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Overview:
More than 12,000 spectators were treated to world records in the women’s 1,500 meters and 5,000 meters, and the return of former Ducks Cole Hocker, Jaida Ross and Raevyn Rogers. A full stadium gave Hayward Field the best vibes since the 2022 World Championships.
World records don’t happen every day in track and field. But Saturday, July 5, the fans who packed Hayward Field for the Prefontaine Classic saw two.
Beatrice Chebet of Kenya ran 13:58.06 in the 5,000 meters, taking nearly two seconds off the previous record. And Faith Kipyegon, fresh off of her June 26 attempt to become the first woman to break 4 minutes in the mile, ran 3:48.68 in the 1,500 meters, breaking her own record from last summer by 0.36 seconds.
The runners were helped by the boisterous crowd, rare in recent years at Hayward.
Usually, the backstretch is empty, as track fans try to stay closer to the finish line and out of the sun that beats down on the seats that face west.
But whether it was due to the meet being held over the July 4 weekend or because of extra marketing around the 50th running of the Prefontaine meet, the event was a sellout. TrackTown USA, organizers of the meet, announced the crowd as 12,606. The stadium, which has a capacity of 12,650, hasn’t been that full since the 2022 World Championships.
Of course, not everyone who buys a ticket shows up. But athletes noticed the roars.
“I feel like everyone always shows up for Pre,” said Raevyn Rogers, the former Duck who won silver at the 2021 Olympics in the 800 meters and whose image is one of four imprinted on the tower at Hayward Field.
Rogers finished sixth Saturday in 1:58.49, and was happy with the performance coming a few weeks before the 2025 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, also at Hayward. “But this is crazy.”
Karen Ramming, spokesperson for TrackTown USA, said the organization was pleased by the attendance.
“We’re very happy with how much the community and fans turned out,” Ramming said. “Over 4,000 tickets sold were from outside the state of Oregon, which is sick, and just everybody showing up for this five-hour window is incredible. And you know, you saw the line wrapping around the stadium to get in this morning, so I think it’s very safe to say that we are very happy.”
Fans came from 49 of the 50 states, Ramming said. (Delaware was the only state without a ticketed spectator.)
Derline Joboham’s daughter, Monae’ Nichols, is a professional long jumper and goes to only a couple of her daughter’s meets every year. When Joboham, who lives in Winter Haven, Florida, went to try to buy tickets a few weeks ago, the only seats she could find were for well over $100.
“I waited too long,” Joboham said.
She had to rely on her daughter to score a general access ticket, but had no assigned seat. So she climbed to the top of Hayward along the home stretch, prime viewing for the long jump. (Nichols, the U.S. indoor long jump champion and a 2024 Olympian, finished ninth with a leap of 6.33 meters.)
As the crowd quieted for the start of the women’s 100-meter hurdles, Joboham yelled, “Let’s go, Monae!’”
Her daughter, on the runway, could hear her mom — and waved.
Plenty of former Ducks took to the track, in addition to Rogers.
Jessica Hull, 2024 Olympic silver medalist in the 1,500 meters for Australia, last ran in an Oregon uniform in 2019. At the Pre Classic, she stuck to Kipyegon for three laps, before Kipyegon pulled away and Hull faded to third in 3:52.67.
Jaida Ross, who is from Medford, Oregon, and finished fourth at the 2024 Olympics in the shot put while a senior at UO, was also third in that event Saturday, with a personal best throw of 20.13 meters.
Cole Hocker, 2024 Olympic gold medalist in the 1,500 meters, was fourth in the men’s mile in 3:47.43, a personal best. Hocker ran for the Ducks for one year, but lived and trained in Eugene for an additional year after turning pro in 2021. Saturday morning, he warmed up on the South Eugene High School track while joggers did their laps, oblivious to the gold medalist in their midst.
Hocker was happy with his race, given where he is in the season. The U.S. championships begin July 31 followed by the 2025 World Athletics Championships in September in Tokyo.
“I think I can be in 3:30 shape or faster by USAs,” Hocker said, referring to the time for 1,500 meters. “I have to be.”
