"JEOPARDY!" THE ANSWER: MEET RECORDS COULD GO

May 20, 2009
For Immediate Release



"JEOPARDY!"
THE ANSWER: MEET RECORDS COULD GO
IN PRE CLASSIC MIDDLE DISTANCES

Eugene—In the storied 35 year history of the Prefontaine Classic, never have the meet records in the middle distances been more in jeopardy across the board than at this year’s meet on June 7th in Eugene.
In the men’s 800, Beijing bronze medalist Alfred Yego returns seeking to break the meet and Hayward Field record of 1:44.01 that he set at last year’s Pre Classic. Ranked No. 1 in the world by Track & Field News magazine, Yego will be be matched with Olympic silver medalist Ahmad Ismail of Sudan, the Oregon Track Club Elite’s Nick Symmonds, ranked No. 1 in the U.S., and world-rankers Gary Reed of Canada (No. 5) and Amine Laalou of Morocco (No. 10). Add in 2004 Olympic gold medalist Yuriy Borzakovskiy of Russia, and you have the best 800 field in Prefontaine Classic history.
Last year, Maria Mutola retired after 17 straight victories, with her 1:57.57 still intact. Call it a bittersweet scenario, but Maria’s mark which has stood since 1997 has a real chance of being broken the very first year after her retirement. Olympic champion Pamela Jelimo of Kenya has been nothing short of spectacular in her brief career. The 19-year-old phenom was undefeated last year, her first-ever in the event, and ran faster than the Pre Classic meet record eleven times! Jelimo won’t be running a solo time-trial, however, as No. 2 in the world, countrywoman Janeth Jepkosgei, is in the race, as well as No. 8 Kenia Sinclair of Jamaica. And in case you missed it, Jepkosgei was the Olympic silver medalist behind Jelimo in Beijing.
In the women’s 1500, surprise Olympic gold medalist Nancy Lagat of Kenya returns the venue where she began her run-up to Beijing success. With just a 4:08 seasonal-best coming into last year’s Prefontaine Classic, Lagat improved to 4:03.80 to take second. She then went on to improve another 3 seconds in Beijing and take home the gold in 4:00.23. The meet record? 4:00.44 set by Geleta Burka of Ethiopia…who just happens to also be in the race. Not to be forgotten is No. 1 American Shannon Rowbury, who ran 4:00.33 last year and ranked No. 6 in the world, and Spain’s Nuria Fernandez, who ranked No. 10.
Finally, the Bowerman Mile will feature a field capable of taking down Daniel K. Komen’s 2007 meet record of 3:48.28, which is also the fastest ever run on U.S. soil. Led by No. 1 in the world Haron Keitany and No. 3 Asbel Kiprop, both of Kenya, the large field includes five men who have run under 3:50 for the mile or its metric equivalent. American recordholder Alan Webb, Bahrain’s Belal Mansoor, and Kenya’s Shedrack Korir join Keitany and Kiprop in the sub-3:50 club. Another Pre Classic milestone which may go is the all-time record of 13 finishers under 4-minutes. Every entrant in the field has been well under that mark within the past year.

The NIKE Prefontaine Classic will be shown live on NBC, from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time. Tickets may be purchased by calling 1-800-WEBFOOT or going online to www.goducks.com.


800 METERS (MEN)

**Nick Symmonds
**Khadevis Robinson
**Gary Reed (Canada)
**Alfred Yego (Kenya)
**Yuriy Borzakovskiy (Russia)
**Amine Laalou (Morocco)
**Ahmad Ismail (Sudan)
**Boaz Lalang (Kenya)
**Christian Smith
**Matt Scherer--pace



800 METERS (WOMEN)

**Pamela Jelimo (Kenya)
**Hazel Clark
**Alice Schmidt
**Janet Jepkosgei (Kenya)
**Kenia Sinclair (Jamaica)
**Alysia Johnson
**Tatyana Andrianova (Russia)
**Jemma Simpson (Great Britain)
**Jesse Carlin--pace


1500 METERS (WOMEN)

**Nancy Lagat (Kenya)
**Gelete Burka (Ethiopia)
**Anna Alminova (Russia)
**Shannon Rowbury
**Christin Wurth-Thomas
**Nuria Fernandez (Spain)
**Erin Donohue
**Meskerem Assefa (Ethiopia)
**Anna Willard
**Jenny Barringer
**Nikeya Green--pace
**Shayne Culpepper
**Shalane Flanagan
**Treniere Clement


BOWERMAN MILE (MEN)

**Haron Keitany (Kenya)
**Shedrack Korir (Kenya)
**Asbel Kiprop (Kenya)
**Belal Mansoor (Bahrain)
**Alan Webb
**Lopez Lomong
**Juan van Deventer (South Africa)
**Leonel Manzano
**Nicholas Kemboi (Kenya)
**Josephat Kithii (Kenya)
**Moise Joseph (Haiti)--pace
**Nate Brannen (Canada)
**Jackson Kivuna (Kenya)--pace
**Evan Jager
**Peter van der Westhuisen (S Africa)
**Henok Legesse (Ethiopia)
**Steve Sherer--pace