seven athletes from seven nations. Cunningham’s best this season is 1.97m, which is No. 6 on the world list.

1:11 p.m. – Women’s 3,000m Steeplechase

The top six performers in the world are in a field that is rife with storylines. Reigning world champion Emma Coburn and American record holder Courtney Frerichs will take on the global elite as she looks to maintain her status as the world champion. Beyond the lead pack, Collen Quigley is making a return to the steeplechase after recovering from and injury and three-time NCAA champion Allie Ostrander of Boise State will have a chance to test the waters against the best in the business.

1:27 p.m. – Women’s 100m

There is an amazing contrast in this race between veterans and newcomers who are vying for global supremacy. New pro Sha’Carri Richardson, after one sparkling season at LSU, will take on track royalty with Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, a two-time Olympic champion, U.S. stalwart Tori Bowie, the 2017 world champion, and Aleia Hobbs, the reigning U.S. champion, in the field. Richardson ran 10.75 seconds to win the NCAA final. Fraser-Pryce, the 2013 and 2015 Prefontaine Classic winner, ran 10.73 in a photo-finish loss to Elaine Thompson in the Jamaican championships.

1:34 p.m. – Men’s 2-Mile

This race distance is not often contested, but it is a Prefontaine Classic staple. The top 11 times in the world this year are from the Brooks PR Invitational, a high school meet, in Seattle earlier this month. Look for Selemon Barega of Ethiopia, Paul Chelimo of the U.S. and Birhanu Balew of Burundi to be relevant on the last lap of this one. Of note, the oldest facility record at Stanford is in the 2-mile. Jeff Fishback ran 9:06.8 in 1962 on his way to making the 1964 Olympic team. That record is toast.

1:47 p.m. – Women’s 800m

South Africa’s Caster Semenya, both polarizing and heroic, headlines the field. She has won at the Pre Classic the past two years and has won the past two Olympic titles. Even as she appeals a decision by the IAAF to require her to lower her testosterone, she remains the world leader at 1:54.98. U.S. hopes reside with Ajee' Wilson, the 2017 world bronze medalist, and former Oregon Duck Raevyn Rogers. Both are ranked in the top six globally.

1:56 p.m. – Men’s 110m Hurdles

The facility record with the best chance of surviving the day, is Allen Johnson’s 13.08 in the 110-meter hurdles from 2002. The lineup here includes 2016 Olympic champion and 2017 world champion Omar McLeod of Jamaica, who has run 13.12 this year. McLeod is looking for his fourth consecutive Pre Classic victory, which would be a record. Devon Allen of the U.S. is making Pre his season opener in the 110 hurdles. He previously has only run at the World Relays this spring.

2:01 p.m. – Men’s Shot Put

Olympic champion Ryan Crouser, always gunning to get a little closer to the world record, has been through a heavy training bloc and said Saturday he’s not sure what to expect of himself. Stanford had to add space in the throwing sector in order to ensure it could hold the throws coming Sunday. Tom Jordan said the end of the throwing area has been moved back to 25 meters. Crouser is the world leader at 22.74m (74-7.25) and he will take on New Zealand’s Tom Walsh and U.S. stars Darrell Hill and Joe Kovacs. Payton Otterdahl, a recent graduate of North Dakota State, will be making his pro debut.

2:05 p.m. – Women’s 3,000m

Genzebe Dibaba headlines what could be an incredibly fast race. Dibaba has run 8:26.20 for this distance, but she may be looking to go even faster. World No. 1 Hellen Obiri of Kenya ran 8:25.60 to beat Dibaba at the Doha Diamond League meet. Sifan Hassan of The Netherlands, who trains in Portland with Oregon Project, should be right in the thick of the fight at the end as well. Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen, of the Nike Oregon Project, may look to break her own national record (8:29.89). New Mexico’s Weini Kelati, representing her native Eritrea, is getting a rare chance to run on a global stage. Her PR of 9:12.32, dates to her performance at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Eugene – before she became a high school star in Virginia. It’s the first time this event has been contested at the Pre Classic since 2012.

2:19 p.m. – Men’s 400m

Native Californian Michael Norman gets a rare chance to run in a Diamond League meet in his home state. Norman is the world leader at 43.45 seconds and has won eight 400-meter races in a row dating to a 2017 loss to Fred Kerley at the USATF Outdoor Championships. Kerley is in the field, along with Michael Cherry and recent NCAA champion Kahmari Montgomery of Houston. Norman, at just 21 years old, is already tied for No. 4 in the world all-time – one spot ahead of his coach, Quincy Watts.

2:25 p.m. – Women’s 200m

Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson, who edged Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in an epic 100-meter dash at the national championships, is the top figure in the 200 at Pre. Thompson is the world leader at 22.00 seconds and will face field that includes Dafne Schippers of The Netherlands, Jenna Prandini of the U.S. and Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain. Schippers is the 2015 and 2017 world champion, while Thompson is the reigning Olympic champion.

2:31 p.m. – Women’s 1,500m

Great Britain’s Laura Muir comes into the weekend with the No. 3 time in the world, behind Dibaba and Hassan, who are both in the 3,000 meters. It’s a great opportunity for Muir, who recently finished her degree and has become a veterinarian, to win another Diamond League race. She won the 1,500 meters at the Rome meet in 3:56.73. (Her PR is 3:55.22). Shelby Houlihan, the U.S. champion in 2018, is returning from injury and tuning up for the USATF Outdoor Championships next month. A total of eight women have personal records under 4 minutes. U.S. women Kate Grace, Alexa Efraimson, Dani Jones, and Australia’s Jessica Hull (formerly of Oregon) will try to add to that number.

2:39 p.m. – Men’s 100m

The prime lanes belong to Americans Christian Coleman (five), Justin Gatlin (four), Michael Rodgers (six) and new pro Cravon Gillespie (three). Coleman is the world leader in 2019 best of 9.85 from his June 13 race at the Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway. Gillespie recently finished second in the 100 and 200 at the NCAA Championships, breaking University of Oregon records (9.93 and 19.93) in both events.  

2:51 p.m. – Men’s Bowerman Mile

The final event of the day features a colorful collection of the best middle distance runners in the world. Yomif Kejelcha of the Oregon Project, the world record holder indoors, is the headliner, but the race also includes 2016 Olympic 1,500-meter champion Matthew Centrowitz of the Bowerman Track Club, Jakob Ingebrigtsen from Norway, Ayanleh Souleiman of Djibouti and Americans Clayton Murphy, Craig Engels and Ben Blankenship. The world-leading time is 3:52.34 and the top nine are all from the Oslo meeting on June 13. Expect that list to be re-written Sunday.

*It is worth noting that not a single Stanford athlete, current or former, is scheduled to compete in the meet Sunday.