February 11, 2014
For Immediate Release

Gold Always in Season at Pre Classic

            Eugene, Oregon – Gold returns again to the Prefontaine Classic with a men's shot put field featuring every Olympic and World Championships gold medalist since 2011, and the Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 throwers in the world last year as ranked by Track & Field News.

            The 40^th edition of the Pre Classic, a member of the IAAF Diamond League of elite international track & field meets, will be held May 30-31 at historic Hayward Field.  

            America’s Ryan Whiting and Germany’s David Storl will rekindle a magical rivalry, meeting for the first time ever on American soil at historic Hayward Field.  Last year, Storl won the World Championships in Moscow and Whiting won the IAAF Diamond League crown.  Overall, the two strongmen have clashed 10 times in their careers with Whiting currently holding a 6-4 edge.

            Whiting, 27, produced the longest effort of 2013 at 73-1¼ (22.28) and backed it up with a season that earned him the prestigious No. 1 world ranking from Track & Field News.  A native of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the 2010 Arizona State grad is looking to repeat his indoor gold from 2012 at the upcoming World Indoor Championships in Sopot, Poland.

            Storl is a magnet for gold medals.  Still only 23, his international collection already includes two World Championships (2013 and 2011) and the 2012 European title, plus one each from the World Junior (2008) and World Youth (2007).  He is Germany’s third farthest ever at 71-9½ (21.88), trailing only a pair of former world record holders in Udo Beyer and Ulf Timmermann, who threw their marks before Storl was born.

            At the other end of the age spectrum, let's not overlook 32-year-old Tomasz Majewski of Poland. The grizzled 2008 & 2012 Olympic gold medalist has been ranked among the Track & Field News top 10 for the past 8 years.    

            Spots 4,5, & 6 in the field are held by two veterans and one newcomer:

• Reese Hoffa – 2012 Diamond League winner ranked No. 1 in the world by T&FN  three times and has been among the top 3 every year since 2005, highlighted by gold medals at the '07 Worlds and '06 World Indoor.  He won the last two Pre Classics (2011 and 2012), and his 2009 victory makes him one of only two to win three or more Pre Classics in this event (the other is Christian Cantwell, currently recuperating from injury).
• Dylan Armstrong – 2011 Diamond League winner ranked No. 1 in the world that year by T&FN.  The Canadian record holder is from Kamloops, British Columbia.
• Ladislav Prasil – Like Storl, only 23 years old.  A world-class talent from the Czech Republic, he has blossomed quietly.  But at 6-6 (1.98), last year's Euro Indoor bronze medalist is hard to miss.

            The Prefontaine Classic shot put is renowned for having produced more 70-foot (21.34) performances than any other meet in history. This is the field to increase that number, with every entrant having a personal best throw over 70-feet, and in some cases dozens of throws over 21.34.

            Fans can follow the event lineups as all announced fields are posted at preclassic.com.  The direct link to current start/entry lists is HERE and will include updates to all announced fields.

            Tickets for the 40^th annual edition of the Prefontaine Classic, to be held May 30-31 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., will be available on Feb. 14^th from goducks.com and from 1-800-WEBFOOT.  Sponsored by NIKE continuously since 1984, the Prefontaine Classic will be shown live to an international audience and by NBC Sports from 1:30 till 3:00 p.m. PT on Saturday, May 31.

            The Prefontaine Classic is the longest-running outdoor invitational track & field meet in America and is part of the IAAF Diamond League of meets held worldwide annually. Last year’s sold-out edition totaled the highest performance score in the world  for the past decade as calculated by All-Athletics.com, the official data partner of the IAAF Diamond League.

            Steve Prefontaine is a legend in the sport of track & field and is perhaps 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 still the fastest ever in a National Federation-sanctioned race.  While competing for the University of Oregon, he won NCAA 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 22.  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.