Michael Norman wins the Pre Classic 400m. (© WCH Oregon22)
Two athletes who have always performed well at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon stole the show at Saturday’s Prefontaine Classic, the only United States stop on the annual Diamond League tour.
Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon ran away from Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay over the final 250m to win the women’s 1,500m in 3 minutes, 52.59 seconds.
Moments later, Michael Norman of the United States set a Diamond League record of 43.60 seconds in an impressive performance in dominating the men’s 400m.
In the women’s 1,500, Kipyegon led nine runners under the previous world-leading time of 4:01.50. Kipyegon won for the fourth time at the Prefontaine Classic, and broke her own meet and stadium records of 3:53.23 set last year when the Pre Classic was held about three weeks after the Tokyo Olympics.
“That was really super, super quick and for me, I was not expecting that but I’m thankful,” Kipyegon said. “I wanted to run a meeting record.”
“When the time comes to run when I’m here, I’m really in super, super shape and I’m comfortable here.”
Kipyegon wasn’t far off her personal best of 3:51.07. Tsegay was second in 3:54.21, and Canada’s Gabriela Debues-Stafford was third in 3:58.62. American Sinclaire Johnson had almost a 4 ½-second personal best in finishing fourth in 3:58.85.
Kipyegon is excited to return to Hayward Field in less than two months when the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 will be on U.S. soil for the first time, running from July 15-24.
“This is a good indication for me that I’m in really, really good position. I hope for the best come July,” Kipyegon said. “This is the best place for Worlds, and I hope for the best, I hope for the gold medal.”
While Kipyegon is the two-time defending Olympic gold medalist and 2017 world champion, Norman is seeking his first individual medal after being injured in 2019 at the World Championships in Doha, Qatar, and finishing fifth in the Tokyo Olympics.
“There’s something about when the track’s wet, I run faster,” Norman said. “Especially with the spectators in the stands, it just feels like this is the place to run. I think having Worlds in America is going to be an amazing experience for all the athletes, and hopefully it will bring a lot more fans to the sport. Hopefully, we’ll bring a lot of great performances across the board on the men’s and women’s side.”
Norman set the Hayward Field record of 43.61 seconds on a wet track during the 2018 NCAA Championships when he was running for the University of Southern California. His PR is 43.45.
World record-holder Wayde van Niekerk set the previous Diamond League record of 43.62 in 2017. American superstar Michael Johnson had the previous Prefontaine Classic record of 43.92 set in 2000. Steven Gardiner, of the Bahamas, the 2019 world champion and the 2020 Olympic champion, had the previous world-leading time of 44.22.
Grenada’s Kirani James was second Saturday in a season-best 44.02, and Great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith set a national record of 44.35 in third place.
Norman, who lives and trains in the Los Angeles area, joked that he’s looking forward to having the WCH Oregon22 in his same time zone so his Uber Eats schedule and menu won’t be interrupted.
“I think it’s everybody’s dream to win at home,” he said. “This being the first World Championships in Oregon is going to be a memorable memory for any U.S. athlete. And to bring home the gold on home turf, is just going to be even more special, and I’m just happy to be here and I’m just looking forward to going back home, working hard, and making my way to Worlds before I can get a shot at gold.”
Norwegian distance star Jakob Ingebrigtsen is also hoping to win his first individual World Athletics Championships gold after finishing second at the indoor World Athletics Championships in the 1,500m in Belgrade, Serbia, in March, despite setting the indoor 1,500m world record earlier in the season.
Ingebrigtsen, who won the 1,500m at the Tokyo Olympics, won his second straight Bowerman Mile title Saturday, running a world-leading 3:49.76. The windy conditions prevented him from challenging his meet and stadium record of 3:47.24 set last year. That, and the lack of anyone to run with, after the pace setter stepped off the track with about 800 meters left.
“It’s all about Eugene in July,” Ingebrigtsen said. “You can’t be disappointed with people not being better.”
Ingebrigtsen, who ran 13:02:03 in the 5,000m in California on May 6, said he plans on running both the 1,500m and 5,000m at WCH Oregon 22.
“The World Championship is obviously next on my list,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to that, and for motivation as much as I can. Winning at the same stadium also helps, so I feel confident, but at the same time, I need to really put in the work the next couple of weeks to make sure I’m there."
Jamaican sprint superstar Elaine Thompson-Herah is also chasing her first individual World Athletics Championships gold medal. She won the 100m and 200m at the Tokyo Olympics, repeating the feat she accomplished at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016. Her best individual World Athletics Championships showing was a silver medal in the 200m in 2015.
Thompson, who has been fighting through a separated shoulder, won the 100m Saturday in a season-best 10.79, and countrywoman Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won the 200m in a season-best 22.41.
“I came out here today with the mindset of a champion and I delivered,” Thompson-Herah said. “I’m just happy with that. I think that proves where I’m at right now, what can I work on for the rest of the weeks and days to come. I have a lot more to work on. I think I’m just working towards claiming a gold to add to the (Olympic medal) tally.”
Thompson-Herah said she’s looking forward to a raucous Hayward Field at WCH Oregon22 after fans weren’t allowed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think it is good for the athletes to get fans back in the stadium,” she said. “Last year we didn’t have fans in the stadium. I think most of my country’s fellow citizens will come up here and watch us compete. It is closer to home, and I’m excited for the crowds this summer.”
Among the other highlights Saturday:
• American Ryan Crouser, the two-time reigning Olympic gold medalist, improved his world-leading mark from 22.75m to 23.02m in the men's shot put. Joe Kovacs, the reigning World Champion, was second at 22.49m, a season best.
• Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi easily ran away from a stellar field to win the men’s 5,000m in 12:50.05. Aregawi broke the stadium and meet records of 12:56.98 set by Mo Farah in 2012 in running the fastest time in the world this year. Aregawi won by more than 16 seconds over countryman Samuel Tefera.
• Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos, who was third in the epic men’s 400m hurdles final at the Tokyo Olympics, easily won Saturday in a world-leading time of 47.23 seconds, and won by almost a second.
• Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson, the Tokyo Olympics silver medalist in the women’s 800m, won in a world-leading time of 1:57.72. Ajee Wilson, who won the indoor World Athletics Championships gold, was second in 1:58.06, and fellow American Raevyn Rogers, the Tokyo bronze medalist, was third in 1:58.44.
• In the men’s 100m, Trayvon Bromell of the U.S. won in 9.93 with Fred Kerley of the U.S. second in 9.98, and Christian Coleman, the 2019 World Champion for the U.S., third in 10.08.
• In the women’s 100m hurdles, Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, the Tokyo Olympics gold medalist, won in 12.45 with Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan second in 12.58. World record-holder Keni Harrison of the U.S. was a surprising seventh in 12.78.
• In the women’s 3,000m steeplechase, Norah Jeruto, the former Kenyan now running for Kazakhstan, won in a world-leading time of 8:57.97, almost a full second ahead of Burundi’s Winfred Mutile Yavi.
• Sweden’s Khaddi Sagnia won the women’s long jump with a personal-best leap of 6.95m.
Tickets are still available for most sessions of the WCH Oregon 22 and can be purchased here. For a complete schedule of events, go here.
By Ashley Conklin