Big performances all around at Pre Classic, and in the grand finale, it’s Australia’s Myers

Australian Cameron Myers broke through a tight pack of runners to claim the Bowerman Mile title in 4:46.68

EUGENE — The Bowerman Mile is the signature event of the Prefontaine Classic, so a tip of the cap to Australian Cameron Myers, who overcame a stellar field to claim victory Saturday at Hayward Field.

But there was plenty more to the 51st running of the annual track and field extravaganza, with a near-sellout crowd of 12,452 drinking in the action on a picture-perfect Independence Day.

Reigning Olympic or World champions or athletes ranked No. 1 in the world in 2026 were on display in most of the 18 events on Saturday’s schedule.

Nikki Hiltz, Jamal Britt and teenager Tate Taylor were among the upset winners on the second of the Pre Classic’s two days of competition.

Nikki Hiltz handed world record-holder Faith Kipyegon her first loss in a mile of 1,500 in five years, winning in 4:17.49

Hiltz ran down the nearly unbeatable Faith Kipyegon of Kenya to claim the women’s mile in a world-best 4:17.49, Britt upended a strong field to win the 110 hurdles in a meet-record 12.80 and the 18-year-old Taylor blew past reigning World champion Letslie Tebogo of Botswana to rule the 200 roost in a blistering 19.75.

Masai Russell reinforced her hold on world supremacy in the women’s 100 hurdles, beating world record-holder Tobi Amusen of Nigeria in 12.24. Melissa Jefferson-Wooden edged Sha’Carri Richardson in a photo finish in a 100-meter duel between two of the world’s fastest women. In another great showdown, Kenya’s Lilian Odira out kicked Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson in the women’s 800, winning in 1:56.19 to Hodgkinson’s 1:56.73.

Masai Russell (fourth from right) breaks the tape first in the women’s 110 hurdles

Britt has been coming on of late, and he notched a PR in beating Auburn collegian Ja’Kobe Tharp, who had set a world record of 12.75 at the NCAA Championships in Eugene two weeks ago, and reigning World champion Cordell Tinch. Britt, 28, won in a PR 12.86, with Tharp second in 12.91, Jamaica’s Demario Prince third in 13.01 and Finch fourth in 13.07.

Jefferson-Wooden was a triple gold medalist at the 2025 World Championships — 100, 200 and 4 by 100 relay — but Richardson was nearly her match in the 100 Saturday. Jefferson-Wooden thought she had lost, in fact. The photo showed her leaning to win in a season-best 10.78 to Richardson’s 10.79, with Adaejah Hodge of the British Virgin Islands a smidgeon behind in third at 10.80.

Hodgkinson came in as the reigning Olympic champion and off a world indoor record clocking of 1:54.87 in February. She had set her PR of 1:54.33 on June 7 in Stockholm and owns the Pre Classic record of 1:55.19. Odira, the 2025 World champion with a PR of 1:54.62, beat her to the tape on Saturday.

World record-holder and three-time Olympic champion Ryan Crouser did not compete in the shot put because of recurrence of an elbow injury. That opened the door for Italian Leonardo Fabbri, who won with a best of 74-7 1/2.

Lithuania’s Alekna Mykolas won the discus at 233-2, comfortably ahead of runner-up Kristjan Ceh of Slovenia at 229-5. Mykolas, 23, transferred from California to Oregon after last season but wound up redshirting after suffering a torn pectoral muscle in March. Mykolas, who competed in a UO uniform for the first time Saturday, is eligible to apply for a medical hardship waiver to compete for the Ducks as a redshirt senior next season.

Hiltz has been competing nationally since a single redshirt year at Oregon in 2015 and professionally since 2018 and had never before beaten Kipyegon, one of the most respected women’s distance runners ever. Kipyegon, 32, is the world record-holder at 1,500 and 5,000 and is a four-time Olympic gold medalist — three times at 1,500. She hadn’t been beaten in a mile or 1,500 for five years until Saturday.

Though they had been in the same race many times, Hiltz — seventh at 1,500 in the 2024 Olympics and fifth at the distance at the 2025 World Championships — had never beaten Kipyegon before turning the tide with a stirring kick on Saturday. Hiltz, 31, shattered Mary Slaney’s meet record of 4:21.25 set in 1978 — the longest-running Pre Classic record still on the books. Kenyan Dorcus Ewoi ran down Kipyegon to finish second in 4:17.62, with Kipyegon third in 4:17.80.

During Friday’s media session, Hiltz — who lives in Flagstaff, Ariz. — had hinted she could better Slaney’s mark.

“I put it out there yesterday, ‘I want this record,’ ” Hiltz said after Saturday’s race. “But if given a choice between a win and a record, it’s a win every time. It was like, ‘Let’s go out there and try to compete for the win, and usually fast times come.’ ”

(An aside: Hiltz is transgender and identifies as non-binary. “Them” and “their” are plural pronouns. Hiltz is a singular person who races in women’s events, so I will refer to her as “she.”)

After the pacer dropped out after two laps, Kipyegon took the lead, something she is not accustomed to doing.

“She has won a lot of different ways,” Hiltz said. “It was cool to see her do something different.”

The pace was slow, with 10 other runners on Kipyegon’s tail at the bell lap.

“I was getting excited,” Hiltz said. “Every lap I was feeling better and better. I am glad when I felt good I could capitalize on it.”

