Pre Classic No. 1 in World Again

             
            Eugene, Oregon – The Prefontaine Classic is back on top of the IAAF Diamond League podium.  For the second time in 4 years, the iconic American meet is at the top of the rankings calculated by All-Athletics.com, the official data services partner of the IAAF’s top-tier international circuit.  The No. 1 world ranking is derived from a combination of the quality of participating athletes along with the quality of the actual results. The 2016 Pre Classic, which was held May 27-28 at historic Hayward Field, finished at the top in both categories, the first Diamond League meet to do so since 2010.

            “The meets in the IAAF Diamond League are the very best in the world,” said Tom Jordan, the Pre Classic director since 1984. “To be at the top of the rankings in both Participation and Results categories is something we are very proud of, and it’s exciting that our fans got to see so many of the Rio gold medalists.”

            Athletes who competed at this year’s Pre Classic went on to win 20 gold medals (16 individual, 4 relay) at this year’s Rio Olympic Games, the most of any invitational in the world.     

            The 2016 Pre, sponsored by NIKE, will be remembered for a score of thrilling competitions at a high level, including 15 world-leading marks as well as meet and Hayward Field records in four events – men’s triple jump (Christian Taylor 58-3¼/17.76), women’s 1500 (Faith Kipyegon 3:56.41), women’s steeplechase (Ruth Jebet 8:59.87), and women’s 100 hurdles (Keni Harrison 12.24).  Harrison’s mark was one of two American records set, the other being Emma Coburn’s 9:10.76 in the steeplechase.

            The meet will also be remembered for some of the sport’s biggest stars.  Distance king Mo Farah led 19 runners under the 28:00 in the 10,000 – only the 2008 Beijing Olympics had more sub-28 runners in the same race (20).  In the women’s 400, Sanya Richards-Ross ran her 12^th and final Pre Classic, capping a career that saw her first compete in 2002 as 17-year-old high school senior (with five wins, she is the only woman in the event to win more than twice).  The meet closed with the traditional Bowerman Mile that saw Asbel Kiprop win for the fourth time (no one else has won it more than twice). 
 
The final 2016 All-Athletics.com rankings:
 

 
            Fans can follow Pre Classic developments on social media on PreClassic.com, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
 
            Tickets for the 43^rd annual edition of the Prefontaine Classic, to be held May 26-27, 2017, at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., will be available on February 10^th at 9:00 a.m. PT at www.GoDucks.com as well as from 1-800-WEBFOOT.

            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.  The Pre Classic’s results score has rated No. 1 or No. 2 in the world in each of the last six years by All-Athletics.com. The meet has been sponsored by NIKE continuously since 1984. The Prefontaine Classic is an Oregon Track Club event.

            The Oregon Track Club  has been a major player for over 5 decades in helping to build the sport. The organization is volunteer-based and governed by an elected Board of Directors.  The Club’s impact is wide-ranging: from fitness to community service to youth activities to road racing to hosting the No. 1 ranked invitational meet in the world.

            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 2-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 4^th 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.