Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, ‘I’ve never seen anyone run like that before.’ It’s more than just a race, it’s a style. It’s doing something better than anyone else. It’s being creative. – Steve Prefontaine. “Pre” from Oregon.

Eugene OR USA. July 5, 2025.

Didn’t go. Wasn’t invited. Can’t afford it. Put that in a few Latin words and you got my family motto.

Do not cue tiny violins. Have an excuse note from my doctor, who is waiting for me to conclude rehab before he yanks some veins out of my leg. My stiff left knee demands a first class seat, so with the money I saved, I watched the 2025 Prefontaine Classic on my new eighty-five-inch television. 85″! Size matters.

Life is good. The only thing I really miss is old friends.

Like Hayward Field. Not going there. Okay. I’ll go. Miss the old girl. Still mourning Historic Hayward Field, to be honest. Those Oregon lumber stands rockin’. Somebody should’ve brought in a few Amish barn builders and they should have carefully deconstructed every board and timber and urinal and numbered them legibly. To be reassembled in Coos Bay or Spray or a Eugene park. The Nike campus. Tinker Hatfield’s backyard.

Never actually been yet to the new Hayward Field myself. Claim I am boycotting that spectacular edifice.

Right about here you may be reminded of that Viking proverb – the old dog barks long after the caravan has passed by. Could be Arabic.

But, WAIT! This just in from somebody who was actually at the meet. In those new grandstands.

“There were so many recognizable faces, albeit much older ones. Lots of stove-up former runners in their 80s. At least the stadium is 100% improved and safer to navigate. The old one was a broken neck waiting to happen. The new stadium is stunning. We still don’t understand the “Bowerman Tower.” It’s interesting in its own way but seems so odd and out of place looming over everything. One wants to know what the hell is going on in there.”

Problem is, not really a problem at all, this year’s edition of the Prefontaine Classic – The 50th Anniversary of Pre’s Passing – shaped up to be the greatest track meet on United States soil since the Los Angeles Olympics of ’84. Some said.

I have, however, seen better Golden Anniversary celebrations, for sure. So upset I wrote an anonymous missive to the Dead Letter Department at Nike, Inc.

Hello! Anybody There?

What a great meet!  Wow.  Would be hard to surpass. But I somehow missed the celebration of Steven Roland Prefontaine.

Maybe I was in the can or perhaps I dozed off.

Yeah, I know Pre was not there because he passed away in a remote area of North America over a half century ago.

Like Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed and Davey Crockett.

Other than a mention, well, I had supposed a two- or three-minute video salute to the legendary athlete after whom the event is named.

And then we could argue afterwards if it should have been longer.

But nothing?

Haven’t heard back yet.

Here’s the official Wanda Diamond League press release about the 2025 Prefontaine Classic. Disappointed the info did not include a photo of Mr. Prefontaine.

Chebet and Kipyegon break world records in Eugene

Kenyans Beatrice Chebet and Faith Kipyegon both broke world records in the 5000m and 1500m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Eugene on Saturday.

The Prefontaine Classic celebrated its 50th anniversary in style on Saturday as Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet both broke world records at the ninth leg of the 2025 Wanda Diamond League in Eugene.

Chebet clocked 13:58.06 in the women’s 5000m, becoming the first woman to go under 14 minutes and breaking Gudaf Tsegay’s previous best of 14:00.21, which was set in the same stadium at the Wanda Diamond League Final in 2023.

An hour and a half later, her compatriot Kipyegon made it a Kenyan world record double with an astonishing 3:48.68 in the 1500m, shaving a third of a second off her own previous world record.

Kipyegon has now broken a world record five times at Diamond League meetings over the past three seasons, while Chebet has done so twice in Eugene.

Returning to the site of her 10,000m world record at last year’s Prefontaine Classic, was tracked for most of the race by Tsegay and Agnes Jebet Ngetich.

They operated at world record pace from the outset with the first 1000m covered in 2:47.07. The second pacemaker led the field through 2000m in 5:35.37 and dropped out soon after, by which point Chebet, Tsegay and Ngetich had broken away from the rest of the field.

Chebet passed 3000m in 8:22.96, 1.04 seconds inside the pace required for a sub-14-minute run. The pace dropped slightly for the next kilometre as 4000m was reached in 11:14.12, but Chebet had saved something for the closing stages.