Hiltz took over on the final straight. Kipyegon didn’t fade but couldn’t hold off Hiltz or countrywoman Ewok.

“Faith is so incredible,” Hiltz said. “She is someone we all look up to. I have always thought it would be so cool to see if I could outkick her the last 100, but she is always so far ahead. This was one of those moments where it might be the only time in my career with 100 meters to go we can go head-to-head. I am so used to her coming out on top, so it was really fun. Today was my opportunity. I felt good, so I went for it.”

Hiltz is facing some potential legal roadblocks to her career. The International Olympic Committee has barred transgender athletes from competing in Olympic and IOC women’s events and implemented genetic sex testing. A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling upheld bans in 27 states on transgender females competing in women’s sports. (Oregon is not one of those states.)

“I wasn’t surprised, but I was disappointed,” Hiltz said of the Supreme Court decision. “I want to show that trans people can be in sport, be affirmed in their gender. We are not big, scary things.”

Hiltz is 5-4 and probably weighs a few pounds more than 100.

“It is a really weird time in our country for a lot of different communities — mine specifically,” she said. “I get it from both sides. People think I am a trans man who is taking testosterone, and I am like, ‘No, I am not doing that.’ Then I get it the other way: They think I am a biological man competing in women’s sports. And I am like, ‘No, I am not a trans woman, either.’ A lot of people can’t even insult me correctly.”

Russell, 26, is the reigning Olympic champion and 2025 U.S. champion whose American record of 12.14 is second all-time behind Amusan’s 12.12 world mark set at Hayward Field during the 2022 World Championships. They lined up Saturday with two others ranked among the world’s top five this year and six of the fastest eight ever in the event. Russell got off to a good start and beat Amusan to the finish line in 12.24 to Amusan’s 12.34.

Russell now has four of the best nine 110 hurdles times in history.

“It’s everything I dreamed of and more,” the former Kentucky collegian said. “I told myself before anyone knew who I was, ‘I’m going to be the best (female) hurdler in the world ever.’ ”

When I asked for her reaction to the winning time, she smiled.

“Before (the race) I felt a little something in my hamstring,” she said. “It was just a little tight muscle, a little soreness. But you would have to kill me before I don’t step on the track. Win, lose or draw, I’m going to get out there, regardless of how I feel.

“I didn’t feel 100 percent today, but I still felt good during the race. It was good enough to pull out a win. Today was just another good execution, another sub-12.30 race. I was happy with it. To stack wins at the professional level is the biggest thing.”

There have been 436 sub-four-minute miles through the years at the Pre Classic, more than at any other meet in the country. Fourteen of them came in Friday night’s “JV” mile, with Liam Murphy out front in a swift 3:50.49.

It was a given Saturday’s race was going to be faster. All 12 entrants had PRs of under 3:50. Cole Hocker, the 2024 Olympic 1,500 champion and 2025 World 5,000 champion, has the world’s best time this year of 3:45.94 set indoors in February.

The world record is 3:43.13 by Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj in 1999. The meet record of 3:43.73, set by Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen in 2023, was probably unapproachable, even with American Yared Nuguse — No. 4 all-time with his 3:43.97 clocking at the ’23 Pre Classic — in the field. But a sub-3:45 performance seemed a possibility.

Myers, who turned 20 on June 6, had broken Ingebrigtsen’s mile, 1,500 and 5,000 world age-group marks. He ran 3:55.54 when he was 16. At 18 in 2024, he was timed in 3:50.15 in the Pre Classic. Myers’ PR before Saturday was 3:47.48. He has run a 1,500 in 3:28.00, which ranks 12th all-time.

At 20, Cameron Myers is already one of the greatest middle-distance runners in history

Once Myers took over midway through the third lap, he never relinquished the lead. He won in an Australian record 3:46.06, with Nuguse second in 3:45.61 and Ethan Strand third in 3:46.97. Hocker, who has dealt with minor injuries through the spring, was never a factor to win. The ex-Duck All-American finished sixth in 3:47.57. Ten runners bettered 3:49.

“I knew I was in a good spot when I took the lead about 600 to go,” Myers said. “If I close well, the other guys have to close even better. (By leading) I was just giving myself the best possible odds to win. If that meant one or two guys go past me in the straight and I run a hell of a race and get beat, so be it. You have to run confident and give yourself the best probability of winning. I did that pretty well today.”

Myers moved up to ninth on the all-time mile list, an amazing accomplishment for a runner so young. I asked him how important it was to get a time like that.

“The time is not very important at all,” he said. “In 10, 15 years, some super kid is going to come here and break every record I set.

“It is mainly about getting the title. I can now call myself a Bowerman Mile champion. I won a Diamond (League championship). No one can take those away from me.”

As a track and field fan, I missed having almost no jumps on Saturday. There were no men’s pole vault, men’s long jump and no triple jump or high jump of either gender during the two days of competition.

Maybe it was a faulty microphone, but I had a heck of a time understanding the post-event infield interviews with the winners. (The public-address system comes across just fine.)

With the final results that are distributed on the website, all field-event marks are listed in meters, not feet and inches. That is the international standard, but we do not use the metric system in the U.S., where the Pre Classic is located. Those in IAAF and Diamond League circles require results delivered metrically, but fans here understand the Imperial system. Please provide those measurements, too, in the future.

But there is a lot to appreciate in an extremely well-run meet that has carried on for so many years. It continues to be one of the state’s premier events on the sporting calendar. Steve Prefontaine would be proud.

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