Allyson Felix to highlight short sprints at Pre-Classic
Tuesday May 27, 2008

EUGENE, Oregon -- The strongest women's 100-meter field in the history of the meet, a match up of Olympic medal contenders in the men's 200, and three of the top 10 men's 100-meter competitors highlight the short sprints at the 34th annual Prefontaine Classic on June 8th.

The Olympic year's fastest sprinter, Alyson Felix, brings her 10.93 personal record into the women's 100. The reigning world champion at 200 meters, she is seeking to prove she can best a field of century specialists that includes four women ranked in the top 10 in the world last year by Track & Field News magazine:

Torri Edwards, last year's Pre Classic winner and ranked No. 2; Carmelita Jeter, bronze medalist at the 2007 World Championships, ranked No. 3; Lauryn Williams, silver medalist at Osaka, ranked No. 7; and Kerron Stewart, fastest in the world after Felix at 10.96, ranked No. 9.

Add in Jamaica's Sherone Simpson, ranked No. 1 in the world at 100 meters in 2006 and coming back strongly after missing most of last year with a hip injury, Angela Williams, the 2008 World Indoor Champion, and Muna Lee, last year's Pre Classic runner-up, and you have a 100 field that will serve as a good preview of the final in Beijing.

The men's 200 could provide a glimpse at some of the U.S. team in that event, with world-ranked No. 3 Wallace Spearmon, No. 4 Xavier Carter, and No. 5 Rodney Martin heading the field.

Spearmon was the World Championships bronze medalist last year, Carter won the 2007 Pre Classic 200, and Martin finished 4th in Osaka. Athens Olympic Champion and many-time Pre Classic winner Shawn Crawford will be in the mix.

The men's 100 is led by Churandy Martina, who was ranked No. 5 in the world by Track & Field News last year. He has a season-best of 10.00 in '08. He's joined by 7th-ranked Michael Frater, the silver medalist from the Helsinki World Championships, and 8th-ranked Francis Obikwelu, the Olympic silver medalist in 2004.

preclassic.com