With the conclusion of the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 and the New Delhi 2025 World Para Athletics Championships, all eyes turn to the 2026 track & field season. The 51st edition of The Prefontaine Classic will take place at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon on Saturday, July 4, 2026.
The Prefontaine Classic will once again celebrate with the world’s best athletes on Independence Day weekend for 2026. The action-packed day for track & field fans will coincide with the 250th anniversary of the signing of the United States’ Declaration of Independence in 1776. In the days leading up to the meet, fans can expect the return of the Oregon Track Club All-Comers Meet at The Prefontaine Classic, open to youth athletes ages 12 and under, on Wednesday, July 1. The following evening, athletes of all ages are invited to run or walk one mile under the lights at Hayward Field for the annual Night of Miles.
In front of a sold-out Hayward Field crowd and while celebrating its 50th edition, the 2025 Pre Classic notched 98,121 points to become the highest scoring single day invitational meeting ever recorded by World Athletics. The meet featured two World Records, four Diamond League records, seven Pre Classic records, seven National Records, and eight World Leading marks.
The only invitational meeting to ever score higher was the 2023 Prefontaine Classic, which spanned two days and served as that year’s Wanda Diamond League Final. World Athletics’ competition performance score is determined by the performances of that meeting’s athletes, so when nearly 300 athletes competed as they did, it is no surprise that the 50th Pre Classic etched its name in history books.
The Diamond League events that will be contested at the 2026 Pre Classic will be announced at a later date.
Priority ticket access, ticket on-sale, hospitality and volunteer information will be released at a later date.
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