RunnerSpace Report with assist from AI

Results

The 2025 Prefontaine Classic lived up to its billing as one of the greatest track meets ever assembled, with world records, dramatic duels, and a staggering display of depth across nearly every discipline. The centerpiece of the weekend came from Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet, who stunned the Hayward Field crowd with a 13:58.06 world record in the women’s 5000m, becoming the first woman in history to break 14 minutes and shattering both the world and African records. Just 90 minutes later, Faith Kipyegon delivered yet another masterpiece in the 1500m, storming to a 3:48.68 victory & producing a new world record, with Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji (3:51.44) and Australia’s Jessica Hull (3:52.67) also producing historic times in what became the deepest women’s 1500m race of all time.

The drama extended to the sprints, where Melissa Jefferson-Wooden claimed the women’s 100m in a wind-legal 10.75 (-1.5), holding off Julien Alfred and Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith, while Sha’Carri Richardson struggled to ninth in 11.19. On the men’s side, Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson bested a loaded field to win the 100m in 9.85, ahead of Zharnel Hughes (9.91) and Trayvon Bromell (9.94), with 2019 world champion Christian Coleman finishing seventh. In the men’s 200m, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo clocked 19.76 in a commanding win, and in the women’s 400m, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won with a strong 49.43 against a rising American field.

The Bowerman Mile provided one of the weekend’s most electric moments, with Dutch teenager Niels Laros edging American Yared Nuguse in a breathtaking 3:45.94 to 3:45.95 finish—both times among the fastest in history. The men’s 10,000m was equally dramatic as Biniam Mehary, Berihu Aregawi, and Selemon Barega all finished within 0.31 seconds of each other, all under 26:45 in a race that shook up the world champs picture. American Conner Mantz finished 12th in 27:35.22. Meanwhile, in the women’s steeplechase, Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi controlled the race from the front, clocking 8:45.25 to beat Kenya’s Faith Cherotich (8:48.71) and Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai (8:51.77), as six women dipped under 9:10.

The 400m hurdles brought fireworks as well, with Brazil’s Alison dos Santos (46.65) narrowly defeating American Rai Benjamin (46.71) in what could be a Paris rematch in Tokyo. In the field events, Tara Davis-Woodhall soared to a 7.07m victory in the long jump on her final attempt, out-dueling Germany’s Malaika Mihambo (7.01m), while Chase Jackson threw a meet record 20.94m in the shot put to defeat Sarah Mitton and Jaida Ross. On the men’s side, Joe Kovacs dominated the shot put with a 22.48m toss, and Mykolas Alekna continued his historic discus campaign with a 70.97m bomb to win over Ralford Mullings and Daniel Ståhl. Rudy Winkler also impressed in the hammer, launching an American record 83.16m to hold off Canada’s Ethan Katzberg.

Other standout performances included Armand Duplantis clearing 6.00m to win the pole vault, Ackera Nugent clocking 12.32 in the women’s 100m hurdles, and Camryn Rogers dominating the women’s hammer with a 78.88m throw to break the Canadian record. In the promotional mile, Alabama’s Ethan Strand took down a deep field in 3:48.86 In the 800m, Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma edged South Africa’s Prudence Sekgodiso, 1:57.10 to 1:57.16, in a race that saw all eight finishers under two minutes—except Olympic champion Athing Mu, who faded to 2:03.44 in her return.