(3-4-10) From Press Release - Four of the superstars in the sport of track & field--Kenenisa Bekele, Yelena Isinbayeva, Tyson Gay, and Sanya Richards--will compete in the 36th annual Prefontaine Classic on Saturday, July 3rd at historic Hayward Field. These Fabulous Four are Ambassadors of the inaugural IAAF Diamond League circuit that kicks off in Doha, Qatar on May 14th and arrives in Eugene the first weekend in July (www.diamondleague.com).
Bekele and Isinbayeva, in particular, have dominated their events during the first decade of the new millennium, and each was recently named Athlete of the Decade by Track & Field News magazine.
Bekele, the 27-year-old from Ethiopia, has won three Olympic and five outdoor World Championships gold medals, 11 IAAF Cross Country Championships, and perhaps most significantly, currently holds the world records in the outdoor 5,000 and 10,000 meters. In 2008, Bekele ran the 4th fastest 10,000 of all-time (26:25.97) at the Pre Classic; he will race in the 5k at this year's meet.
Isinbayeva, also 27, has won two Olympic and five indoor or outdoor World Championships golds for Russia, and has set 17 indoor and outdoor world records in the pole vault. The 2010 Prefontaine Classic will be Isinbayeva's first appearance outdoors in the United States as she continues her climb towards becoming history's first female 17-foot vaulter.
Gay was the double gold medalist at 100 and 200 meters at the 2007 Osaka World Championships. He has set three American Records in the 100, including the current AR of 9.69 seconds, and has the third fastest-time ever in the 200 meters, the distance he will race in Eugene.
Richards won World Championships gold in the 400 this past year in Berlin, and has been ranked No. 1 in the world at the 400 five times by Track & Field News. The Pre Classic favorite, who just turned 25 last week, has run under 50-seconds an astonishing 41 times, more than any other one-lapper in history.
The NIKE Prefontaine Classic will be broadcast live on NBC in the U.S., and will be seen by an international television audience in 130 countries worldwide. More people will watch this year's Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus than any other event to originate in Eugene - ever.
Tickets for the meet go on sale Friday, March 5th at 9 a.m. Pacific Time from 1-800-WEBFOOT, www.goducks.com, or in person at the Casanova Center ticket office.