She kicked hard with 200 metres to go. Tsegay’s challenge began to fade and she was soon passed by Ngetich, but Chebet was away and clear and crossed the line in 13:58.06, taking 2.15 seconds off Tsegay’s world record. Ngetich took second place in 14:01.29, the third-fastest time in history, and Tsegay placed third in 14:04.41.

Konstanze “Koko” Klosterhalfen got lapped. Lapped. In a 5K. It was THAT fast.

“I’m so happy to become the first woman to run under 14 minutes,” said Chebet. “After Rome (where she ran 14:03.69), I knew that I was capable of running a world record. I told myself, ‘if Faith is trying for a world record in Eugene, why not me too?’”

Beatrice Chebet was the first to go under 29 minutes in the 10,000m, like Zatopek in 1954 and now the first below 14 minutes, like Gunter Haag in 1942. (from Carlao Dos Santos)

Just 80 minutes after Chebet’s record-breaking run, Kenyan compatriot and fellow Olympic gold medallist Faith Kipyegon re-entered the record books herself.

The multiple world and Olympic champion had made history of sorts last week by producing the fastest mile performance in history, albeit in an unofficial and unratifiable exhibition event.

Today, however, there was no doubt over the authenticity of Kipyegon’s performance as she took 0.36 off the record she set in Paris last year.

Kipyegon tracked the pacemaker closely through 400m (1:01.61) and 800m (2:03.17), but she had Olympic silver medallist Jessica Hull for company. The Australian was still just a stride or two behind Kipyegon going into the final lap, but the multiple world record-holder kicked hard on the back straight to break free.

There was no catching Kipyegon as she charged down the home straight, crossing the line in 3:48.68 to win by almost three seconds. Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji came through for second (3:51.44) ahead of Hull (3:52.67) and Olympic bronze medalist Georgia Hunter Bell (3:54.76).

There was very nearly another world record in a distance event, thanks to Winfred Yavi in the women’s 3000m steeplechase, but the world and Olympic steeplechase champion had to be content with a meeting record of 8:45.25 – the third-fastest performance in history.

The Bahraini athlete had positioned herself behind Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai for most of the way as the 2021 Olympic champion went through 1000m in 2:56.61 and 2000m in 5:55.39. But Yavi made her presence known in the closing stages and opened up an unassailable lead.

She almost collapsed over the finish line in 8:45.25, less than a second shy of the world record, as Kenya’s Faith Cherotich came through for second place in 8:48.71 ahead of Chemutai (8:51.77). For the first time ever, five women finished inside nine minutes.

Records tumble on day of big throws

Meeting records, world leads and Diamond League records were broken in almost every throwing event on the programme.

The men’s hammer, the very first discipline on the programme, set the tone for the day. Rudy Winkler unleashed a third-round throw of 83.16m to break his own US record and the Diamond League record, ending Ethan Katzberg’s winning streak in the process. The world and Olympic champion from Canada was second with 81.73m.

Little more than an hour later, world and Olympic champion Camryn Rogers broke the Diamond League record in the women’s event, sending her hammer out to 78.88m in the fourth round to beat US duo Brooke Andersen (76.95m) and DeAnna Price (75.35m).

Two-time world champion Chase Jackson came within a centimetre of her recent US record to win the women’s shot put with a meeting record of 20.94m.

For the first time since the 1988 Olympic final, five women threw beyond 20 metres. World indoor champion Sarah Mitton was second with 20.39m ahead of USA’s Jaida Ross (20.13m), New Zealand’s Maddison-Lee Wesche (20.06m) and European champion Jessica Schilder (20.03m).

The men’s event also proved to be one of the highest standard shot put contests in history; for the first time ever, five men threw beyond 22 metres.

Two-time world champion Joe Kovacs won with a world-leading 22.48m ahead of US compatriot Roger Steen (22.11m) and Nigeria’s Chuku Enekwechi, who set an African record of 22.10m.

Olympic champion Valarie Allman continued her unbeaten streak in 2025 in the women’s discus. She broke the meeting record with her opening throw of 69.48m, then went even farther in round four with 70.68m.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the contest came in the form of NCAA champion Cierra Jackson, who managed just one valid attempt, 67.82m, but it added two metres to her PB and was enough to take second place on what was her Diamond League debut.

World record-holder Mykolas Alekna was similarly dominant in the men’s discus. The Lithuanian won with 70.97m – the second-best throw in Diamond League history – to avenge his recent NCAA defeat to Jamaica’s Ralford Mullings, who was second here with 68.98m.

