Eugene, Oregon – Distance fans will once again thrive at the Prefontaine Classic's “Distance Night in Eugene” on Friday, May 31^st.  The men’s 10k revives a duel between the reigning Olympic gold medalist and the current world record holder.

The 39^th Pre Classic, a member of the IAAF Diamond League of world-class meets, will be held on May 31 and June 1 at historic Hayward Field.  The men’s 10k is the climax of Friday’s program, which begins at 6:00 p.m.

Mo Farah, the 5k and 10k London Olympic gold medalist, tops a loaded international field. Farah, who trains in nearby Portland under the tutelage of Oregon legend Alberto Salazar, became Great Britain’s first to win Olympic golds in the 5k and 10k and is now a regular attraction at the Pre Classic.  He won last year’s 5k in the fastest time ever in the U.S., 12:56.98.  His 10k best of 26:46.57 was set in winning the 2011 Pre Classic that saw an amazing 9 runners dip below 27 minutes (no other race in the U.S. has had more than one).

Kenenisa Bekele has run even faster at Hayward Field.  The Ethiopian legend set the U.S. all-comers best of 26:25.17 at the 2008 Pre Classic.  He is the world record holder at 26:17.53 and has 3 Olympic gold medals, plus an amazing 11 world cross country titles.

Bekele and Farah, both 30, first raced against each other as 17-year-olds in 1999 at the inaugural World Youth Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland.  The distance was only 3k, and Bekele earned the silver while Farah finished 6^th.  At the 10k distance, they’ve only met twice, with Farah besting Bekele both times. Brilliant kicking, even off the stiffest of paces, is the hallmark of these two superstars.

While the Pre Classic 10k was originally destined to be Ethiopia’s World Championships trials, the Ethiopian Athletic Federation has decided to go in a different direction.  Still, Ethiopia’s best 10k runners are confirmed as part of a stellar field that includes 7 of the 10 best in the world as rated by All-Athletics.com, which combines 2012 accomplishments with 2013 performances, including cross-country achievements.

No. 2 on that list is Ethiopia’s Tariku Bekele, Kenenisa's younger brother.  Tariku earned the bronze in London, just a second ahead of Kenenisa in his first year of running the 10k.  Prior to 2012, Tariku’s main target was the 5k, and he was ranked among the world’s top 10 by Track & Field News 7 times since 2005, with a best of No. 2 in 2010.  Tariku won the 2010 Pre Classic 5k in 12:58.93, the first-ever sub-13 time in the western hemisphere.  It was the Pre Classic record until Farah broke it last year.  At the 10k, Tariku and Kenenisa are 1-1 head-to-head.  Since 2008, Tariku owns a 3-1 edge at all distances.

Three of the top Kenyans remember last year’s electric Pre Classic race, which saw 15 of that nation’s best race 25 memorable laps at Hayward Field for a chance to run again in London.  Bidan Karoki, now 22, was 3^rd, running a PR 27:05.50 to make the team.  He ended up as Kenya’s highest finisher at London in 5^th place and was ranked No. 5 in the world last year by T&FN.

Emmanuel Bett remembers last year’s Pre Classic for a different reason.  He finished in the agonizing 4^th place, but later in the summer lowered his PR to 26:51.15, fastest in the world, and was ranked No. 6 by T&FN.  So deep is Kenya’s talent that Vincent Chepkok didn’t even make last year’s Olympic Trials race.  The 2011 World Cross-Country bronze medalist ended up proving he belonged, running 26:51.68 last summer, 2012’s second-fastest.

The East African talent base continues.  Eritrea’s Teklemariam Medhin, 23, finished 7^th in London and is No. 7 in the All-Athletics.com ratings.  That’s just ahead of a pair of impressive Ethiopians.  Imane Merga, 24, won the 2011 World Cross-Country gold and was runner-up to Farah in the fantastic 2011 Pre Classic 10k race.  Yigrem Demelash is Ethiopia’s fastest Junior-aged runner of all time at 26:57.56.  He is still just 19 years old and will certainly threaten the World Junior Record of 26:41.75.


