London 2012: Prefontaine Classic Will Rival Olympic Track & Field's Quality

If Track Town USA (Eugene, Oregon) ever needs another nickname, I have a suggestion:

Little London.

With a slight stretch of the imagination, the meandering Willamette River could be likened to the storied Thames.

Then there is the same mild, marine summertime climate.

But in terms of athletic depth, talent, and expected results at this weekend's Prefontaine Classic, the striking similarities with London 2012 can only be described as, well...Olympian.

The Samsung Diamond League series makes its stop in Eugene, June 1-2. Joining forces with the sizable clout of Nike and the 38th Pre Classic, it promises to produce the premier invitational track and field meet on the continent—if not the world.

And that's not an overstatement.

Last year, the Pre Classic was honored by All-Athletics.com as the most successful (in terms of results) of the 14 Diamond League stops.

And on paper, this year's edition is even more impressive.

With the entry lists not even yet complete, the meet already features 93 athletes who have won 111 Olympic or World Championships gold medals.

Come to think of it, after such a ringing endorsement of Little London's star-studded extravaganza, I'm tempted to suggest a nickname for London:

I'm thinking "Big Eugene"?

See if you can wrap your brain around these loaded fields.

East Africans Invade the Northwest

It is not often Americans get an up-close and personal view as Kenyans and Ethiopians lay it all on the line for a chance to represent their country at the Olympic Games.

Scheduled for Friday night—Hollister Night, in honor of Nike executive Geoff Hollister, who succumbed to cancer this year—the men's 10,000-meter race will serve as the Kenyan Olympic qualifier.

This is unprecedented, and the Kenyans, with favorites like Moses Matai, Eliud Kipchoge and Wilson Kiprop, have vowed to make a statement in the 10K at London.

Does anyone think the greatest distance runners on the planet will hold anything back?

The women's 10K will also, in effect, serve as an Ethiopian qualifier, as that nation chooses its team on the basis of best times.

World record-holder in the 5,000-meters and multiple Olympic and World Championships gold medalist, Turinesh Dibaba returns to Hayward Field and will lead at least 14 East Africans in the women's race.

With six more events scheduled for Hollister Night, track fans will not find a better deal anywhere. Nike will cover everyone's admission fee for the night.

And that is just the prelude.

110-Meter Hurdles: Dream Race

How often do you see five of the world's six fastest hurdlers in one race?

Has it ever happened?

Even London cannot guarantee that kind of depth in its 110-meter hurdles final. Yet that is the scenario unfolding this weekend at Hayward Field.

Add to the mix Great Britain's Andy Turner and American decathlete Ashton Eaton—an impressive hurdler in his own right—and you get something very, very special just waiting to happen.

Here is the field:

Dayron Robles—(Cuba) world-record holder, defending Olympic champion

Liu Xiang—(China) former Olympic champion, current world leader

Jason Richardson—(USA) current world champion

David Oliver—(USA) American-record holder

Aries Merritt—(USA) current world indoor champion, 60-meter hurdles

Andrew Turner—(Great Britain)

Ashton Eaton—(USA) world champion and world-record holder, heptathlon

Dongpeng Shi—(China)

Need a hanky to wipe the drool?

Men's & Women's 400-Meters

Sanya Richards-Ross (USA) will be using this race to re-establish her credibility as the favorite in London after a close loss to Jamaica's Novlene Williams-Mills at the Jamaica Invitational.

She couldn't have picked a tougher field to test her mettle. But "iron sharpens iron," right?

Williams-Mills—having a brilliant season herself—will be out to prove Jamaica was no fluke.

But wait. What about reigning world champion, Amantle Montsho, of Botswana? Or Ross' compatriots, Natasha Hastings and Debbie Dunn? Or Anastasiya Kapachinskaya (RUS) and Sherika Williams (JAM)?

Every woman in the field has run sub-50 seconds and is capable of winning. You pick.

The men's race is just as loaded and just as hard to call.

Current world leader LaShawn Merritt (USA) would be the safest bet. But the shrewd gambler might put his money on the 19-year-old wonder kid from Grenada, Kirani James, who narrowly beat Merritt for the gold at the 2011 World Championships.

Former Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner (USA), eager to prove his full recovery from recent injuries, is motivated and will not go quietly into the night.

Two others have ulterior motives beyond just winning: hurdler Angelo Taylor (USA) will be out to defend his 400-meter Prefontaine crown from last year and the Blade Runner, Oscar Pistorius (RSA) is in dire need of the elusive Olympic "A" qualifying time (45.25 seconds).

