Sprinting’s Now & Future to be on display at 2026 Prefontaine Classic

Tebogo, Bednarek, and Gout to Headline Men’s 200m

In the inaugural Prefontaine Classic in 1975, Jamaica’s Don Quarrie set the world record in the Men’s 220-yard dash, clocking in at 19.92 seconds. A year later, Quarrie would go on to win the Gold Medal at the Montreal Olympic Games. Don’s world record at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon was the first of nine that have been set in the 50-year history of the Prefontaine Classic. Hayward Field’s sprinting curve has produced two of the eight fastest times ever in the 200m, including the current American record.

Reigning Olympic gold medalist Letsile Tebogo (Botswana) will headline the Men’s 200m at the 2026 Prefontaine Classic. Last year, at just 21 years old, Tebogo captured his first Pre Classic title in a world-leading 19.76. His personal best of 19.46 was set in the Olympic final in Paris, where he made history by earning Botswana’s first-ever Olympic gold medal. Tebogo is a three-time World Championships medalist and a two-time World U20 Champion in the 100m, winning titles in 2021 in Nairobi and 2022 in Cali. His gold-medal performance in Cali included a 9.91 — a time that still stands as the world U20 record in the 100m. Named the 2024 World Athletics Male Athlete of the Year, Tebogo first competed at the Prefontaine Classic in 2022 at the age of 18.

Two-time Olympic medalist Kenny Bednarek (Rice Lake, Wisconsin) will return to Hayward Field, where he holds the fourth-fastest 200m performance in stadium history (19.59 at 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field). His personal best in the 200m came later that season at the Diamond League meeting in Zurich, where he clocked 19.57 — the eighth-fastest time in history. A fan favorite in Eugene, “Kung Fu” Kenny is a three-time World Championships medalist and a two-time Diamond League Final champion (2021, 2024). The 27-year-old is also a two-time Olympic silver medalist in the 200m, earning podium finishes at both the Tokyo and Paris Olympic Games. Bednarek is the reigning U.S. Champion in the 100m after running a career-best 9.79 at Hayward Field last year.

Eighteen-year-old Gout Gout (Australia) will make his Hayward Field debut at the 2026 Prefontaine Classic. Last year, in his first-ever race in Europe, Gout ran a career-best 20.02 in the Czech Republic. The mark set both an Oceanian and Australian record and tied for the fifth-fastest 200m ever by an athlete under 20 — just behind Tebogo and Usain Bolt. Gout earned a silver medal in the 200m at the 2024 World U20 Championships in Lima and reached the 200m semi-finals at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo at just 17 years old. Earlier this year, he clocked a blistering 10.00 in the 100m at a meet in Brisbane, setting a new Australian U20 record and equaling the fastest 100m ever run by an Australian on home soil.

The Prefontaine Classic will take place on Friday, July 3rd, and Saturday, July 4th, 2026. A Diamond Discipline, the Men’s 200m is scheduled for Saturday, July 4th.

Tickets, VIP Experience Packages, and Accommodations packages are now on sale.

Those interested in volunteering at The Prefontaine Classic can learn more here.