The first Prefontaine Classic was held in 1975. The meet had its genesis with the Hayward Restoration Meets of 1973–74. The Hayward Restoration meets were launched to help replace the deteriorated wooden West Grandstands at Hayward Field. It was to become the "Bowerman Classic" in 1975 to honor longtime University of Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman, and was scheduled for June 7.[2] With the unexpected death of University of Oregon distance runner and OlympianSteve Prefontaine in an automobile accident on May 30, the Oregon Track Club changed the name, with Bowerman's approval, on June 1;[3][4] the first "Pre Classic" was held six days later.[5]Nike has been the primary sponsor since 1978.
The 2019 edition moved to Stanford's Cobb Track and Angell Field, Palo Alto, California because of restoration of Hayward Field in anticipation of the IAAF World Athletics Championships in 2021.[6]
The 2020 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]
In 2023, the Prefontaine Classic was held as the Diamond League Final for the first time.[1]
World records
Over the course of its history, six world records have been set at the Prefontaine Classic.
At the 2001 Prefontaine Classic, Alan Webb ran 3:53.43 in the Bowerman Mile and broke Jim Ryun's national high school record that had stood for 36 years. This was also the fastest mile by an American in three years.
In the 2023 Prefontaine Classic & Diamond League Final, on September 16th, Norwegian athlete Jakob Ingebrigtsen won the Bowerman Mile, in a time of 3:43.73, with the aid of pacing lights and pacemakers Erik Sowinski & Cameron Myers.
Ingebrigtsen missed Hicham El Guerrouj's mile world record by .60 seconds, still having run the fastest mile in 24 years and the third fastest mile in history at the time.
Ingebrigtsen was closely followed by Yared Nuguse, who finished in an American record time of 3:43.97, breaking Alan Webb's former American mile record of 3:46.91 by almost three full seconds and running the fourth fastest mile in history at the time.
The race closely mimics El Guerrouj's 1999 world record run in Rome, where El Guerrouj won in 3:43.13, but was being closely tracked by Kenyan athlete Noah Ngeny, who came in second place at 3:43.40. El Guerrouj and Ngeny still hold the first and second fastest mile times respectively as of 2023.
These four men (El Guerrouj, Ngeny, Ingebrigtsen, Nuguse) remain the only ones in history to have ran a mile under 3:44.00 as of 2023, with the #5 fastest mile of all time being Noureddine Morceli's 1993 time of 3:44.39.[11][12][13]
The next day, Ingebrigtsen would go on to win the 3000 m, in a time of 7:23.63, beating Yomif Kejelcha by only one hundredth of a second. At the time, this ranked Kejelcha at #4 all time and Ingebrigtsen at #3 all time, behind Hicham El Guerrouj's 7:23.09 and Daniel Komen's world record of 7:20.67.[14]
Both of Ingebrigtsen's performances stand as Diamond League Records and are the third fastest performances in their respective event as of 2023.