Demetrius Pinder and Christopher Brown (BAH) and Kevin Borlee (BEL) solidify the field.

Would you agree both races have the look and feel of an Olympic final?

Women's Pole Vault: Game of Thrones

Conspicuous by her absence, the queen of the pole vault, Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS) apparently has an aversion to the clean, cool air of the Willamette Valley. With all of meet director Tom Jordan's recruiting magic, he has never been able to lure Isinbayeva to the Pre Classic.

It's her loss.

Knowledgeable and supportive fans, the Hayward mystique and an elite cast of challengers are elements no queen should ever ignore.

Jenn Suhr (USA) set her American record (16 feet, 1-3/4 inches) at Hayward Field. She has to feel good about returning to such friendly confines.

The only other 16-foot vaulter in history (besides Isinbayeva), Svetlana Feofanova (RUS), and Anna Rogowska (POL) will attempt to return to the form of their past glory as world champions.

Seemingly always in the mix, Fabiana Murer (BRA) and Martina Strutz (GER) are right on the cusp of the 16-foot barrier.

Then, three youngsters—with the advantage of being too young to know better—believe they can soar with the big girls. Holly Bleasdale (GBR), Angelica Bengtsson (SWE) and Kylie Hutson (USA) will certainly get a taste of international competition at the highest level—just like they might find in London.

Queen Isi may not be here, but you can bet she'll be watching.

 

The Bowerman Mile: Only in Eugene

So deep and talent-laden are the mile fields consistently assembled for the Pre Classic that two separate races had to be initiated in 2000.

The International Mile will be run Friday as a highlight on Hollister Night.

The finale on Saturday afternoon will be the signature event at Pre, the Bowerman Mile.

Nowhere on earth does the classic mile distance get such attention—and this year's edition has a special twist: a grudge match between the top two 1,500-meter runners in the world.

Just having the two Kenyans, Silas Kiplagat and Asbel Kiprop on the track guarantees a slew of sub-4:00 finishers. Add another Kenyan, last year's winner Haron Keiteny, and a world record is a distinct possibility.

American milers Bernard Lagat, Matthew Centrowitz, Andrew Wheating and Leonel Manzano (among others) will be in the slip-stream, gunning for new PRs.

It should be noted the final seeding for the races is still fluid, pending races to be run this week. For example, Nixon Chepseba (KEN) just ran a sub-3:30 1,500-meters in Hengelo. Meet director Tom Jordan must be on the phone right now.

Where else (but possibly London) would you see a line-up like this?

Silas Kiplagat (Kenya)
Asbel Kiprop (Kenya)
Abdelaati Iguider (Morocco)
Mekonnen Gebremedhin (Ethiopia)
Haron Keitany (Kenya)
Nick Willis (New Zealand)
Collins Cheboi (Kenya)
Russell Brown (USA)
Amine Laalou (Morocco)
Daniel Kipchirchir Komen (Kenya)
Matthew Centrowitz (USA)
David Torrence (USA)
Leonel Manzano (USA)
Andrew Wheating (USA)
Aman Wote (Ethiopia)
Bethwell Birgen (Kenya)
Bernard Lagat (USA)
Dawit Wolde (Ethiopia)
Tesfaye Cheru (Ethiopia)
Lopez Lomong (USA)
Nicholas Kemboi (Qatar)
Will Leer (USA)
Dorian Ulrey (USA)
Jeff See (USA)
Alan Webb (USA)
Gideon Gathimba (Kenya)
Mohamed Al Garni (Qatar)
Remmy Limo Ndiwa (Kenya)
Mohammed Shaween (Kuwait)

Women's Long Jump

In the last three years, the women's long jump has been Brittney Reese...and everyone else.

Watching the multiple world champion and indoor American record-holder (23 feet, 8 - 3/4 inches) jump is worth the price of admission all by itself.

But she'll have some world-class challengers who could push her to break Jackie Joyner-Kersee's outdoor record (24' - 7") as well. And that feat, great as it would be, is more likely than one might think. Reese has set individual PRs in three previous victories at Hayward Field.

Right at the 23-foot threshold are two other Americans, Janay DeLoach (22' - 11-1/4") and Funmi Jimoh (22' - 10"). Both are only a perfect launch and a slight tailwind away from something special.

