May 21, 2013
For Immediate Release
MARY CAIN ADDED TO PRE CLASSIC 800 FIELD
Eugene, Oregon – Mary Cain, the phenomenal 17-year-old from Bronxville, New York, has been added to the IAAF Diamond League 800m at the June 1
st Prefontaine Classic.
Cain obliterated the High School Record in the 1500m last weekend at the USATF Oxy High Performance meet in southern California. Her time of 4:04.62 took more than 6 seconds off her own HSR of 4:10.77 set earlier this spring. She is now the fastest prep in history by almost 10 seconds over the next closest athlete, Jordan Hasay at 4:14.50.
Coached by Oregon legend Alberto Salazar, Cain has the potential to not only improve upon her 800 personal best (2:03.34), but to take down the High School and American Junior record of 2:00.07 set by Kim Gallagher in 1982. The World Junior record is 1:54.01 by Pamela Jelimo of Kenya, who also happens to be in the IDL 800m race.
IAAF DIAMOND LEAGUE 800 METERS
Mariya SAVINOVA RUS
Pamela JELIMO KEN
Francine NIYONSABA BDI
Alysia MONTANO USA
Yekaterina POISTOGOVA RUS
Janeth JEPKOSGEI KEN
Winny CHEBET KEN
Brenda MARTINEZ USA
Mary CAIN USA
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.
