A Meet for the History Books: 2025 PRE Classic
Three unforgettable performances that defined a record-breaking weekend at Hayward Field.
This past weekend, in Eugene, Oregon, at Hayward Field, the 50th annual Prefontaine Classic, more commonly known as the PRE Classic, took place. As the only Diamond League meet in America, the PRE Classic draws many of the best American track and field athletes and is consistently one of the best meets of the year. In today’s newsletter, I will be walking through three key headlines that made this meet one of the best this year.
Something Special Happens in the Women’s 1500m Final
Faith Kipyegon, regarded as one of the best, if not the best, female track and field athletes of all time, did it again. Just nine days ago, she ran in Nike’s BREAKING 4 Project, a project designed for her to break four minutes in the mile. Even though she wasn’t successful in her pursuits, she ran 4:06.42, faster than her previous World Record. However, as of right now, I’m not sure if this new record will be ratified because of the race setup, which includes advanced shoe technology along with unorthodox pacing methods. But, that’s not even the best part. In the women’s 1500m, Kipyegon did just what it says in the headline, and broke her world record once again. Kipyegon ran a time of 3:48.68, breaking her record by over half a second. She wasn’t the only one to have a great race, and six women total broke 4:00, including Jessica Hull and Nikki Hiltz who ran 3:52.67 and 3:55.96 respectively. After her great season last year and start of this season, Kipyegon, in my eyes, has solidified herself as the G.O.A.T. of middle-distance running and track and field in general.
A Rising Star Makes Noise in the Bowerman Mile
Leading into this meet, this race was the one that I was excited about most, and like everyone else, I was shocked by Niels Laros’ performance. Laros, the twenty-year-old Dutch middle-distance superstar, came into this race as a sneaky contender. Even though Laros is young, in his short professional career, he has placed 6th in the 1500m at the Olympics in 2024, and he also holds the World U20 Record in the 1000m and has been very successful on the U20 level, but this race was his break onto the top level. In the buildup, this race was slated as an opportunity for the Americans, Yared Nuguse and Cole Hocker, two members of the Olympic podium in the 1500m last year with Hocker winning, to run fast in front of a home crowd to hopefully establish themselves as serious contenders amongst the best, but Laros obviously went away from that narrative. Laros won the race, beating Nuguse by just .01 seconds, running 3:45.94, which is a Dutch National Record, as well as the seventh mile of all time. At just 20, Laros became the youngest Bowerman Mile Champion, an incredible achievement on its own. But, an even more impressive accomplishment is that he beat one of the best Bowerman Mile fields ever, which speaks volumes. Featuring runners like the French superstar, Azeddine Habz, Timothy Cheriuyot from Kenya, and Grant Fisher, the American to just name a few, this race was incredibly fast and 10 men ran under 3:49, making it one of the fastest in Diamond League history.
A Surprising Twist in the Women’s 100m Showdown
This final race delivered one of the biggest surprises of the weekend. Like the Bowerman Mile, the women’s 100m was a rematch of the Olympic final from the same event. Julien Alfred, the reigning Olympic champion, faced off against Sha’Carri Richardson, the reigning World champion in the event, along with Melissa Jefferson-Wooden who rounded out the podium in Paris. However, this race did not turn out anything like in the Olympics. Jefferson-Woodson upset the reigning Olympic champion, Alfred, and won the title in a time of 10.75, just .02 ahead of Alfred. But, here’s the twist, Richardson, finished behind both of them and the rest of the field, placing last in a time of 11.91, a shocking outcome. Julien Alfred was undefeated up until this race, and if her loss points to one thing, it shows that Melissa Jefferson-Wooden is becoming a member of the top tier of global sprinting.
The 2025 PRE Classic was one for the books, and even though I only talked about three races, this weekend had many other great performances and while these three headlines stole the show, they weren’t the only moments that mattered. Here are a few more standout performances from an unforgettable weekend at Hayward.
Other Headlines
Beatrice Chebet Breaks the 5000m World Record, First Woman Under 14:00
Alison dos Santos Edges Rai Benjamin in a Thriller 400m Hurdles Showdown
Sha’Carri Richardson Finishes Last in the Women’s 100m Final
Letsile Tebogo Defends His 200m Title with a World-Leading 19.76
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Wins the 400m, Just Off the World Lead
Tara Davis-Woodhall Wins Long Jump with Final-Round Clutch Jump
Joe Kovacs Launches a World-Leading 22.48m in the Shot Put
Windred Yavi Sets World Lead and Meet Record in 3000m Steeplechase
Chase Jackson Dominates the Shot Put with Meet Record 20.94m
Valarie Allman Throws 70.68m for a Meet Record in Women’s Discus