World Record Holder, Olympic Gold Medalist & World Champions Set to Snapdown in 2026 Prefontaine Classic Women’s 100m Hurdles
Russell, Amusan, Stark & Williams All Returning to Hayward Field
Four of the top hurdlers in the world will take their 10 leaps to the finish line in the Women’s 100m Hurdles at the 2026 Prefontaine Classic. They will bring a combined 190 weeks of being ranked No. 1 in the world to Hayward Field at the University of Oregon, which is home to the current world record in the discipline.
Masai Russell (Upper Marlboro, Maryland) is the reigning Olympic Gold Medalist in the 100m hurdles with her win at the Paris Games. She is the 2025 indoor and outdoor short hurdles US national champion and won the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials — Track & Field at Hayward, earning her spot on Team USA for the Paris Olympics. Competing for the University of Kentucky, Russell became an 11-time All-American and set the NCAA record in the 100m hurdles with a time of 12.36 in 2023. She also holds the American record of 12.17, the second-fastest performance in history. Before college, Russell was an eight-time national champion as a high school junior and was named Maryland’s High School Athlete of the Year.
Tobi Amusan (Nigeria) delivered a historic performance on a summer Saturday evening at Hayward Field during the 2022 World Athletics Championships. In the 100m hurdles semifinal, she ran a stunning 12.12 to set a new world record. Less than two hours later in the final, Amusan would then become Nigeria’s first-ever world champion in athletics. In addition to Tobi’s gold medal from Eugene, she won a silver at last year’s World Championships in Tokyo. She won the NCAA Championships in 2017 at Hayward Field while competing for the University of Texas at El Paso. Amusan is a three-time Diamond League Final winner, two-time Commonwealth Champion, and holds five African Championships. She has competed in three Olympic Games (Rio, Tokyo & Paris).
Danielle Williams (Jamaica) is a three-time medalist at the World Athletics Championships, winning gold in 2015 (Beijing) and 2023 (Budapest), and bronze in 2019 (Doha). Williams has spent more than 100 weeks ranked No. 1 in the world in the sprint hurdles and is currently ranked No. 6 following a recent resurgence on the track. She set her personal best of 12.31 at the Silesia Diamond League meet last year. During the 2026 indoor season, Williams recorded 60m hurdles victories at meets in New York and Boston. She is also the 2019 Diamond League Final champion, a four-time Jamaican national champion, and won the 2013 NCAA Division II Indoor title while competing for Johnson C. Smith University.
Grace Stark (White Lake, Michigan) is currently the world No. 1 in the 100m hurdles. She captured the 2024 NCAA Championship at Hayward Field, completing a perfect collegiate outdoor season for the Florida Gators without a single loss. Stark continued her success that season by earning a spot on Team USA for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, where she reached the final. She set her personal best of 12.21 at the Paris Diamond League meeting last summer. At the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Stark advanced to another global final and secured a bronze medal. This will be her Prefontaine Classic debut.
The Prefontaine Classic will take place on Friday, July 3rd, and Saturday, July 4th, 2026. A Diamond Discipline, the Women’s 100m Hurdles, is scheduled for Saturday, July 4th.
Tickets, VIP Experience Packages, and Accommodations packages are now on sale.
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