EUGENE, Oregon – Track and field fans are in for a treat at the 2024 Prefontaine Classic, as three of the world’s top 800m runners are set to clash in what promises to be an electrifying two-lap showdown.
Athing Mu, the reigning Olympic champion, will take on Mary Moraa, the current world champion, and Keely Hodgkinson, the Olympic silver medalist, in the women’s 800m event on May 25th.
This trio has dominated the event over the past two World Championships, and their upcoming meeting is sure to be a highlight of the Wanda Diamond League meet.
Mu, the American sensation, will be looking to defend her title at the Prefontaine Classic, having won the event last year in a blistering US record time of 1:54.97. Hodgkinson, the British record holder, has finished second to Mu on multiple occasions, including at the Olympics and World Championships.
Moraa, the Kenyan world champion, will be eager to prove her mettle against her formidable rivals.
At the 2023 Prefontaine Classic, Hodgkinson – as she had done at the Olympics in 2021, as well as at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships – finished second to her American rival on that occasion in a British record of 1:55.19.
Moraa wound up fourth in that race, but the Kenyan had won the biggest prize of the year in Budapest, taking the world title in a PB of 1:56.03. The trio have clashed just three times in the past, with Mu coming out on top in two of those encounters.
This is going to be an incredible race. Mu, Moraa, and Hodgkinson have been trading blows on the global stage, and their clash at the Prefontaine Classic is sure to be a thrilling spectacle for fans.
The 800m event is not the only middle-distance showdown on the cards at the Prefontaine Classic. Earlier this month, it was announced that Olympic 1500m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen will take on world champion Josh Kerr and North American record-holder Yared Nuguse in the Bowerman mile.
The Prefontaine Classic is always a must-watch event for track and field fans, and this year’s edition is shaping up to be one of the best in recent memory. With these high-stakes clashes in the middle-distance events, we’re in for a real treat.
At least, so it seems.
