The PRE or the Prefontaine (Named after American great Steve Prefontaine) Classic, scheduled for May 25th this year, is one of the most popular track meets every summer in the Diamond League. If you watched it at all last year, you’ll know how fast and entertaining the races were. I predict that this year’s set of races will be the same, especially given the caliber of its competitors. The fields for two of the marquee races, the men’s Bowerman mile and the women’s 1500m, were announced last week, and I’m going to talk about them. As I go down the start lists, I will touch on a little bit about my top five picks and then I will close with my pick on who will win either title. Let’s start with the women. 

Women’s 1500m

⭐Birke Haylom

Ethiopia

PR: 3:53.22

Birke Haylom, the 18-year-old Ethiopian phenom has the fastest seed time in this field, coming in with a PR of 3:53.22. Haylom is not only the fastest in this field, but she is also one of the fastest in the world, she is ranked 6th worldwide currently. In her career, Haylom has been able to win one Diamond League race and one U20 World Championship title.

⭐Diribe Welteji

Ethiopia

Diribe Welteji, like Haylom, is from Ethiopia and is also among the top-ranked 1500m runners. She is currently ranked 2nd in the world and holds a PR of 3:53.93. Over her career, Welteji has succeeded on the world stage, she placed second in the 1500m at the World Championships last year, and she won the mile at the road World Championships last year.

⭐Laura Muir

Great Britain

Laura Muir is a name you most likely have heard before as she has cemented herself as one of the best in this event. Muir holds a PR of 3:54.50, and she has had lots of success over her career. Some of her most notable results include placing second in the Olympic 1500m in 2021, winning countless European championships, and winning lots of Diamond League races. 

Katie Snowden

Great Britain

PR: 3:56.72

Linden Hall

Australia

PR: 3:56.92

Worknesh Mesele

Ethiopia

PR: 3:57.00

⭐Jessica Hull

Australia

Jessica Hull’s name will most likely sound familiar to you because it seems like she is in every single race I see on the world’s stage. Hull’s PR of 3:58.03 puts her close to the top of this list, but also of the world rankings, she is ranked 8th in the world right now. While being in some of the world’s best races, Hull has been able to compete at the highest level, placing amongst the top in most races. For example, just this past year she placed 7th at the World Championships. 

Elle St. Pierre

USA

PR: 3:58.03.

Adelle Tracey

Jamaica

PR: 3:58.77

Elise Cranny

USA

PR: 3:58.88

Nozomi Tanaka

Japan

PR: 3:59.19.

⭐Nikki Hiltz

USA

Nikki Hiltz is coming off a second-place finish in this event at the Indoor World Championships this year, and they’re definitely going to be contenders for this win. Hiltz has won two national championships in her career, one in the 1500m and another in the road mile. Coming into this race they hold a PR of 3:59.61 and are ranked 15th in the world. 

Abbey Caldwell

Australia

PR:3:59.79

Cory McGee

USA

PR: 4:00.34

Georgia Bell

Great Britain

PR: 4:03.22

⭐Jakob Ingebrigsten

Norway

Jakob Ingebrigsten, is arguably one of the best middle-distance runners in this decade, and for incredibly good reason. He has broken multiple world records such as in the 2000m and the 2 mile, he has also gotten within a second of the world record in the mile with a PR of 3:43.73. I am not going to go into an extensive report on him because it would take too long, but I would definitely watch out for Ingebrigsten in two weeks.

⭐Yared Nuguse

USA

Yared Nuguse has cemented himself as the best American miler in the past years,  running close to one second off of the world record in this event, and becoming the fastest American miler ever. Nuguse has won countless championships as well, from the world’s stage to the NCAA. His PR comes from last year’s race and he finished second behind Ingebrigsten. 

Olli Hoare

Australia

3:47.48

Mario Garcia Romo

Spain

3:47.69

Cole Hocker

USA

3:48.08

Hobbs Kessler

USA

3:48.66

⭐Josh Kerr

Great Britain

Josh Kerr in the past few years has emerged as one of the premier milers/1500m runners. Last year he upset Ingebrigsten to win the World Championship in the 1500m, and earlier this year he broke the indoor 2 mile record. His mile PR is a bit older than Nuguse and Ingebrigsten’s, coming from 2022, and he comes in with a time of 3:48.87. 

Matt Centrowitz

USA

3:49.26

Neil Gourley

Great Britain

3:49.46

⭐Timothy Cheruiyot

Kenya

Timothy Cheruiyot is one of the most experienced runners in this field. He has won countless Diamond League titles and even more Diamond League races. Along with that, he also placed second in the 1500m at the Olympics in 2021. His PR like Nuguse and Ingebrigsten comes from the PRE Classic, except in 2017. 

Jake Wightman

Great Britain

3:50.30

Abel Kipsang

Kenya

3:50.87

George Beamish

New Zealand

3:51.22

Cameron Myers

Australia

3:52.44

⭐Lamecha Girma

Ethiopia

Lamecha Girma is the world record holder in both the indoor 3000m and the outdoor 3000m steeplechase, so this race is a bit of a step-down. He does not have a seed time, so he is the one most will be watching, to see how fast he can run. I definitely think that he can contend and that is why I have starred them. 

Now it is time for me to pick who I think will win. In the women’s race, I think it will be a great race to watch because there are so many people who have around the same PR. Considering this, I believe that Laura Muir will win because she has more experience than the people with a faster PR and that will come into play when it comes down to the wire. In the men’s mile, it is more of a toss-up, in head-to-head races Jakob Ingebrigsten has faltered against Josh Kerr, and when Yared Nugues raced Ingebrigsten, he gave him a run for his money. For that reason, I think that it could be either one of the three runners who could win and it will be interesting who will come out with the win. 

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