(5-2-06) From Press Release - One of the strongest mile fields ever assembled in the
United States will take the track for the Bowerman Mile at the 32nd annual Prefontaine Classic on Sunday, May 28th.
Pre Classic favorite Alan Webb showed his strength at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational on Sunday (April 30th), setting a personal best for 10,000 meters in his first attempt at the distance. His 27:34.72 is the fastest debut ever by an American, replacing Steve Prefontaine's then-American Record of 27:43.6 from 1974. The 23-year-old Virginian will need every bit of that strength to meet the challenges of presented by this field:
New American 1500 Meter Recordholder Bernard Lagat, ranked No. 2 in the world last year by Track & Field News. Lagat is the Olympic silver medalist from the Athens Games.
Double World Champion Rachid Ramzi of Bahrain, ranked No. 3 in the world. Ramzi was untouchable in winning the Helsinki 800 and 1500 Meter titles last year.
Defending Bowerman Mile champion Alex Kipchirchir of Kenya, ranked No. 5 in the world. In March of this year, Kipchirchir won the Commonwealth Games 800 Meter gold medal.
All four of these headliners ran sub-3:50 miles, or the metric equivalent, in 2005.
Tickets for the 2006 Prefontaine Classic are available in person at the Casanova Center ticket office, by phone from 1-800-WEBFOOT, or online at www.goducks.com
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