Jefferson-Wooden ends Alfred’s winning streak

Heading into this weekend, Julien Alfred had won all seven of her races so far in 2025. But the Olympic champion couldn’t quite maintain that streak in a close race with world leader Melissa Jefferson-Wooden. Despite a -1.5m/s wind, the Olympic bronze medallist clocked a winning time of 10.75 – the fastest time ever recorded into a headwind stronger than -1.0m/s. Alfred was second in 10.77.

Jefferson-Wooden got off to the best start and managed to maintain it to the end. Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith was third in 10.90 in a race where world champion Sha’Carri Richardson was ninth (11.19). Earlier in the day, Jacious Sears had won an invitational race in 10.85, albeit in more conducive conditions (1.7m/s).

Alison dos Santos got the better of US rival Rai Benjamin in the 400m hurdles. The Brazilian, who won the world title on this track in 2022, produced a season’s best of 46.65 to win by 0.06 over the Olympic champion.

The winning margin was the same in the women’s 100m hurdles as Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent won in 12.32 from world record-holder Tobi Amusan (12.38). USA’s Kendra Harrison was third (12.50).

Following a late withdrawal from USA’s Kenny Bednarek, Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo of Botswana ran a world-leading 19.76 to win the men’s 200m ahead of USA’s Courtney Lindsey (19.87) and Alexander Ogando of the Dominican Republic (19.94).

Olympic silver medallist and world leader Kishane Thompson lived up to expectations to win the men’s 100m in 9.85 (0.4m/s). Britain’s Zharnel Hughes finished strongly to take second place in 9.91 ahead of Trayvon Bromell (9.94).

Elsewhere in the sprints, Olympic silver medallist Matt Hudson-Smith won the men’s 400m in a season’s best of 44.10 from world indoor champion Chris Bailey (44.15). Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone took the women’s event in 49.44 ahead of US compatriot Aaliyah Butler (49.86).

Laros comes from behind to win Bowerman Mile

For almost four laps of the men’s mile, it looked as though Yared Nuguse would become the first US winner of the race since 2006. But the Olympic 1500m bronze medallist was caught just before the line by Niels Laros as the Dutch youngster won by 0.01.

Nuguse had been followed closely by in-form French runner Azeddine Habz for most of the way. But just as Habz’s challenge faded in the closing stages, Laros managed to break free from the chase pack and came motoring down the home straight to catch Nuguse and win in a national record of 3:45.94. Nuguse was second (3:45.95) and Habz third (3:46.65) in a race where a record 13 men finished inside 3:50.

There was another close finish in the women’s 800m, where Olympic silver medallist Tsige Duguma managed to hold off world indoor champion Prudence Sekgodiso, 1:57.10 to 1:57.16. World champion Mary Moraa (2:00.51) and 2021 Olympic champion Athing Mu-Nikolayev (2:03.44) were the last two athletes to cross the line.

Olympic champion Tara Davis-Woodhall produced a clutch jump of 7.07m in the final round of the women’s long jump to steal victory from two-time world champion Malaika Mihambo (7.01m).

Mondo Duplantis was a comfortable winner of the men’s pole vault with 6.00m and ended with three attempts at a would-be world record of 6.29m, but it wasn’t to be.

*Subject to the usual ratification procedure.

Kenny Moore Said It Best Fifty Years Ago

Why Wasn’t Pre Invited To The Pre Classic?

Steve Prefontaine is a legend in the sport of track & field and is the most inspirational distance runner in American history. He set a national high school two-mile record (8:41.5) while at Marshfield High School in Coos Bay, Oregon, that is the fastest ever in a National Federation-sanctioned race. While competing for the University of Oregon, he won national cross country championships (3) and outdoor track 3-Mile/5000-meter championships (4), and never lost a collegiate track race at any distance. As a collegiate junior, he made the 1972 U.S. Olympic Team and nearly won an Olympic medal, finishing 4th in the 5K at the 1972 Munich Olympics, at age 21. After finishing college in 1973 and preparing for a return to the Olympics in 1976, he continued to improve, setting many American records. His life ended tragically on May 30, 1975, the result of an auto accident, at age 24. The Pre Classic began that year and has been held every year since.

The Prefontaine Classic is the longest-running outdoor invitational track & field meet in America and is part of the elite IAAF Diamond League of meets held worldwide annually. Sponsored by NIKE continuously since 1984, the Pre Classic was shown live to an international audience by NBC.

Replay is available on Peacock. Which I will watch. Maybe there was a minute of silent remembrance I missed.