Fans stood shoulder-to-shoulder as they lined up down Agate Street on Saturday, eagerly waiting to enter Hayward Field.
There was no lack of excitement in the crowd for the 2024 Prefontaine Classic. Between broken world records, Olympic qualification and a preview of the 2024 United States Olympic trials in June, the 48th edition of the Prefontaine Classic presented much to cheer for.
The day began with the mixed wheelchair 400 meters. Troy Davis won over the full field of U.S. para-athletes by nearly seven seconds. He later emerged victorious in the mixed wheelchair 100 meters with just as dominant of a performance.
But Hayward truly came alive when Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet made history in the women’s 10,000 meters.
Chebet closely trailed World No.1 Gudaf Tsegay for most of the event, but she pulled ahead in the closing four minutes. Chebet crossed the finished line with a world record time of 28.54.15. Tsegay entered the day looking to break the record herself, but had to settle for second place and a personal best.
“The last lap just motivated me, especially when Gudaf dropped,” Chebet said. “Then I realized, ‘Oh, I am the best, so I can go.’”
She said that her goal for the Olympics is to run both the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters for Kenya.
The Prefontaine Classic also acted as a qualifier for the Kenyan men’s 10,000-meter team for the 2024 Olympics. Daniel Mateiko finished first with a time of 26.50.81 — the fastest time this year. Nicholas Kipkorir came in second. The two will be on the plane to Paris this summer with one other athlete, who Athletics Kenya will select.
“This is my second time competing here in a Eugene track and I’m so very happy,” Mateiko said. “I was not expecting this one despite the fact that I was doing the marathon training.”
Fans also got a preview of some of the athletes who may return to Eugene next month for the U.S. Olympic Trials. The first American to win on Saturday was fan-favorite 100-meter sprinter Christian Coleman. He came in with a world ranking of No. 2 and ended with a season-best of 9.95 seconds. Coleman’s teammate Brandon Hicklin came in third.
“Every race is different,” Coleman said. “I was happy I was able to execute today, come out with a win, and we’ll go back to the drawing board and be better next time.”
Grant Holloway led a first, second and third sweep of the U.S. in the 110-meter hurdles. Hayward erupted when the three-time World Champion recorded a new season best of 13.03.
“The atmosphere, the crowd, you relate to tracks that you ran fast at,” Holloway said when asked about why he performs so well at Hayward. “So I just want to continue to do that and it’s been fun.”
U.S. thrower Valarie Allman secured a narrow victory in the women’s discus. Emily Grove and Katie Moon finished first and second, respectively, in the women’s pole vault. Joe Kovacs and Payton Otterdahl concluded the field events with first and second-place wins for the U.S. in the men’s shot put. The stars and stripes also swept the men’s 200-meter, with Kenneth Bednarek coming out on top.
Arguably the biggest name to appear at the Prefontaine Classic was world champion Sha’Carri Richardson. The American was met with a raucous round of applause as she emerged as the 2024 world leader in the women’s 100-meter in her first-place finish.
“It’s exciting that the stadium here has the magnitude, has the magic and embraces the sport and the love that we as track and field athletes deserve,” Richardson said. “It’s always magical running here.”
Richardson said that like a lot of her other U.S. teammates, she’s been training since fall. Another top-place finish in June means continuing to stay consistent and build off the latest performance.
The day ended with a tightly contested matchup in the Bowerman Mile. Great Britain’s Josh Kerr was the final Prefontaine Classic champion for this year. Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigsten came in second with the American Yared Nuguse in third.
There’s still more to come at Hayward Field. The NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be held in Eugene from June 5-8. Then, The U.S. Olympic Trials will begin on June 21.
