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MAGNIFICENT MILE AT THE PRE CLASSIC - preclassic.comPublished by
June 29, 2010
MAGNIFICENT
MILE AT THE PRE CLASSIC Eugene , Oregon —There have been some great racers and great races in the Bowerman Mile over the 36 years of the Prefontaine Classic. But there has never been a field as talented and deep as in this year’s meet on Saturday, July 3rd at Hayward Field. Imagine
this: the Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 10 milers
from last year, as ranked by Track & Field News magazine,
are in
the Bowerman Mile. That’s right, 7 of
the top 10 milers from 2009 are in the race, led by Beijing
Olympic gold medalist Asbel Kiprop of Kenya.
Then there's Osaka World
Championships gold medalist Bernard Lagat of the U.S. Lagat
is on the cusp of tying two Bowerman Mile records: if he can win, it
will be his third, equaling the record held by Duck legend Joachim
Cruz, who won in 1985, '85 and '88. Lagat has also broken the 4:00
barrier 6 times in the Bowerman, trailing only the 7 of Canada's Kevin
Sullivan. And let’s not forget the Osaka World Championships gold medalist Youssef Kamel of Bahrain . So loaded is this field that Morocco’s Amine Laalou, who ranked 10th in the world last year at 1500 meters, has already run a quick 1:43.71 800 meters in 2010, while Kiprop has run even faster, 1:43.45. Americans Lopez Lomong and Leonel Manzano, who went 1-2 at last weekend’s USA Track & Field Championships, join Lagat as the top domestic challengers to the invasion of the world’s best milers. Tickets for the Prefontaine Classic are still available at preclassic.com or from 1-800-WEBFOOT. BOWERMAN MILE (MEN) # # # More news |