Eugene, Oregon (5/21/08
At last year's Prefontaine Classic, Daniel K. Komen of Kenya electrified a sold-out crowd by running the fastest-ever mile on American soil, 3:48.28. Komen returns for the Bowerman Mile on June 8th, but without the distinction of having run the fastest mile of the year in 2007. That goes to Alan Webb, whose American Record 3:46.91 in Europe fulfilled the promise he displayed back in 2001, when he broke Jim Ryun's venerable high school mark at the Pre Classic.
Komen and Webb are just two of the athletes in a field that could look very much like an Olympic final. Consider: Rachid Ramzi, the 2005 World Championships gold medalist and 2007 silver medalist; Alex Kipchirchir, ranked No. 1 in the Mile in 2006 by Track & Field News magazine; Tarek Boukensa, ranked No. 3 in the world in 2007 by T&FN; Belal Mansour, ranked No. 4 in the world last year; Shadrack Korir, ranked No. 7; and Asbel Kiprop, ranked No. 9. Combined with Komen's No. 1 ranking, Ramzi's No. 5, and Webb's No. 6, that means the Bowerman Mile will have the No. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9 ranked milers from last year. And where's No. 2, Bernard Lagat? He's in the Pre Classic 2-Mile!
MILE (MEN)
Alan Webb
Daniel K. Komen (Kenya)
Rashid Ramzi (Bahrain)
Shedrack Korir (Kenya)
Alex Kipchirchir (Kenya)
Matt Tegenkamp
Asbel Kiprop (Kenya)
Tarek Boukensa (Algeria)
Lopez Lomong
Belal Mansour (Bahrain)
Antar Zerguelaine (Algeria)
Kevin Sullivan (Canada)
Tickets for the Prefontaine Classic are on sale online at goducks.com, from 1-800-WEBFOOT, and in person at the Casanova Center Ticket Office.
