Eugene (Oregon) welcomed the return of the Diamond League after the Tokyo Games and in the fantastic remodeled stadium that will host the World Cup outdoors in the summer of 2022 the concentration of athletics stars was gigantic. The North American event, called Prefontaine Classic, had a preamble with the 5,000 and the two-mile test, both in the women’s category. The announced assault on the world record of the five kilometers by Sifan Hassan (triple Olympic medalist in Japan) came to nothing as the Dutch lost too early to free practice and could only win with 14: 27.89, more than 21 seconds behind. time of the Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey last October in Valencia, In the other test mentioned, the Burundian Francine Niyonsaba won with the second best mark in history (9: 00.75), ahead of Letesenbet Gidey (9: 06.74), and very close to the 8: 58.58 signed by the Ethiopian Meseret Defar in 2007.
The meeting ‘officially’ started with a surprise 800 when Canadian Aropo won ahead of silver and gold in Tokyo: Kenyans Rotich and Korir. More spectacular was the 3,000 women’s hurdles with an authoritative victory for the Kenyan Jeruto with 8: 53.55, the best world record of the year, third in history and the first woman to fall below 9 minutes in 2021. Something that also achieved the second, the North American Frerichs, record of America with 8: 57.77. While the tartan was flying, the Portuguese Pichardo won the triple with a last jump of 17.63; and the North American Nageotte the pole vault after crossing the bar at 4.82.
The strong emotions came with the men’s 200 … with an impressive Noah Lyles. 19.52 for the Tokyo bronze, best world record of the year and ninth best of all time: Bolt, Blake, Bolt, Johnson, Bolt, Bolt, Blake, Lyles and the aforementioned Lyles at 0.02 of the former gymnast’s own best.
And without time to almost breathe … the female 100 arrived. Sha’Carry Richardson versus the Jamaican Magic Trio. And the queen proved to remain Elaine Thompson-Herah who went off the map. The 100, 200 and 4×100 Olympic champion in Tokyo sealed the victory with a marvelous 10.54. Five hundredths off the world record Florence Griffith-Joyner set at 10.49 in 1988 … and it seemed that it could never be beaten. The prodigious Jamaican has made it clear that she has it on her marvelous legs. Thompson, of course, broke the records for everything in Eugene with the second-best women’s 100 race of all time.
Another phenomenon of nature took the witness in 800: Athing Mu (19 years old). The Olympic champion, saxophonist and passionate about photography, once again enraptured the stadium of the University of Oregon, and the entire world, with an insulting stride for her rivals to finish with 1: 55.04, the best world record of 2021 and a US record, in addition to her personal best for the superlative athlete with origins in South Sudan. At the same time, the Ukrainian Gerashchenko and the American Cunningham tied for first place in the high jump with a best jump of 1.98 … and being unable to jump more in the tiebreaker.
In the two men’s miles, the Ugandan Cheptegei prevailed with 8: 09.55. Important name in athletics, like that of the Kenyan Kypyegon who prevailed in 1500 with a mark: 3: 53.22. And 50 meters compared to the following classified. Closer still to the world record was the impressive Ryan Crouser. Olympic champion and world record holder who threw 23.15 for the 23.37 that the Portland giant already has. In the 400 hurdles Dalilah Muhammad won with 52.77.
In case things hadn’t happened … vertigo final with the 100 men, the 200 women and the mile. 9.74 for De Grasse at the men’s speed festival … although with a forbidden wind. The same happened to the Swiss Kambundji who won the 200 with 22.06. The end of the party in Oregon was the Male mile with great names. But none like that of Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the Viking king, who won as and when he wanted with 3: 47.24. Best world record of the year, four seconds behind El Guerrouj’s record.