Out of Brazil comes a jumper with the longest leap in the field, defending Olympic champion Maurren Higa Maggi (23' - 10"). But at 35, can she muster the former magic? Perhaps the crowd will help her.

Europe's best will be represented by Ineta Radevica (LAT), Eloyse Lesueur (FRA) and Shara Proctor (GBR), all jumping well over 22 feet.

This event is always a west grandstand crowd favorite. Probably no other venue offers such close interaction between elite athlete and spectator.

Certainly not Olympic Stadium in London.

Men's Shot Put: The Dancing Bears

Watching a 300-pound behemoth pirouette like a ballerina while gripping a 16-pound cannonball is a testament to the remarkable coordination inherent within the human physique.

Then, to propel that iron ball out past 70 feet is a testament to its strength.

What makes the shot put so fascinating is the merging of the two.

And it doesn't hurt that the discipline is currently in an era where on any given day, anyone can win.

On Saturday, the top five shot-putters in the world and six of the top eight will vie for bragging rights—at least for this week.

But isn't it time one of them steps up and begins to dominate?

It's another Olympics-quality field. Make your pick:

Dylan Armstrong (Canada)

Christian Cantwell (USA)

Reese Hoffa (USA)

Ryan Whiting (USA)

Tomasz Majewski (Poland)

Daniel Taylor (USA)
 

Women's High Jump

With perennial champion Blanka Vlasic of Croatia on the sidelines with a bacterial disorder, the pressure factor in the women's high jump has been slightly lessened.

But only slightly.

Chaunte Lowe (USA) and Anna Chicherova (RUS) will still provide enough intimidation to go around.

In fact—with all due respect to the rest of the field—unlike the shot put, it's fairly predictable the high jump will come down to these two in a jump-off. There's just too much talent, experience and hardware between Lowe and Chicherova.

But just for those who prefer the long-shots, here's the rest of a very classy field:

Svetlana Shkolina (Russia)

Xingjuan Zheng (China)

Emma Green Tregaro (Sweden)

Melanie Melfort (France)

Ebba Jungmark (Sweden)

Ariane Friedrich (Germany)

Mariya Kuchina (Russia)

The Best of the Rest (updated)

I've tried to highlight the main draws, yet there is so much more. In fact, some of the events (such as the men's and women's sprints) haven't even been finalized as yet.

(UPDATE: May 29) - the complete start lists have now been released. The men's and women's 100-meters and 200-meters are especially impressive. They are built for speed.

Follow this link to the Prefontaine homepage to keep up with the latest news during the week.

I think you'll agree, the Prefontaine Classic will provide the closest experience—in terms of international excellence—track fans will have this year, short of the Olympics themselves.

Following are more teasers which didn't have a slide of their own.

Note: there is one more slide to view which pertains to the personality behind this great meet.

Men's Javelin

     Matthias de Zordo (GER), Cyrus Hostetler (USA)

Women's Steeplechase

     Emma Coburn (USA), Bridget Franek (USA), Sara Hall (USA)

Women's 3,000-meters

     Sally Kipyego (KEN), Linet Masai (KEN)

Men's Triple Jump

     Christian Taylor (USA), Will Claye (USA)

Women's 1,500-meters

     Jenny Simpson (USA), Anna Pierce (USA), Sheila Reid (CAN)

Men's 800-meters

     Abubaker Kaki (SUD), Mohamed Aman (ETH), Adam Kszczot (POL)

     Nick Symmonds (USA)

Women's Hammer

     Betty Heidler (GER), Tatyana Lysenko (RUS)

Women's Discus

     Stephanie Brown-Trafton (USA), Aretha Thurmond (USA)

Men's 5,000-meters

     Mo Farah (GBR), Kenenisa Bekele (ETH), Galen Rupp (USA)

A Word About Steve Prefontaine

He was never an Olympic champion.

He never set a world record.

So, some fringe-level track fans—younger ones especially—wonder what the fuss is all about.

Why so much hoopla over a campus radical—who happened to run fast—and, by dying young, became the namesake of this great annual track meet?

Well, without getting into the details of what he did accomplish on the track, the thing that was special about Pre was how he ran with his heart as much as with his legs.

Call it guts, if you will.

No, he never set a world record...and was never an Olympic champion.

But (and those who actually saw the kid run will understand this) with Pre's kind of heart, it was only because he wasn't given enough time.

NBC will have live coverage beginning Saturday at 12 noon Pacific.

Follow @rojosports