Sunday’s Prefontaine Classic wasn’t quite the windfall of fast times that we’ve come to expect from Pre over the years, but the meet delivered on its promise to reaffirm our thinking in certain events while contradicting the narrative in others. There were upsets aplenty and fast distance results to serve as a perfect appetizer for the rest of the summer.

Here were the winners and losers from Pre:

Winners

U.S. 100m Men

The clear favorites for men’s 100m gold and silver in Doha— Christian Coleman and Justin Gatlin— emerged after their 9.81 and 9.87 respective performances at Prefontaine. Coleman’s run represented more of what we’ve come to expect from the 23-year-old this season, as he’s now cut down his world lead in two consecutive 100s. He was the gold medal favorite before Sunday, but him running the second-fastest time of his life with still three months to go until Doha shows he may be untouchable come this fall.

Gatlin had a lot more to prove at Stanford despite being the defending world champion. The 37-year-old had not broken 10 seconds since 2017, and there was at least a chance that the veteran was no longer a medal threat. A 9.87 proved otherwise. He was no match for Coleman— no one is right now— but a strong start carried him to his first sub-9.90 since 2016. It’s especially notable for him since he already has a bye to Worlds; by running as fast as he did, the reigning champ is ahead of schedule.

Nike Oregon Project Women

In a field that included world champions Genzebe Dibaba and Hellen Obiri, Sifan Hassan and Konstanze Klosterhalfen’s 1-2 sweep in the Pre 3k was a Herculean feat. The times were obviously the most eye-popping feature of the race— Hassan ran 8:18.49, the fastest in 26 years, while Klosterhalfen moved to sixth in history with her 8:20.07— but equally impressive was how perfectly the pair executed tactically. Allowing Dibaba and Letesenbet Gidey to push the pace kept the NOP teammates fresh for the finish, which came in handy as Hassan (63.38) and KoKo (64.40) blew them out of the water in the last lap.

Sunday’s race made clear for Hassan that the 5k is probably her best bet at Worlds, while Klosterhalfen may want to consider bumping up from the 1500m as well in the wake of a breakout run. 

1500m Runners On Comeback Trail

Long layoffs and injuries be damned, a trio of milers out for extended periods before Pre— Faith Kipyegon, Shelby Houlihan and Matthew Centrowitz— all had strong races in Palo Alto. The Olympic and World champion Kipyegon, who missed 2018 with the birth of her child, ran like she had never left as she held off Laura Muir and Houlihan in 3:59.04. It was her first race in nearly 22 months, but the Kenyan was up at the front throughout and closed well in 61.23 to win.

A better timed move could have netted Houlihan her second straight Pre win in her first outdoor race of 2019. Down by over a second with one lap to go, the American made up the gap with foot speed that suggests her stress reaction is a distant memory. She fell short of Kipyegon and Muir, but 3:59.64 and third place is a triumph coming off an injury.

Centrowitz’s Bowerman debut was delayed as he recovered from more hamstring and shin issues that have haunted him recently, so his sixth place at Pre plays just fine. The Olympic champ passed seven men in the last lap, the typical Centro finish we’ve come to expect from one of the sport’s top technicians. Yes, he was beaten by Craig Engels by a place, but there’s little doubt who the favorite for USAs is after Sunday.

Paul Chelimo

After a couple less than satisfactory races to kick off his 2019 outdoor season, Paul Chelimo rose from the ashes with a 8:07.59 runner-up showing in the men’s two-mile. Chelimo closed like a freight train with a 56.12 last lap, including a preposterous 27.49 penultimate 200m, and fell just .05 short of victory despite a two-second gap at the bell. His last four laps were also a  great confirmation of his speed endurance— the two-time global 5k medalist ran his final 1600m in 4:00.69.

Before Sunday, Chelimo looked off in both the Shanghai 5k on May 18 (12th in 13:13) and the Stockholm 10k (5th in 27:43). 

Facing the 2019 World XC champion, winner Joshua Cheptegei, and 12:43 man Selemon Barega, this race was a good litmus test for Chelimo relative to the World Championships. Closing way better than both men is a strong endorsement of the American’s gold medal odds, even at an off distance.

Unheralded Brazilian Shot Putter

The men’s shot put at Pre was headlined by world leader and reigning Olympic champ Ryan Crouser as well as the last two world champions— Joe Kovacs (2015) and Tom Walsh (2017)— and yet it was unheralded Darlan Romani of Brazil who wound up with a shocking Diamond League record of 22.61m. The 28-year-old somehow improved his PB by over two feet on Sunday with a toss that moved him into the top-10 all-time in the event.

Romani had never won a Diamond League meeting before Sunday, but his result at Stanford does not appear to be a fluke. Despite zero career medals to his name, the Brazilian has now improved his PB in six consecutive seasons.

Losers

Three Fastest Women In 2019

The hype was strong surrounding three women who ran 10.7 100m in June— Elaine Thompson (10.73), Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (10.73) and Sha’Carri Richardson (10.75)—but the trio all underperformed in varying degrees at Pre. 

