Commonwealth Games champion, John Steffensen, will compete this Sunday (Monday AEST) in the 32nd Annual Prefontaine Classic in the United States - his first race since...
Commonwealth Games champion, John Steffensen, will compete this Sunday (Monday AEST) in the 32nd Annual Prefontaine Classic in the United States - his first race since his double gold medal winning effort at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in March.
Joining Steffensen will be distance runners Craig Mottram (2 mile), and Benita Johnson and Sarah Jamieson in the 1500m.
Five of the World’s top-10 will line up in the 400m to provide Steffensen with ample competition in his first run for two months. Steffensen’s 44.73 in Melbourne is the fourth fastest time in the world this year.
The men’s two mile will be a virtual rematch of the 2005 World Championships 5000m with the three medallists heading the line up. Helsinki gold medallist, Ben Limo, will be joined by Ethopian Sileshi Sihine and Mottram in a high quality race. Mottram is coming off a solid 10km road race victory in New York.
Commonwealth Games silver medallist, Sarah Jamieson, who has clocked the four fastest 1500m times in the World this year, will take on a good field including the two best 1500m runners in 2005.
Helsinki World Championships gold medallist Tatyana Tomashova (RUS) and World ranked no. 1 in 2005, Maryam Jamal (Bahrain), will be joined by Australia’s Benita Johnson in a race which could see Jamieson establish herself as one of the world’s elite.
Jamieson looks capable of breaking the 10-year old Australian record of 4:01.34 held by Margaret Crowley.
The meet, held in the tiny town of Oregon (60,000 population) is named after the legendary Steve Prefontaine, one of America’s greatest distance runners at the time of his death in 1975 at age 24.
Pre’s remarkable life was the subject of two major motion pictures, "Prefontaine" and "Without Limits", both released in the late ‘90s.
Athletics Australia