WOMEN'S 1500m: WORLD'S FASTEST TEENAGER COMING TO THE PRE CLASSIC

No, it's not Mary Cain, the exceptional 17-year old who will race in the IDL 800 Meters at Pre on June 1^st.  It's Faith Kipyegon, who at 19 has already run faster than three of the last four Olympic gold medalists in the women’s 1500 meters on Saturday, June 1st.  She will make her U.S. debut in the 1500 meters at the Pre Classic, after shattering the World Junior Record earlier this month by nearly 3 seconds at 3:56.98, also becoming the fastest Kenyan of any age.  The previous WJR had stood since 2005 and the previous Kenyan record since 1998.  Kipyegon is still eligible to set more Junior-aged records this year.

Kipyegon has an incredible record already.  She won the 2011 World Youth Championships and 2012 World Junior Championships.  Then, earlier this year she added the World Junior Cross-Country gold.

The Pre Classic presents an interesting challenge for the young Kenyan.  A former Olympic gold medalist and a 2-time World Championships gold medalist lead a world-class field in Nancy Langat of Kenya and Maryam Jamal of Bahrain.  Langat won the Beijing gold, while Jamal took home the 2007 and 2009 World Championships gold medals. Only Jamal (3:56.18) and Russia’s Yelena Soboleva (3:56.43) have faster personal bests in the field.

The field also includes two of America's fastest in Anna Willard and Treniere Moser.  Willard is a former American record holder in the steeplechase.  She is the fastest American at 1500 since 2000, as her 3:59.38 best trails only Mary Slaney and Suzy Favor Hamilton.  Moser, the last woman to win 3 straight national titles in a decade, has reinvented her career, running her fastest since the most recent of three national championships titles in 2007.

Men’s 10,000 Meters	Personal Best
Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia)	26:17.53
Sileshi Sihine (Ethiopia)	26:39.69
Mo Farah (Great Britain)	26:46.57
Imane Merga (Ethiopia)	26:48.35
Paul Tanui (Kenya)	26:50.63
Emmanuel Bett (Kenya)	26:51.15
Vincent Chepkok (Kenya)	26:51.68
Yigrem Demelash (Ethiopia)	26:57.56
Tariku Bekele (Ethiopia)	27:03.24
Bidan Karoki (Kenya)	27:05.50
Kidane Tadesse (Eritrea)	27:06.16
Teklemariam Medhin (Ethiopia)	27:16.69
Abera Kuma (Ethiopia)	27:18.39
Leonard Korir (Kenya)	27:29.40
Bouabdellah Tahri (France)	27:31.46
Daniele Meucci (Italy)	27:32.86
Mohammed Ahmed (Canada)	27:34.64
Arne Gabius (Germany)	none	(13:13.43 5k)
Birhan Tesfaye (Ethiopia)	none	(13:21.39 5k)
Goitom Kifle (Eritrea)	none	(13:22.92 5k)
Timothy Toroitich (Uganda)	none	(5th ’13 WC XC)
Atsedu Tsegay (Ethiopia)	none	(58:47 Half-Marathon)

 

Women’s 1500 Meters	Personal Best
Maryam Jamal (Bahrain)	3:56.18
Yelena Soboleva (Russia)	3:56.43
Faith Kipyegon (Kenya)	3:56.98
Btissam Lakhouad (Morocco)	3:59.35
Anna Willard (USA)	3:59.38
Hellen Obiri (Kenya)	3:59.68
Nancy Langat (Kenya)	4:00.13
Mimi Belete (Bahrain)	4:00.25
Siham Hilali (Morocco)	4:01.33
Hannah England (Great Britain)	4:01.89
Eunice Sum (Kenya)	4:02.05
Laura Weightman (Great Britain)	4:02.99
Mary Kuria (Kenya)	4:03.18
Treniere Moser (USA)	4:03.32
Sheila Reid (Canada)	4:07.07