May 15, 2013
For Immediate Release

 

ARIES MERRITT RETURNS TO PRE CLASSIC

WITH OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL AND WORLD RECORD

 
            Eugene, Oregon – Aries Merritt sure knows how to flip a switch.  After winning last year’s U.S. Olympic Trials in the 110-meter hurdles in a personal-best 12.93, he finished the summer clearly unbeatable, claiming the London gold medal in 12.92 and smashing the World Record in 12.80 at the IAAF Diamond League final in Brussels, Belgium. Overall, he became the first ever to break the 13-second barrier 10 times in one year.

            Merritt headlines a stellar field at the 39^th Prefontaine Classic to be held June 1 at historic Hayward Field, site of Merritt’s Olympic Trials race.  Winner of the Diamond League title last year, Merritt will be joined at the Pre Classic by a formidable field that includes all the London medalists, the reigning world champion, a former Diamond League winner and the holder of the Pre Classic and Hayward Field records.
 
            Jason Richardson was runner-up to Merritt a number of times last year, notably at the Olympic Trials, London Olympics and Diamond League final.  He earned a “wild card” free pass to this year’s World Championships in Moscow by virtue of winning gold at the Daegu World Championships in 2011.  Merritt and Richardson are both 27 years old; Merritt owns a 17-9 all-time head-to-head record, which dates back to their collegiate days (Merritt at Tennessee, Richardson at South Carolina).  Richardson was ranked No. 2 in the world last year behind Merritt by Track & Field News.
 
            No one has run faster in Eugene - or anywhere in the U.S. - than David Oliver, who won the 2010 Pre Classic in 12.90, best ever in the U.S.  The 2008 Olympic bronze medalist, Oliver lowered his best to 12.89 as he captured the T&FN No. 1 world ranking and Diamond League title in 2010.  A 2-time winner of the Pre Classic (2010 and 2011), he was ranked No. 3 in the world by T&FN last year as well as in 2011.
 
            Hansle Parchment, only 22, set a Jamaican record of 13.12 when he earned the Olympic bronze medal in London.  It was the first medal of any color in the event for a Jamaican man.  Parchment was ranked No. 4 in the world last year by T&FN.  Another Jamaican made history last year.  Andrew Riley, as a senior at Illinois, became the first man to win the NCAA 100 and 110 hurdles in the same year.
 
            American Jeff Porter was the final member of the powerful U.S. men’s high hurdles London Olympic team.  While not an Olympic finalist, his campaign was strong enough to rank him No. 7 in the world last year by T&FN.  He is yet another former NCAA champion in the field, having won the indoor 60-meter hurdles in 2007 for Michigan.  He joins Merritt (2006), Richardson (2008) and Riley (2010, 2011, and 2012) as NCAA winners.
 
            Two more young athletes complete the field.  European champion Sergey Shubenkov of Russia is 22 and Cuba’s Orlando Ortega is 21.  Ortega was a finalist in the London Olympics, finishing 6^th.  Shubenkova was ranked No. 6 in the world last year by T&FN, while Ortega was No. 9.  Both own PRs of 13.09.
           
            In the All-Athletics.com rankings, which combines past performances with this year's marks, the Pre Classic field boasts the Nos. 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 performers in the world.
 

Men’s 110-Meter Hurdles	Personal Best
Aries Merritt (USA)	12.80
David Oliver (USA)	12.89
Jason Richardson (USA)	12.98
Jeff Porter (USA)	13.08
Orlando Ortega (Cuba)	13.09
Sergey Shubenkov (Russia)	13.09
Hansle Parchment (Jamaica)	13.12
Andrew Riley (Jamaica)	13.19

 
            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 39^th 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 1^st.

            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 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 soon after and has been held every year since.