A fast 1500m field on deck for Pre Classic
A fierce field of women is set in the 1500 meters at the 2022 Prefontaine Classic. Featuring nine women who competed in the 1500m finals in Tokyo last summer, including the gold and silver medalists, the race reads like an enhanced Olympic line-up. It all goes down on May 28th.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist Faith Kipyegon leads the field. The Kenyan superstar has shown amazing consistency on the world stage, finishing within the top two at every global championship meet she has competed in since 2014. After capturing gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2017 London World Championships, as well as claiming the Wanda Diamond League title in 2017, Kipyegon took an 18-month break from running to give birth to her daughter Alyn in 2018. She made her return to the track at the 2019 Pre Classic, winning the 1500m in 3:59.04. She would also claim silver at the 2019 World Championships in Doha and defend her Olympic title in Tokyo in 2021. After winning the Pre Classic and Wanda Diamond League title last season, this year will mark Kipyegon’s eighth time competing at Pre.
The Olympic silver medalist Laura Muir is also set to return to the Pre Classic in 2022. The Scottish athlete has been a fixture within finals on the world stage since finishing fifth in the 1500m at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing. At the 2017 World Championships in London, Muir put together an impressive double on home soil, finishing fourth in the 1500m and sixth in the 5000m. In 2018 she captured her first global medals, bringing home silver in the 1500m and bronze in the 3000m at the World Indoor Championships, again on home soil, in Birmingham. Muir looks to build upon her silver medal from Tokyo this season.
Elle Purrier St. Pierre will make her Prefontaine Classic debut this season, but the American is no stranger to competing at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon. Purrier St. Pierre represented Team USA in the steeplechase at the 2014 World Junior Championships and earned all-American honors in the steeplechase at the NCAA Championships in 2015, 2016 and 2017, and the 1500 in 2018. In her first year as a professional, she would go on to compete in the 5000m finals at the World Championships in Doha, and in 2021 qualify for the 1500m finals at the Olympic games. Purrier St. Pierre further demonstrated her range by capturing silver in the 3000m at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in March.
A world record holder will also be featured in the line-up. The fastest woman to ever run the 1500m indoors, Gudaf Tsegay, will mark her fifth time competing at Pre Classic in 2022. The Ethiopian has quite the range as well, earning bronze medals in the 5000m in Tokyo and the 1500m in Doha. Tsegay will look to build off her world indoor 1500m title from Belgrade this outdoor season.
Olympic finalists Freweyni Hailu (4th), Gabriela Debues-Stafford (5th), Winnie Nanyondo (7th), Nozomi Tanaka (8th), Jessica Hull (11th), and Cory Ann McGee (12th) are all confirmed in the field, as well as Josette Norris, Shanon Osika, and Gaia Sabbatini.
The Prefontaine Classic women’s 1500m is a Diamond Discipline and will take place on Saturday, May 28. Tickets are available at PreClassic.com/tickets.