GALLERY: 2022 Prefontaine Classic

In what was a busy race weekend in Canada, several of the nation’s top athletes were in action in Eugene, Ore., at the 2022 Prefontaine Classic. Gabriela DeBues-Stafford, William Paulson and Mohammed Ahmed headlined Canada’s top performers at the Diamond League stop in Oregon. Their performances are a sign of great things to come when athletics returns to Eugene in July for the 2022 World Championships.

If you missed the action over the weekend, here’s a round-up of photos and performances from the Prefontaine Classic. 

William Paulson runs the third fastest Canadian mile time ever (3:52.42)

Paulson finished in eighth place in the men’s Bowerman Mile at the Pre Classic in a personal best time of 3:52.42. Paulson finished one spot ahead of Canada’s Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, who ran a season’s best 3:53.82. The Olympic 1,500m champion, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, won the race in a world-leading 3:49.76.

Francine Niyonsaba goes sub-9 in the two-mile 

Francine Niyonsaba won the two-mile in a personal best time of 8:59.08, winning by a 15-second margin (about 100m or so) over the rest of the field. Niyonsaba only finished one second back of the two-mile world record held by Meseret Defar 8:58.58, set in 2007.

Andre De Grasse falls short in Eugene

Olympic 200m champion Andre De Grasse and his daughter Yuri walked around the track before his 100m race at the Pre Classic. De Grasse had another uneventful performance, finishing last in 10.21 seconds.

Gabriela DeBues-Stafford dips under four against elite women’s 1,500m field

DeBues-Stafford once against showed her world-clas form, finishing third in a season’s best 3:58.62 to the Olympic champion, Faith Kipyegon of Kenya, and World Indoor champion, Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia, in the women’s 1,500m at the Pre Classic. DeBues-Stafford beat the likes of Olympic 1,500m silver medallist Laura Muir and U.S. rival Elle St.Pierre, who have both bested DeBues-Stafford before at major championships.

Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei misses 5,000m world record in Eugene

There was a lot of speculation going into the men’s 5,000m, if the Olympic 5,000m champion and world record holder, Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda was going to break his world record of 12:35.36. Cheptegei came up short, clocking a world-leading time of 12:57.99 before it was broken by Berihu Aregawi in the other 5,000m the following day.

Trayvon Bromell gets his redemption in the men’s 100m

After being disqualified for a false start in the 100m the week prior at the Diamond League meet in Birmingham, U.K., U.S. sprinter Trayvon Bromell clocked 9.93 to beat an elite field of sprinters. Olympic 100m silver medallist Fred Kerley was the only other athlete to dip under 10 seconds in 9.98 for second place. De Grasse finished ninth in a season’s beat 10.21 (-0.2 m/s).

5K world record holder Berihu Aregawi runs world lead over 5,000m in Eugene

Ethiopia Aregawi attacked early in the men’s 5,000m and didn’t look back. Aregawi ran the fastest time in the world this year, 12:50.05. In December 2021, Aregawi broke the 5K road world record in 12:49.

Moh Ahmed runs season’s best to finish fourth in men’s 5,000m

The Canadian record holder in the 5,000 and 10,000m finished fourth in the men’s 5,000m in a season’s best 13:07.85, which is under the world championship standard of 13:13.50. Ahmed will likely compete next in the 5,000m at the Canadian Track and Field Championships in Langley, B.C. between June 24 and 26.

Click here to view the full results from the 2022 Prefontaine Classic.