The Shot's Heavy Hitters to Meet at Pre Classic

(The 42^nd Prefontaine Classic, a member of the IAAF Diamond League of elite international track & field meets, will be held May 27-28 at historic Hayward Field.)

            Eugene, Oregon – The planet’s two best men’s shot putters are ready for a new duel at the Prefontaine Classic.  For the first time, both are equipped with gold medals.

            Some might call it a rematch, but others see it as a Pre Classic tradition.  Seven of the world’s top 9 are prepared to enter the ring that has produced the most 70-foot throws in the world.
 
            Joe Kovacs, 26, is a bright light in the shot put event.  His most shining moment to date came in topping a stellar field at last year’s World Championships in Beijing – defeating a pair of two-time reigning Olympic or World Championships gold medalists, in what was the first major international competition of his young career.

            The Beijing victory was only one crowning moment for Kovacs, who earlier in the summer heaved 74-¼ (22.56) to become the farthest American putter since 1990, when an infant Joe was just learning to walk.  Kovacs went on to add the IAAF Diamond League Trophy and No. 1 world ranking from Track & Field News.

(Kovacs has an interesting training background. His high school coach was his mother, working in a circle they painted in a parking lot because his school didn’t have a shot ring.)

            David Storl, is already Germany’s third farthest ever at 72-10 (22.20), trailing only a pair of former world record holders in Udo Beyer and Ulf Timmermann, of what was then East Germany.

            Storl is a two-time gold medalist at the World Championships (2011 & ‘13).  He also has the most major medals in the field at six.  He has ranked five times already among the top 4 by T&FN – the last three at No. 2.  Storl debuted in the Pre Classic last year, finishing 2^nd to Kovacs.
 
            The field has much more, as five current or past major gold medalists grace an incredible collection that includes the top 6 from last year’s World Championships.

            O’Dayne Richards, 27, produced the first medal for Jamaica in the shot put with a bronze at last year’s World Championships, equaling his national record 71-2 (21.69), set in winning the Pan-American Games gold.

            New Zealand’s Tom Walsh is the youngest in the field at 24 years old.  He won the gold medal at the recent World Indoor Championships in Portland with a national record 71-5½ (21.78).  Walsh was in medal contention in Beijing, until nudged to 4^th by Richards.

            Tomasz Majewski, 34, has two Olympic gold medals, joining legendary Parry O’Brien in an exclusive club.  The Polish record holder at 72-¼ (21.95), Majewski’s best efforts on U.S. soil have come at Hayward Field, competing at the last six Pre Classics.  He has made every major championships final dating to 2004.

            Reese Hoffa, 38, could call the Pre Classic his second home, and it would be fitting for an athlete who has already competed 11 times with 4 victories.  Or maybe home could be the T&FN world rankings, where he has ranked 12 straight years in the top 6 (only Udo Beyer has more at 13).  Hoffa won gold at the World Championships in 2007 and also claimed a bronze at the London Olympics.  In 2014, he earned the No. 1 world ranking by T&FN (his fourth).  He is the only two-time Diamond League Trophy winner in this event (2012 & ’14).

            Two 25-year-olds are prepared for their first Pre Classic.  American Jordan Clarke, a four-time NCAA champion from Arizona State, ranked No. 8 in the world last year by T&FN.  Tim Nedow is a three-time Canadian champion who earned the silver medal at last summer’s Pan-American Games behind Richards.

            Interesting note—no non-American has ever won the Prefontaine Classic men's shot put!
 

 
            Fans can follow the event lineups on <link http: eugene.diamondleague.com _blank>eugene.diamondleague.com. The direct link to current start/entry lists is posted <link program_results_eugene>HERE , and will include updates to all announced fields. Additional news, photos, and videos may be found on<link http: www.preclassic.com>preclassic.com, <link https: www.instagram.com preclassic _blank>Instagram, <link https: www.facebook.com preclassic _blank>Facebook, and <link https: twitter.com nikepreclassic _blank>Twitter.
 
            Tickets for the 42^nd annual edition of the Prefontaine Classic, to be held May 27-28 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., are available now at <link http: www.goducks.com>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 five years by All-Athletics.com, the official data partner of the Diamond League.  Sponsored by NIKE continuously since 1984, the Prefontaine Classic will be shown live to an international audience and by NBC and NBC Sports Network.

            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.