The sizzling Sha’Carri-Shelly-Ann 100m matchup totally flopped as Richardson was just fourth in 11.15 and Fraser-Pryce eighth in 11.39. Richardson, the collegiate record holder, couldn’t expect to come close to her 10.75 on a slow day for the sprints, but losing to fellow NCAA finalist Teahna Daniels was a shock nonetheless. 

The Jamaican’s performance was particularly befuddling, as she looked utterly powerless when she exited her drive phase. Perhaps SAFP just didn’t have the gas and decided to pack it in, but 11.39 just nine days after a 10.73 was the most surprising result out of Pre. 

100m and 200m world leader Elaine Thompson wasn’t quite as bad as her fellow Jamaican, but a 22.21 just a week post-22.00 was a lackluster result. 22.21 isn’t awful on a day when several sprint times disappointed, but more was expected from the top short sprinter in the world this season.

Indoor El Guerrouj Record Breakers

A pair of Ethiopians stars who broke Hicham El Guerrouj indoor world records in 2019 were total non-factors in the Bowerman mile-- indoor 1500m record holder Samuel Tefera (eighth, 3:53.50) and 3:47 miler Yomif Kejelcha (13th, 3:58.24) flamed out against strong competition at Pre. 

It’s been a slow start to the outdoor season for the 19-year-old Tefera after running 3:31.04 in February, which is a continuation of an alarming outdoor trend for one of the most talented milers in the world. Tefera won the indoor 1500m world title in 2018 and then managed just a fifth place outdoor world junior finish the same year. Tefera’s best outdoor races have come in time trial-type scenarios, but anything tactical-- like the race on Sunday developed into-- has spelled trouble for the teen.

Kejelcha was up front as expected through two laps, and yet he totally cratered over the last two laps. A match-up with Timothy Cheruiyot figured to test the Oregon Project athlete’s status as a top miler, and Kejelcha was right on his shoulder with 800m to run. But after splitting 1:56.15 at 809m, the man who lowered El Guerrouj’s indoor mile record by over a second in March was fried. It had to just be an off day for the 22-year-old, as he covered the final 800m in an abysmal 2:02.09.

110m Hurdlers Outside of Holloway and Roberts

The men’s 110m hurdles figures to develop into a marquee event once 2019 NCAA stars Grant Holloway and Daniel Roberts restart their seasons as professionals, but as it stands now the high hurdles remains utterly ignorable. The fastest time outside of Holloway and Roberts’ respective season bests of 12.98 and 13.00 is 13.12 by Omar McLeod and Sergey Shubenkov, modest clockings that the collegiate pair each eclipsed on two other occasions outside of the NCAA final. It is early for sure-- McLeod (12.90 PB) and Shubenkov (12.92) should get going eventually -- but another dud at Prefontaine only made the wait for Holloway and Roberts more agonizing (Roberts was initially in the Pre field, but was a late scratch). Orlando Ortega won the race on Sunday in 13.24, while McLeod could only manage third in 13.29.

Roberts will make his pro debut this Friday in Lausanne against Shubenkov and Ortega, which will hopefully kickstart this dormant Diamond League event. If the 21-year-old is still in 13-low form, expect much better times all around.

Almaz Ayana

10,000m world record holder and Olympic champion Almaz Ayana made her return to the track at Prefontaine for the first time since September of 2017, and it did not go well for the Ethiopian. Ayana finished dead last in the 3,000m in 8:57.16, 38 seconds behind winner Sifan Hassan. Yikes.

Despite her long layoff due to injury, I never entertained the thought that the 27-year-old would run this poorly since she didn’t race at all before the 2017 World Championships and yet still won gold and silver in the 10k/5k. But Ayana was totally lost on Sunday as she ran off the back almost the entire way.

A good race from her would’ve quickly established the favorite for the women’s 10k in Doha, but Ayana’s lack of fitness suggests it could be wide open. There’s plenty of time for the three-time gold medalist to improve, but the same woman who ran a 29:17 world record in Rio and won worlds a year later by a comical 45 seconds is not likely walking through the door anytime soon.

A Favorite In The Women’s 200m

Pre was supposed to establish the favorite for the women’s 200m at Worlds between Olympic champ Elaine Thompson and 2018 world leader Dina Asher-Smith, but Blessing Okagbare threw a wrench in that narrative by upsetting both women in 22.05, the second-fastest run of the Nigerian’s life.

With Thompson running 22.00 on June 23, and Asher-Smith winning the first two 200m Diamond League races this season, Sunday was set up perfectly for a two woman duel to determine a favorite heading into the summer. But Okagbare picked a great day to be at her best-- the Jamaican (22.21) and Brit (22.42) were both off, opening the door for her to down two sub-22 performers.

Now, the 30-year-old Okagbare doesn’t suddenly supplant Thompson and Asher-Smith in the 200m pecking order with this run, her record is much too spotty to read too much into one race, but 22.05 is plenty good enough to get a medal in Doha if she can replicate it this fall. Dafne Schippers won worlds with that exact time two years ago in London.