Top-ranked athletes will grab attention in nearly every event at the Prefontaine Classic on July 3 and 4, while current and former Oregon Ducks will prompt louder cheers from the hometown crowd during introductions for several events.

Jessica Hull — Women’s Mile

Jessica Hull should draw extra attention in Eugene as the only Oregon alum currently ranked first in the world. The 2018 NCAA 1500-meter champion in green and yellow has continued excelling in those colors in international competition, taking silver for Australia at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She returns to her former home track in a crowded field to compete in the women’s mile with world No. 2 Faith Kipyegon and No. 3 Nikki Hiltz, but Hull will seek her first Diamond League win at Hayward as the top-ranked athlete in her event.

Yared Nuguse — Bowerman Mile

Paris Olympics bronze medalist Yared Nuguse enters the prestigious 1600-meter event as the world No. 1, headlining a stacked field. Nuguse has already taken home two Diamond League 1500m wins in 2026 and enters the Bowerman Mile seeking his first at Hayward. 

The men’s 1600m field includes the past and present of Oregon’s track and field program. Olympic gold medalist and current world No. 23 Cole Hocker represents the past, while recent NCAA 1500m record breaker Simeon Birnbaum represents the present. 

Masai Russell — Women’s 100-meter Hurdles

Several of Russell’s career highlights have taken place at Hayward Field, with the current world No.1 collecting 100-meter hurdle wins at the 2024 US Olympic Trials and 2025 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The reigning Olympic gold medalist in the event has started the 2026 Diamond League season hot, picking up victories on May 17 and 23 in China. 

World No. 3 Tobi Amusan will be Russell’s biggest test going into the event, having won in Russell’s absence on May 31 in Morocco. Russell holds an even flashier career highlight at Hayward Field, having set the 100m hurdles world record with a 12.12-second finish at the 2022 World Athletics Championships

Keely Hodgkinson — Women’s 800-meter

Hodgkinson began her Diamond League season with an 800-meter PB of 1:54.93 on June 7 in Stockholm, but the career effort was only good for second place behind world No. 2 Audrey Werro. With Werro absent in Eugene, top-ranked Hodgkinson headlines the 800m. 

In her last appearance at Hayward, Hodgkinson won the 800m race at the 2024 Prefontaine Classic, soon before she took home the 800m gold medal at the Paris Olympics. Hodgkinson has already shown career-best form early in the 2026 season, and she’ll build on it in a place where she’s seen success.

Cooper Lutkenhaus — Men’s 800-meter

A relatively thin men’s 800-meter field in terms of world rankings will still be worthy of attention, with 17-year-old rising star Cooper Lutkenhaus favored in the event as the World No. 4. Lutkenhaus has achieved a stellar start in the Diamond League season, taking home 800m victories in Stockholm on June 7 (1:42.70) and Oslo on June 10 (1:42.08). A win at the Prefontaine Classic would be the first of Lutkenhaus’ young career at Hayward, a venue where he is set to run many more races in the future.

Other former Ducks competing: 

Elliott Cook ‘26 — Mile men, world No. 80 

Jaida Ross ‘25 — Shot put women, world No. 6 

Jenna Prandini ‘16 — 100-meter women, world No. 54

Raevyn Rogers ‘18 — 800-meter women, world No. 22

Jorinde van Klinken ‘23 — Discus women, world No. 2, Shot put women, world No. 13