© Copyright – 2024 – Athletics Illustrated
The three fastest 800-metre runners in the world will face off in Eugene, Oregon at the Prefontaine Classic on May 25. This 800m race could be the headliner at any meet in the world.
For the American Mu, Hayward Field holds a special meaning for the 21-year-old reluctant track star. It is on this track where she clocked her personal best and national record of 1:54.97 in September last year at the Diamond League Final. The summer prior she won the Eugene World Athletics Championships against Great Britain’s Hodgkinson and Kenya’s Moraa.
The sometimes model won gold in Tokyo at the Olympic Games in 2021. She then followed up that win with gold in Eugene. However, was finally beaten by both Moraa and Hodgkinson at the final during the 2023 Budapest World Athletics Championships.
Moraa, who had finished third to Hodgkinson and Mu in Tokyo and Eugene finally won in Budapest. This left Hodgkinson as the perpetual bride’s maid. Moraa holds the Kenyan 400m record at 50.38. The 23-year-old has run the 800m as fast as 1:56.03, which she accomplished in her gold-medal-winning effort in Budapest.
Moraa won the Birmingham Commonwealth Games gold and the 2022 season finale of the Diamond League in Zürich, Switzerland.
JUST ANNOUNCED: The reigning World 800m medalists will compete at this year's Prefontaine Classic on May 25 ⚡️
— The Prefontaine Classic (@nikepreclassic) April 9, 2024
💎 Hodgkinson 🇬🇧
💎 Moraa 🇰🇪
💎 Mu 🇺🇸
Tickets start at just $25. Secure your seat ⬇️
Hodgkinson holds the national record in the 800m at 1:55.19. She also holds the indoor national record at 1:57.19 and the world best known time in the 600m at 1:23.41. Hodgkinson finished second to Mu or Moraa in the Tokyo Olympics, Eugene World Athletics Championships and Budapest World Athletics Championships. The 21-year-old also finished second at the Birmingham World Athletics Championships. Like Mu and Moraa, Hodgkinson also won the Diamond League finale back in 2021 in Zürich. Hodgkinson did win gold in the 2022 Munich European Athletics Championships.
Jarmila Kratochvílová from the former Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic) holds the current world record in the women’s 800m event at 1:53.28. She ran the performance in Munich in 1983. The qualification standard for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games is 1:59.30.
Qualification is weighted equally between achieving the standard and world rankings according to World Athletics.
Currently, Moraa is ranked first overall, while Hodgkinson is second and Mu is fourth. Natoya Goule-Toppin is ranked third during the Paris qualification period. The Jamaican ran 1:55.96 at last year’s Prefontaine Classic. During the summer of 2023, she placed third in four of five meets and second once. In that race, Mu won, Hodgkinson was second and Moraa was fourth.
2023 Prefontaine Classic results
| POS | NAME | NAT | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MU Athing | USA | 1:54.97 NR MR WL PB |
| 2 | HODGKINSON Keely | GBR | 1:55.19 NR PB |
| 3 | GOULE-TOPPIN Natoya | JAM | 1:55.96 NR PB |
| 4 | MORAA Mary | KEN | 1:57.42 |
| 5 | NAKAAYI Halimah | UGA | 1:58.34 |
| 6 | BISSET Catriona | AUS | 1:58.35 |
| 7 | LAMOTE Rénelle | FRA | 1:58.51 |
| 8 | HURTA-KLECKER Sage | USA | 1:59.65 |
| 9 | REEKIE Jemma | GBR | 2:00.34 |
| DNF | WHITNEY Kaylin 400m – 55.0 sec. | USA |
Global rankings as of April 10, 2024
| 1 | Mary MORAA | 15 JUN 2000 |  KEN | 1440 | 800m |
| 2 | Keely HODGKINSON | 03 MAR 2002 |  GBR | 1433 | 800m |
| 3 | Natoya GOULE-TOPPIN | 30 MAR 1991 |  JAM | 1364 | 800m |
| 4 | Athing MU | 08 JUN 2002 |  USA | 1359 | 800m |
| 5 | Jemma REEKIE | 06 MAR 1998 | GBR | 1359 | 800m [800m sh] |
| 6 | Halimah NAKAAYI | 16 OCT 1994 |  UGA | 1354 | 800m |
| 7 | Catriona BISSET | 01 MAR 1994 |  AUS | 1338 | 800m |
| 8 | Adelle TRACEY | 27 MAY 1993 | JAM | 1327 | 800m |
| 9 | Nia AKINS | 07 JUL 1998 | USA | 1324 | 800m |
| 10 | Raevyn ROGERS | 07 SEP 1996 | USA | 1320 | 800m |
| 11 | Rénelle LAMOTE | 26 DEC 1993 |  FRA | 1307 | 800m |
| 12 | Ajee WILSON | 08 MAY 1994 | USA | 1298 | 800m [600m] |
Kenyans and Americans are celebrating the 2012 London Olympic 800m final
Another Russian athlete has had her results erased after having tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. At the 2012 London Olympic Games, 800m runner Ekaterina Poistogova-Guliyev had her silver medal taken away. Therefore it is likely that Kenyan Pamela Jelimo and American Alysia Montano will earn silver and bronze, respectively.
Nearly half of the 800m and 1500m women’s events finalists have been banned for doping at the London Olympic Games. Athletes from Russia and Turkey have been suspended and performances expunged. Ironically, Poistogova-Guliyev changed allegiances to Turkey.
All-star line up for Bowerman Mile
Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Yared Nuguse and Josh Kerr will headline the Bowerman Mile meet organizers announced recently.
The 2024 Bowerman Mile promises to add to the race’s legacy with a headlining trio of record-holders and World Champions.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway) returns to Pre Classic for his seventh time to defend his 2023 Bowerman Mile title. He won the Diamond League Final trophy at last year’s event. His 3:43.73 mile set a national record, meet record, and was the third-fastest mile ever run.
Yared Nuguse (U.S.A.) ran a blistering 3:43.97 in the Bowerman Mile last year. Doing so, he broke the 16-year-old American record in the mile. He became the fourth-fastest man ever to run one mile. Nuguse is fresh off a national title and World Athletics Indoor Championships silver medal in the 3000-metre short track.
Josh Kerr (Great Britain) will make his Prefontaine Classic debut in The Bowerman Mile. Recently crowned a World Athletics Indoor Champion in the 3000 metres, Kerr is also the reigning World Athletics Outdoor Championships 1500m champion. His personal best over the mile currently stands at 3:48.87 (2022).
About the Pre Classic
Named in honour of legendary coach Bill Bowerman, The Prefontaine Classic’s signature event is the world’s premier mile race. The Bowerman Mile has produced 389 sub-4:00 mile performances in its history, a mark more than any other American meet.
The 2024 Pre Classic will be held on May 25, 2024 at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon. A part of the Wanda Diamond League circuit, the world’s top athletes will compete at the Pre Classic. They will earn points in their respective event based on how they perform. The top-performing athletes with the most points earn a trip to the 2024 Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels. In Sept. 2023, The Prefontaine Classic hosted the prestigious Final and earned the best score in the history of competition performance rankings.
