Will Cherotich, Yavi & Chemutai Set Steeplechase Records at Hayward Field Again?
Two Olympic champions and the defending World Champion will headline the Women’s 3000m Steeplechase at the 2026 Prefontaine Classic. At last year’s Pre Classic, a blistering pace over the barriers produced three of the top ten times ever run in the event, an event record, and a new record for Hayward Field at the University of Oregon. Overall, five of the top ten times in history have been run in Eugene.
Faith Cherotich (Kenya) is the defending World Champion and bronze medalist from the Paris Olympic Games, where she was the youngest member of the Kenyan team. At last year’s Prefontaine Classic, Cherotich ran a personal best of 8:48.71, good for the fifth-best time ever in the discipline. Before Tokyo and Paris, Faith won global medals at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia (2022 – Gold) and Nairobi (2021 – Bronze). In 2023, she was honored by World Athletics as that year’s ‘Rising Star’ award recipient. Currently ranked as the No. 1 steeplechaser in the world, Cherotich has won the Diamond League Final in each of the past two seasons.
Winfred Yavi (Bahrain) is the reigning Olympic and Prefontaine Classic champion. Her time of 8:45.25 at last year’s Pre Classic was less than a second off the world record and became the third fastest in history. The mark set a new event and Hayward Field record. Yavi also holds the second, sixth, and seventh fastest times ever, with the latter set at the 2023 Prefontaine Classic, which served as the Diamond League Final. Winfred’s two Pre Classic wins are among her seven career Diamond League victories. Yavi won the 2023 World Championships in Budapest and was the runner-up to Cherotich in Tokyo last season. Yavi’s time of 8:52.76 to win the gold medal in Paris is the Olympic record.
Peruth Chemutai (Uganda) finished third at the 2025 Prefontaine Classic with an 8:51.77, which was her best time of the season and is the tenth fastest of all-time. She became the first-ever woman from Uganda to win an Olympic medal when she won the Tokyo Games in 2020. At the Paris Games, she added an Olympic silver medal. In 2024, Peruth crossed the finish line before Cherotich and Yavi to win the Prefontaine Classic with a time of 8:55.09, her first time breaking the 9-minute mark. This will be Chemutai’s seventh appearance at the Prefontaine Classic.
The Prefontaine Classic will take place on Friday, July 3rd, and Saturday, July 4th, 2026.
A Diamond Discipline, the Women’s 3000m Steeplechase, is scheduled for Saturday, July 4th.
The tentative event schedule windows for each day of competition are: Friday, 6:00 – 10:00 p.m. / Saturday, 12:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Tickets, VIP Experience Packages, and Accommodations packages are now on sale.
Those interested in volunteering at The Prefontaine Classic can learn more here.