Prefontaine Classic 2025: The top storylines to watch at historic track and field meet

It’s a big weekend of racing on the sports calendar. There’s the start of the Tour de France, the Formula 1 British Grand Prix in Silverstone, and the 50th edition of the Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Named in memory of the legendary American long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine, the Prefontaine Classic has become one of the premier annual global track and field meets and doubles as the only American stop on the Diamond League circuit.

If you loved track and field at last year’s Olympics, you’re in for a treat. There are over 60 Olympic and Paralympic medalists from the Paris Games, with five full podium rematches on tap. This meet is so loaded that an outstanding women’s 100-meter hurdles isn’t in the two-hour television window. Let’s look at some of the top storylines and athletes to watch this Saturday.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone tests herself in the 400 meters

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McLaughlin-Levrone is unquestionably the GOAT of the women’s 400m hurdles, but her versatility is remarkable. She’s one of the 12 fastest 400m flat runners ever and even beat eventual Olympic champion Gabby Thomas in a 200m race last year. The 25-year-old was scheduled for the 200m/400m double at (the ill-fated?) Grand Slam Track in Los Angeles before the meet was cancelled.

We won’t see Dominican Olympic champion Mareiledy Paulino or Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser, the top two 400m runners right now. It’s nevertheless a very good field that includes Americans Alexis Holmes and 2025 NCAA champion Aliyah Butler, plus 2023 NCAA champ Rhasidat Adeleke of Ireland. McLaughlin-Levrone has the fastest personal best and only needs to shave 0.05 seconds off that to eclipse Sanya Richards-Ross’ 19-year-old American record of 48.70.

A Paris podium rematch in the women’s 100 meters

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This is the first showdown for this trio since Paris. Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred’s historic gold made her the Caribbean nation’s first ever Olympic medalist. Sha’Carri Richardson took silver before winning gold as the USA anchor leg in the 4x100m relay. Her compatriot Melissa Jefferson-Wooden has been superb, boasting the fastest time in 2025 at 10.73 seconds, making her one of the top 10 fastest women ever.

Sha’Carri might be the biggest star but her only race this year was a fourth-place showing in Tokyo. On current form, the favorites are Alfred and Jefferson-Wooden, but if Richardson brings her best then we’ll have a thriller. Alfred’s training partner Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain and Jamaican champion Tina Clayton are among the athletes who could pull a surprise.

Kishane Thompson, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt successor?

The powerfully built Thompson just booked his spot in this September’s World Championships in Tokyo by running 9.75 seconds in the Jamaican championships, a time only five others have achieved.

Thompson avenging his narrow Olympic defeat to Noah Lyles will have to wait, but on paper he’s the class of this race, which will have former world champion Christian Coleman, fellow American Trayvon Bromell, plus Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake.

Middle-distance Magic: Faith Kipyegon in the 1500m, Athing Mu-Nikolayev in the 800m, and a stacked Bowerman Mile

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Kenyan icon Faith Kipyegon unsuccessfully tried becoming the first woman to run a sub-4-minute mile in last week’s special Nike-orchestrated time trial. I guess she’ll have to settle for only having the women’s mile and 1500m world records, plus three Olympic and World Championship 1500m golds. Rescheduled as the meet’s final race, Kipyegon is aiming to lower her 3:49.04 1500m WR against a stacked field that includes American Nikki Hiltz, Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji, as well as Paris medalists Jess Hull of Australia and Britain’s Georgia Hunter-Bell.

In the newly named Mutola 800 meters (in honor of Mozambican 800m great Maria Mutola), Athing Mu-Nikolayev returns to the scene of her heartbreaking fall in last year’s US trials, which cost her a place in Paris. The long-striding Tokyo Olympic champ hasn’t raced an 800 this year, instead competing in 1500 and 5000m races. She told SB Nation on Thursday that she had planned to run in the NYC Grand Prix last month before it was cancelled, so this is a significant test for her. Key contenders here include Kenya’s Mary Moraa, Paris silver medalist Tsige Duguma of Ethiopia, and reigning world indoor champion Prudence Sekgodiso of South Africa.

A Prefontaine Classic tradition is the Bowerman Mile, named after celebrated track coach and Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman. Cole Hocker shocked the world in 2024 by besting Norwegian phenom Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Britain’s Josh Kerr (neither of whom is in this race) for an unexpected American gold in the 1500 meters. The strong American contingent includes Olympic bronze medalist (and former indoor world record miler) Yared Nuguse, 5k/10k double Olympic bronze medalist Grant Fisher, and young star Hobbs Kessler. French national record holder Azeddine Habz, a late bloomer at 31, has 2025’s fastest 1500m time. Hocker, Nuguse, and Habbz are among the top contenders, but this exciting era of middle-distance racing is very unpredictable.

Another world record (and $100,000) for Mondo Duplantis?

The men’s pole vaulting GOAT is always reaching new heights. The American-born Swede surpassed Renaud Lavillenie’s world record in 2020 at 6.17m (20 ft, 2 ³⁄₄ in) and has since set a new top mark 11 more times on his way to 6.28m (20 ft, 7 in) in Stockholm.

Each new world record earns the ex-LSU star a $100,000 bonus from World Athletics, so this approach has netted Duplantis over $1 million. Expect a 6.29m try on Saturday from… Carmy Berzatto?

Daughter of former WWE and UFC superstar goes pro

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Mya Lesnar—yes, the daughter of former NCAA wrestling, WWE, and UFC champion Brock Lesnar—is turning pro after closing her decorated Colorado State career with an NCAA shot put title. Her recent personal best 19.60m (64 ft, 3 ³⁄₄ in) throw would’ve won bronze in Paris. Don’t expect a win against elite competition like German Olympic champion Yemisi Ogunleye or America’s two-time world champion Chase Jackson (who just improved her American record to 20.95m last week), but Lesnar is a serious talent who will look to make Team USA’s World Championship roster later this month.

4 other notable events to watch

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• Men’s 200 meters: Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo and USA’s Kenny Bednarek went 1-2 in Paris, over Noah Lyles. ‘Kung Fu’ Kenny swept the 100 and 200 in all three Grand Slam Track meets, whereas Tebogo’s season has been somewhat disrupted due to injury.
• Men’s 400 meters: Kansas City’s Quincy Hall is must-watch for his improbable comebacks, most notably against Great Britain’s Matt Hudson-Smith in the Olympic final. This is their first meeting since that epic finish, with Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga making it a full podium rematch.
• Men’s 400-meter hurdles: Olympic champion and American record holder Rai Benjamin has formed a gripping rivalry with Brazil’s Alison dos Santos and Norwegian world record holder Karsten Warholm. Rai beat both in Stockholm, but Warholm won’t be in this one.
• Women’s 5000 meters: The Kenya vs. Ethiopia rivalry is renewed between double Olympic champ Beatrice Chebet and two-time world champion Gudaf Tsegay. Chebet set the 10k world record in last year’s Prefontaine Classic, while Tsegay has the 5k record, but the Kenyan is hot on her heels after her No. 2 all-time run in the Rome Diamond League.

What time is the 2025 Prefontaine Classic?

The Prefontaine Classic airs live on NBC and Peacock on Saturday, July 5 at 4 pm ET/1 pm PT, with USATF.tv broadcasting preliminary events at 1 pm ET/10 am PT. SB Nation will be providing on-site coverage from Eugene. Here’s the timetable for all of the competitions.