Races of this caliber haven’t been seen since 1996 and may not be seen again until September in Sidney, Australia.
The 26th annual Prefontaine Classic Grand Prix will feature Olympic-level competition from track and field stars who reside in Eugene, the rest of America and the rest of the world. Some former Olympians will be on hand, as will some future Olympians.
Mrs. Jones herself, the legendary Olympian Marion Jones, highlights the entry list in two events. Jones holds the meet and Hayward Field record in two events ­ the 200 meters (21.18 seconds) and long jump (21 feet, 11 3/4 inches). This year, Jones will try for a third record in the 100 meters. Gwen Torrence currently holds the meet record at 10.96. Jones will also try to better her meet record in the long jump.
The favorite to win both the 100 and 200 meters at the upcoming Olympic Trials in Sacramento, Calif., on July 14-23 is also Jones, who has a personal best of 10.71 in the 100.
Chasing Jones at the Classic will be Philomena Mensah and Torri Edwards in the 100. Eugene resident Shana Williams and Adrien Sawyer will compete against Jones in the long jump.
Seven-time gold-medalist Gail Devers begins her quest for a fourth Olympic bid next month in Sacramento, but for now she will run the 100 meter hurdles at the Pre Classic. Devers owns the meet record at 12.84 but ran a personal best and American record of 12.37 last summer. The race will be Devers’ first in the 100 hurdles this year. Devers is the eleventh gold medalist to enter into the meet, the most ever.
Challenging Devers will be Anjanette Kirkland, who has the fastest time in the world this year (12.63), and NCAA Champion Joyce Bates.
One of the biggest head-to-head matchups in the Classic ever will take place in the 800 meters. Local athlete and half-mile specialist Maria Mutola has been victorious in the Pre Classic for the past eight years and owns the meet and field record at 1 minute, 57.5 seconds. She has been the only woman to be ranked No. 1 in the 800 five times. Needless to say, she has not had much of a challenge in the half mile in recent years.
That will change this year when three-time Olympian and two-time World Champion Regina Jacobs takes to the track. Primarily a 1,500 meter runner, Jacobs is stepping down to the 800 for some speedwork before the Olympic Trials. Suriname’s Letitia Vriesde has gone under the two-minute barrier (1:56) in the 800, as well as sisters Joetta and Hazel Clark.
“I’ll be running the 800 at the Prefontaine next weekend, and I expect to run a very fast time,” Jacobs said. “I’m exactly where I want to be this year.”

Another exciting showdown could take place in the 1,500 between Romanian Gabriela Szabo and former Eugenean Suzy Favor Hamilton. Marla Runyan was entered in the event, but had to withdraw due to injuries.
Something will have to give between Favor Hamilton and Szabo, both of whom are undefeated this year. Favor Hamilton holds the top times in the world in the 1,500, 3,000 and 5,000 meters. She won the ’98 Classic 1,500, but had to sit out all of last year with an achilles injury.
Favor Hamilton, Runyan and Jacobs are considered by many as the greatest American trio of 1,500 runners ever.
Szabo has a personal best 3:56.97, which would break both the meet and field record if ran at the classic. Szabo won this year’s indoor 1,500 and was a silver medalist at the ’96 Olympics, which was her first race on American soil. The Classic will be her second.
Also in the mix is Canadian Leah Pells, who finished fourth at last year’s meet and has a personal best 4:03.56.
“In the 17 years I’ve been associated with the Prefontaine Classic this is one of the best potential match-ups we’ve ever had.” meet director Tom Jordan said. “It’s the best field ever assembled on American soil outside of the Atlanta Olympic Games.”
One of the first high school women in the classic will compete in the 400 meters on Saturday. Morse High’s (San Diego) Monique Henderson ran the 3rd fastest 400 by a prep athlete ever at the California State meet on June 3 and the eighth fastest this year with a time of 50.74.
One of the favorites in the race is former world champion Jearl Miles-Clark, who owns a personal best of 49.40. The last time the 400 was contested, in 1998, Miles-Clark finished fourth behind Jamaican Lorraine Graham, who is also entered.

The other favorite is Nigerian Fali Ogunkoya who is ranked second in the world this year with a personal best 49.10.
American Kim Graham, a member of the gold medalist 4×400 meter relay team at the ’96 Olympics, will also run in the race. She finished seventh at the ’98 Classic and has a personal best of 51.18.
Inside the oval, the discus throw is a wide open event that could go to a number of competitors. Belarus’ Ellina Svereva has that top mark coming into the event with a throw of 221-9. Svereva was a bronze medalist at the ’96 Olympics and was ranked fifth in the world last year. She will attempt to break Australian Lisa Marie Vizaniari’s four-year-old meet record of 212-11. Vizaniari and fellow Australian Alison Lever could also be a contender.
The field also includes five of the top six American throwers this year: Kris Kuehl, Suzy Powell, Aretha Hill and recent UCLA graduate Seilala Sua.