Yared Nuguse and Chase Ealey set American records on Day 1 of Prefontaine Classic
In a bit of wry showmanship Friday morning during the pre-meet press conference for the Prefontaine Classic, Norwegian star Jakob Ingebrigtsen offered Yared Nuguse a bit of unsolicited advice.
If Nuguse wanted to increase his odds of breaking the American record in the mile, “Stick to me as long as you can,” Ingebrigtsen told him.
Sure enough, Nuguse stayed in Ingebrigtsen’s shadow for the entire race, finishing second in the Bowerman Mile but with the American record well in hand.
Nuguse crossed in 3 minutes, 43.97 seconds, shattering Alan Webb’s previous record of 3:46.91.
Ingebrigtsen set some records himself. His win in 3:43.73 came tantalizingly close to Hicham El Guerrouj’s world record of 3:43.13, but was fast enough to set the meet and Diamond League records.
It was a thrilling finish to Saturday’s first day of the Pre Classic, which is serving as the Diamond League final this year.
An announced crowd of 12,364 filled Hayward Field to see the first 15 of 32 Diamond League disciplines crown a champion. The meet will conclude Sunday.
For Ingebrigtsen, it was his third win in the Bowerman Mile, the signature event of the Pre Classic.
“I wanted a race where I could challenge myself to really set out at a decent pace, somewhat conservative, and then I go as hard as I could the last two laps,” Ingebrigtsen. “So it was very good.”
It certainly was for Nuguse, who came into the race as the U.S. champ in the 1,500 but with a mile personal record of 3:53.34.
But when Ingebrigtsen began to pull away from the field, Nuguse went with him.
When asked if Nuguse thanked him after the race, he answered with a smile.
“No, there's too much disrespect in this sport,” he said. “Nobody is thanking the main pacer.”
Nuguse certainly sounded appreciative afterwards.
“It was a great race and a great outcome,” Nuguse said. “That’s something I really appreciate about Jakob. He kind of pushes all of us and elevates all of us to do things we didn’t think we could achieve.”
That was certainly true on Saturday, as 11 of the 13 runners finished under 3:50, nine set PRs, three set national records and Reynold Cheruiyot of Kenya set the world U20 record with his fifth-place finish in 3:48.06.
Right behind him was former Oregon star Cole Hocker, who finished sixth in a PR 3:48.08.
“Always want to be in contention for the win," Hocker said. "Those guys ran so well today.”
Rai Benjamin wins 400 hurdles
With one final push, American Rai Benjamin tracked down the fastest 400-meter hurdler of all time to win his first Diamond League title.
Benjamin, who trailed Karsten Warholm after clearing the final hurdle, passed the Norwegian with 10 meters to go en route to a meet and Diamond League record finish in 46.39.
“I wasn’t expecting to run that fast,” Benjamin said. “Coach called me during warmups and said, ‘I want to see that old Rai. I want to see that move coming off the turn and I want you to really execute and follow the race plan.’”
Warholm, the world record holder who won his third world championship last month, was second in 46.53.
“I’ve always knew he has great potential and today he shows it as well,” Warholm said of Benjamin. “I don’t know if it’s the Hayward magic the Americans are talking about or it’s just some hardcore shape after the world champs, but kudos to him. To me, I have to just take it like a man and go back and use it as motivation.”
American record falls in women's shot put
Nuguse wasn’t the only one setting American records on Saturday.
Chase Ealey also took down the top mark in the women’s shot put as she won with a throw of 68 feet, 1½ inches on her third attempt.
The previous record of 67-8¼ was held by Michelle Carter.
“That was something really important to me this season,” Ealey said. “There’s something about this stadium that brings it out of me. I love this stadium. It kind of feels good to do it here and bring it home all the time."
Faith Kipyegon unbreakable in women's 1,500
Faith Kipyegon won her fourth Diamond League title in the women’s 1,500 as the Kenyan dusted the field with her finish in a meet record 3:50.72.
“I didn’t watch the clock, I was just running my race and see what will happen at the finish line,” Kipyegon said. "So it was amazing, to run a meeting record, just fantastic.”
Kipyegon was more than 3 seconds ahead of runnerup Diribe Welteji of Ethiopia, who crossed in a PR 3:53.93. Great Britain's Laura Muir was third in 3:55.16.
Also setting PRs were Ethiopia’s Freweyni Hailu, who was fourth in 3:55.68, and Australia’s Linden Hall, who was fifth in an Oceanic record 3:56.92.
Former Duck Jessica Hull of Australia was eighth in 3:57.57.
“I finally found some consistency,” Hull said of her season, which included a spot in the finals of the world championships. “That’s my fourth 3:57 and my sixth time under 4:00 this year and I’ve never been able to find that kind of consistency before. Hopefully it’s going to set me up to make a big jump next year.”
Other notable events
Woo Sanghyeok ended his season in style as the South Korean won the men’s high jump in a national record 7-8½ inches. The sixth-place finisher in Budapest was the only one of three jumpers to clear that height. Poland’s Norbert Kobielski and American JuVaughn Harrison finished second and third, respectively, with a best clearance of 7-7¾.
Grenada’s Kirani James' last race of the season was also his fastest of the season as he ran 44.30 to win the men’s 400. James held off a trio of Americans as Quincy Hall (44.44), Vernon Norwood (44.61) and Bryce Deadmon (44-90) finished 2-3-4. It was a redemptive race for James, a three-time Olympic medalist, who was disqualified in the world championships final for a lane infringement.
World champion Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela set a meet record in the women’s triple jump with a winning mark of 50-4½.
Katie Moon cleared a meet-record 15-11¼ to win an otherwise uneventful women’s pole vault competition. Australia’s Nina Kennedy, who shared world championship gold with Moon, was fifth with top clearance of 14-11½.
World champion Winfred Yavi of Bahrain won the women’s 3,000 steeplechase in a meet record and PR time of 8:50.66 — the second-fastest mark of all time.
World champion Haruka Kitaguchi of Japan ended her season with one last victory in the women’s javelin with a throw of 209-3.
Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic threw 276-4 on his sixth-and-final attempt to secure his win in the men’s javelin. Vadlejch held off world champion Neeraj Chopra of India. Chopra finished in second place with a mark of 274-11.
Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com. For more sports coverage, visit registerguard.com. Want more stories like this? Subscribe to get unlimited access and support local journalism.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Yared Nuguse, Chase Ealey set American records at Prefontaine Classic
