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HARTING LEADS BATTLE OF DISCUS GOLD MEDALISTS AT PRE CLASSIC

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Eugene Diamond League - Nike Prefontaine Classic   May 1st 2013, 5:53pm
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Pre Classic
 

May 1, 2013
For Immediate Release

HARTING LEADS BATTLE OF DISCUS GOLD MEDALISTS AT PRE CLASSIC

 
            Eugene, Oregon – Robert Harting knows how to win. The German discus star’s last loss dates back all the way to early August of 2010, and his winning streak has grown to an daunting 33 meets, including gold medals at the 2011 World Championships and 2012 Olympic Games.

            A colorful character who likes to celebrate his big golds by ripping off his jersey and throwing it to the crowd, the 28-year-old  has also compiled one of history’s best stretches in the event - last year’s No. 1 world ranking by Track & Field News was his fourth consecutive.  No one has ever won five in a row.
 
            One thing Harting has not done is win a Diamond League title, and defending his Pre Classic title will be no easy feat. The field is stunning—so complete that every medalist from the Olympics and World Championships since 2008 is included, plus every No. 1-ranked athlete by T&FN since 2003.  Every previous Diamond League winner is confirmed, and the seven-man field is comprised of the Top 7 from last year’s T&FN world rankings.  Each was a finalist in London.
 
            Harting has not yet won a Diamond League title, but Gerd Kanter of Estonia, Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania, and Piotr Malachowski of Poland have.  They are members of their own club, the only Diamond League winners in the event. 

            Kanter, who will be 34 by Pre Classic meet time, was ranked No. 2 in the world last year byT&FN.  The 2008 Olympic gold medalist, he has ranked among the top three in the world for the last eight years.

            Alekna is 41 but still looking for more glory.  Winner of a pair a of Olympic golds in 2000 and 2004, he is part of a select group - led by legendary 4-time winner Al Oerter - to win at least two.  He also owns gold from the 2003 and 2005 World Championships and has been ranked among the Top 5 in the world by T&FN for 16 of the last 17 years.

            Malachowski, relatively young at 29 in men’s discus years, has earned silver medals at the Olympics and World Championships.  He has been ranked among the Top 5 in the world by T&FN in each of the last 6 years.

            London silver medalist Ehsan Hadadi of Iran will make his first-ever appearance in Eugene.  The bronze medalist at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, Hadadi was ranked No. 3 in the world last year by T&FN.  Also confirmed and in the Pre Classic for the first time are Germany’s 25-year-oldMartin Wierig and Spain’s Frank Casanas, 35.  The pair finished 6th and 7th in the London Olympics. 

            This field is without question the best ever assembled on American soil since the 1996 Olympic Games.
 
Men’s Discus Throw Personal Best
Virgilijus Alekna (Lithuania) 242-5 (73.88)
Gerd Kanter (Estonia) 240-9 (73.38)
Robert Harting (Germany) 231-10 (70.66)
Piotr Malachowski (Poland) 229-1 (69.83)
Ehsan Hadadi (Iran) 227-5 (69.32)
Martin Wierig (Germany) 224-2 (68.33)
Frank Casanas (Spain) 222-9 (67.91)
 
 
            The women’s javelin throw on Friday evening, May 31st, will be led by reigning world champion Mariya Abakamova. The Russian star, the second longest thrower in history, will get stiff competition from Germany’s Christina Obergfoll and South Africa’s Sunette Viljoen

            Obergfoll - the London silver medalist and reigning Pre Classic champion  – was ranked No. 1 in the world in 2011 by T&FN.  Viljoen was ranked No. 2, and took bronze in the 2011 World Championships.

            Also throwing will be a pair of Olympic finalists and national record holders in Martina Ratejof Slovenia and Madara Palameika of Latvia.  Add to that group Ukraine record holder Vira Rebryk,Kimberley Mickle of Australia, and 2-time NCAA champion Brittany Borman, formerly of Oklahoma, who won the Olympic Trials at Hayward Field last year.

            The Pre Classic, like all meets around the world, is without one of the event’s best ever, as WR holder/Olympic gold medalist Barbora Spotakova is on maternity leave. The Czech Republic star is due to deliver this summer and plans to return to action in 2014.
 
Women’s Javelin Throw Personal Best
Mariya Abakumova (Russia) 236-2 (71.92)
Christina Obergfoll (Germany) 230-4 (70.20)
Sunette Viljoen (South Africa) 227-6 (69.35)
Martina Ratej (Slovenia) 220-4 (67.16)
Vira Rebryk (Ukraine) 219-4 (66.84)
Madara Palameika (Latvia) 211-7 (64.51)
Kimberley Mickle (Australia) 210-4 (64.12)
Brittany Borman (USA) 201-9 (61.51)
 
            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 includes updates to previously announced fields.
 
            Tickets for the 39th annual edition of the Prefontaine Classic, to be held May 31-June 1 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., are available now from PreClassic.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 June 1st.

            The Prefontaine Classic is the longest-running outdoor invitational track and field meet in America and is part of the elite IAAF Diamond League of meets held worldwide annually.  Last year’s Pre Classic presented the most 2012 Olympic gold medalists (20) of any invitational meet in the world.

            Steve Prefontaine is a legend in the sport of track & field and is perhaps the most inspirational distance runner in American history.  Many call him the greatest ever.  He set a national high school 2-Mile record while at Coos Bay High School that lasted nearly two decades.  While competing for the University of Oregon, he won national cross country championships (3) and outdoor track 3-Mile/5000-meter championships (4) every time he competed, and never lost a collegiate race at any distance.  As a collegiate junior, he made the 1972 U.S. Olympic Team and nearly won an Olympic medal, finishing 4thin 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 soon after and has been held every year since.

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