Bowerman Men's Mile Features Brits Josh Kerr, Jake Wightman Trying To Maintain Edge On Jakob Ingebrigtsen

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Kim Spir photo

(UPDATE FRIDAY AFTERNOON With Info on Scratches)

Ten weeks out from the start of the track and field events at the Paris Olympic Games, this weekend's Prefontaine Classic will offer a sneak peek at what's to come this summer. 

The meet schedule is a bit lighter than what's typical. 

There are only 15 events during the two-hour TV window, nine for women and six for men.  

The lineups, as usual, are loaded with talent and may resemble upcoming Olympic finals. 

10,000 Meters Serves As Kenyan Trials

PREFONTAINE CLASSIC Pre-TV Window Viewing Information (+PLUS required)

And for intrigue, the Men's Bowerman Mile is hard to beat. There are seven men in the race who have run under 3:50 in the mile. 

World outdoor 1,500-meter champion Josh Kerr of Great Britain will go head-to-head with Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the reigning Olympic champion and World silver medalist. 

This field includes Americans Yared Nuguse, Cole Hocker and Hobbs Kessler. Matthew Centrowitz has scratched.

And it also includes the return of Jake Wightman of Great Britain, 2022 World Championships gold medalist in the 1,500 meters, to site of his triumph over Ingebrigtsen at Hayward Field. Wightman missed nearly all of 2023 with an injury and ran 1:44.10 in the 800 meters last weekend in Los Angeles. 

The lone men's field event on the program, the men's shot put, features the first head-to-head matchup of the year between the two farthest throwers of all-time. 

Ryan Crouser, who was set to make his outdoor debut this week, is a late scratch. 

Joe Kovacs, who beat Crouser in last year's Diamond League final in Eugene, threw 75-2.75 (22.93m) last weekend in Los Angeles. 

World champion Sha’Carri Richardson is set to make her return to Hayward Field and she will compete in a 100-meter field that includes Jamaica's Elaine Thompson-Herah, former University of Texas star and 2023 NCAA champion Julien Alfred (Saint Lucia) and Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith (Côte d’Ivoire), and American Melissa Jefferson.

Christian Coleman and Ackeem Blake headline the men's 100.  

World leader Kenny Bednarek, who ran 19.67 at the Doha Diamond League, will be in the men's 200 meters against current world No. 2 Courtney Lindsey (19.71). Erriyon Knighton, the world silver medalist, is a scratch.  

Grant Holloway, who ran a world-leading time of 13.07 seconds in Atlanta last weekend, will take on a field in the men's 110-meter hurdles that includes five of last year's finalists in Budapest. Hansle Parchment of Jamaica and Daniel Roberts and Trey Cunningham of the U.S. are also in the race. 

The intensely competitive women's 100-meter hurdles features Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Tonea Marshall (12.42 in Los Angeles), Nia Ali, Danielle Williams, Alaysha Johnson, Masai Russell and Devynne Charlton. 

Even with the news this week that Athing Mu is a scratch due to a hamstring issue, the women's 800 meters is shaping up to be another marquee race. 

World champion Mary Moraa of Kenya and silver medalist Keely Hodgkinson of Great Britain will race in a field that includes six of last year's eight finalists from Budapest. 

Halimah Nakaayi from Uganda, the 2019 World champion, won the women's 800 meters last weekend in Los Angeles, running a personal-best 1:57.56. 

Great Britain's Gemma Reekie and Americans Nia Akins and Sage Hurta-Klecker are also in the race. (Raevyn Rogers scratched).

Elle St. Pierre, who became the fourth-fastest U.S. woman in the 5,000 meters last weekend in Los Angeles, running 14:34.12, will take on her first 1,500 meters of the season this weekend. 

St. Pierre will face Diribe Welteji of Ethiopia, who won the 1,500 last weekend in Los Angeles with the third-fastest performance in the world this year, 3:55.25. 

A total of 13 women in the field (out of 15) have run under four minutes. Laura Muir of Great Britain, Jessica Hull of Australia, and Elise Cranny, Nikki Hiltz, Cory McGee and Sinclaire Johnson of the U.S. are among the notables in the field.  

Sifan Hassan of The Netherlands and Ejgayehu Taye from Ethiopia are the leading entries in the women's 5,000 meters. Weini Kelati and Emily Infeld are the lone Americans in the field. 

Rai Benjamin, another athlete who enjoyed a breakout performance in Los Angeles last weekend, has scratched in the 400-meter hurdles. Americans CJ Allen, Trevor Bassitt and Khallifah Rosser are entered.

Kenyans Beatrice Chepkoech and Faith Cherotich will face off in a battle of supremacy in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase. Chepkoech is the world record holder and Cherotich has the No. 2 time in the world. 

It's been a difficult time for the top Americans in the event. Emma Coburn fractured her ankle last month racing in China and Courtney Frerichs has suffered an injury to her right knee.

In women's field event action, top Americans Katie Moon and Sandi Morris will renew their rivalry in the pole vault. Moon is the Olympic and World champion and opening her season. Americans Gabriela Leon, Emily Grove, Bridget Williams and Rachel Baxter are also on the list. 

New pro Jasmine Moore will take on U.S. veterans Keturah Orji and Tori Franklin in the triple jump. Thea LaFond, the world indoor champion from Dominica, will look to build upon last week's victory in Los Angeles (14.37m) and Jamaican Shanieka Ricketts, the world silver medalist, is one of the favorites.

Olympic champion Valarie Allman is undefeated through five competitions so far this year in the discus. She won both Diamond League events in China in April, but she has not yet topped 70 meters yet in 2024. World champion Laulauga Tausaga of the U.S. was fourth last week in Los Angeles. Former Oregon thrower Jorinde Van Klinken of The Netherlands, who still trains in Eugene, will get to compete at Hayward Field with an eye on Euros in two weeks. 

A high-quality hammer competition features reigning world champion Camryn Rogers of Canada, 2019 world champion DeAnna Price, the world leader so far in 2024, Brooke Andersen, and World silver medalist Janee' Kassanavoid.