World’s Best One Lap Wonders Will Wow at 2026 Prefontaine Classic

Hall, Kebinatshipi & Benjamin to Headline Men’s 400m at Hayward Field

A pair of Olympic gold medalists and the reigning World Champion will star in the one-lap sprint in the Men’s 400m race at the 2026 Prefontaine Classic. Hayward Field at the University of Oregon has seen 12 all-time performances dip below 44.00, with the Prefontaine Classic record of 43.60 set in 2022 by Michael Norman.

Quincy Hall (Kansas City, Missouri) is the Olympic champion from the Paris Games, where he crossed the finish line in 43.40 after passing three other runners on the home stretch. His Olympic-winning time placed him fourth on the all-time list in the discipline. Quincy’s college career began at the College of the Sequoias and ended with an NCAA title for the South Carolina Gamecocks. During his college, Hall started to become a force on the global stage with gold medals in the 400m Hurdles from the 2017 Pan American U20 Championships and 2019 NACAC U23 Championships. As a professional, Quincy holds two career Diamond League wins and a pair of medals from the 2023 World Championships in Budapest (Gold - 4x400m Relay & Bronze - 400m Hurdles). Hall’s fastest time at Hayward Field is 44.17, set when he won the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials — Track & Field.

Busang Collen Kebinatshipi (Botswana) won his first World Championship last September in Tokyo, setting a new Botswana national record with a time of 43.53. He would then anchor the 4x400m relay to earn his country another world championship. In 2024, Busang was a member of Botswana's 4x400m relay team that won the World Athletics Relays and earned an Olympic silver medal at the Paris Games. At 22 years old, Busang has quickly risen through the global ranks and is the No. 1-ranked athlete in the 400m. Earlier this month, Kebinatshipi ran a 9.89 in the 100m to win the Botswana Championships. He ran the same time in the event’s semi-finals, becoming the first athlete to break the 10.00-second mark this season. Busang is just the fourth athlete in history to have a career best in the 400m under 44.00 and under 10.00 in the 100m.

Rai Benjamin (Mount Vernon, New York) is the reigning Olympic gold medalist and World Champion in the Men’s 400m Hurdles discipline. He also won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games with a time of 47.16, which still stands as the American record in the event. Benjamin is one of the most decorated Americans in the 4x400m relay with gold medals from the Paris and Tokyo Olympic Games and three podium finishes at the World Championships (Gold - 2019 & 2023, Silver - 2025). Rai is a two-time Prefontaine Classic champion, with his 2023 win also earning him a Diamond League trophy. At the 2018 NCAA Championships at Hayward Field, Benjamin claimed titles in the 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay running for the University of Southern California. Rai’s career-best in the 400m is 44.21, set on the track of his alma mater in Los Angeles in 2023. His Hayward Field best is 44.97, set in April 2021.

The Prefontaine Classic will take place on Friday, July 3rd, and Saturday, July 4th, 2026.

A Diamond Discipline, the Men’s 400m, is scheduled for Saturday, July 4th.

The tentative event schedule windows for each day of competition are: Friday, 6:00 - 10:00 p.m. / Saturday, 12:00 - 3:00 p.m.

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

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