Pre Classic roundup: Men’s Events, by Roy Stevenson, note by Larry Eder

Pre Classic Roundup: Men’s Events

By Roy Stevenson

Held in perfect, warm, track and field conditions, Saturday’s 39^th annual Prefontaine Classic was stacked with London Olympic Games finalists and prior Olympic games and world champs stars. With an impressive three National Records, thirteen World Leading performances and five Meet Records, this was one for the books–and one to be long remembered.

Men’s Results

Capped off with the superb Bowerman Mile grand finale where fifteen runners dipped below 4 minutes (and the first three below 3:50), it will be hard to top this Diamond League meet for the rest of the season in Europe.

Men’s milers Kenyans Silas Kiplagat and Asbel Kiprop battled it out down the home straight to finish in that order in 3:49.48 and 3:49.53 respectively, with Kiplagat’s time a world leader. Ethiopian Aman Wote finished third in 3:49.88, with the next twelve finishers filing in below 3:57.08. High caliber athletes like Lopez Lomong (3:51.45) and Matthew Centrowitz (3:51.79) who both achieved personal outdoor best times–but only finished 9^th and 10^th–must be shaking their heads and wondering what it takes to get in the top three in these races.

Prior to this meet, the Pre Classic had produced 162 milers running under 4 minutes a total of 261 times, so we can add these 15 times to that impressive total, plus the six sub-fours from the previous night’s International Mile.

There was some drama in the last few yards of the Men’s 3,000m Steeplechase as the ubiquitous Kenyans Consesius Kipruto (8:03.59 Meet Record) and Ezekiel Kemboi (8:03.94) tangled in the final 40 meters as Kipruto tried to sneak past on the inside. Kemboi staggered for a few steps and looked to be the aggrieved party, but he was later DQ’ed to elevate fellow Kenyan Paul Koech to second place in 8:05.86 and Frenchman Benabbad Mekhissi to third ((8:06.60). American Evan Jager ran a creditable 4^th in 8:08.60 cementing his claim as one of the world’s best steeplechasers.

The men’s 5,000m was one of Saturday’s most eagerly anticipated and exciting events as Mo Farah, Bernard Lagat, Galen Rupp, Dathan Ritzenheim, and a stellar field toed the line. Ten of the 21 starters boasted personal bests under 12:00! After the standard jockeying for positions in the early stages the field went through 3,000m in 7:55.25 paced by Gideon Gathimba. Farah sat just off the pace and Rupp looked comfortable in tucked away in 8^th place. The huge lead pack bunched with 4 laps to go, with only one second covering 1^stthrough 6^th. 

The popular Farah/Rupp team from Portland, Oregon, took the lead, applying pressure with three laps to go, signifying the game was on. At the bell, Farah and Rupp were followed closely by Longosiwa (Kenya), Soi (Kenya), Alamirew (Ethiopia), Ritzenheim, Lagat, Koech (Kenya), and Kirui (Kenya).

Edwin Soi (13:04.75 World Leader) prevailed over Farah (13:05.88) in the home straight with Alamirew third (13:06.45). Looking like he was still a little short on sprint training, Rupp faded somewhat in the last half lap to 6^th in 13:08.69, holding off American Chris Derrick’s who hit a Personal Best of 13:09.04.

German Robert Harting’s 69.75m World Leader discus throw easily beat Poland’s Piotr Malachowski’s 68.19 throw and an exuberant Mutaz Barshim from Qatar won the Men’s high jump in a new Personal Best, Meet Record, and American Record of 2.40 meters from U.S.’s Erik Kynard’s 2.36m, gaining Barshim the “Athlete of the Meet” title.

France’s Olympic Champion Renaud Lavillenie put on an excellent display of pole vaulting to come from behind, after struggling with three jumps to clear his first height of 18ft 8 3/4in. LeVillenie’s win in a world leading 19ft-61/4 (5.95m) from Germany’s Bjorn Otto (5.90m). American Brad Walker vaulted 5^th in 5.61m.

The men’s 100m unfolded according to form with Justin Gatlin a clear winner in 9.88 (wind +2.6m/s) from Michael Rodgers (9.94) and Ryan Bailey (10.00), giving the U.S. a shut out over Jamaican Nesta Carter and Bahamian Derrick Atkins.

Jamaica’s Hansle Parchment outleaned Cuba’s Orlando Ortega 13.05 (World Leader) to 13.08 in the Men’s 110m hurdles, with David Oliver third in a season’s best of 13.10.

Jamaica and U.S.A. mixed it up in the men’s 200m with Jamaican Nickel Ashmead winning in 20.14 from U.S. Walter Dix in 20.16. Times were slow from the -0.9m/sec headwind. Jamaica’s Jason Young was third in 20.20.

The men’s 400m promised to be exciting with longtime rivals Lashawn Merritt versus Kirani James, and so it was. Their duel down the home straight was a nail biter with James appearing to hold off Merritt until Merritt found something extra to take James a few meters before the line. Their times of 44.32 and 44.39 were almost a second ahead of third placer Tony McQuay.

Without superstar half miler David Rudisha, the men’s 800m was wide open. The 7
-man field’s best times ranged from Ethiopian Mohammed Aman’s1:42.53 to British Andrew Osagie’s 1:43.77, a mere spread of 1.24 seconds!

Matthew Scherer paced the field through a solid 49.36-second first lap and then left a trailing field to their own devices. Aman’s final sprint gave him a clear win (1:44.42) from Kenyan Timothy Kitum’s1:45.16 (Personal Best). Nick Symmonds unleashed his usual power sprint over the final 110 meters to mow down several slowing runners on the home straight to give him third in 1:45.40.

This Pre Classic was a meet to be remembered; a rare convergence of post-Olympic and pre-world champs timing, perfect track and field weather, and a rabid Hayward Field crowd that expected no less of the athletes.