Maggie Vessey won the 800 meters Friday night at the Prefontaine Classic – and she did it in style.
With her hair in a perfect braid and wearing an unconventional track outfit, with no shoe company logos, a lace top and textured shorts, Vessey was dressed the part of a winner.
“It’s a little lace, high wasted, you know,” Vessey said, laughing.
Vessey has her own clothing line that she produced with Los Angeles-based designer Merlin Castell. She adds that not being sponsored by a company gives her the freedom to represent herself and things she likes, sports and fashion. For this meet, she was also aware of Steve Prefontaine’s legacy.
“To come and be able to display a new outfit – that’s sort of paying homage to him because he was really creatively expressive as well as being a fierce competitor,” Vessey said. “It just means a lot to pay my respects to him and put on a good performance.”
The Soquel, California, native appeared to have the advantage from the start. As soon as the pacer jumped off the track, she controlled the lead for the final lap, finishing in 2 minutes, .07 seconds.
“I am really happy with the performance today,” Vessey said. “I wanted to go sub-two minutes so I was a little bit miffed that I missed that, but I feel like it was a really solid performance. My fitness level is really good right now.”
Phoebe Wright finished in second at 2:00.79, and Margaret Nyairera Wambui of Kenya finished third with a time of 2:01.32.
“That was a little rough,” Wright said. “I think that the last few weeks has been the last huge block of intense training before I start freshening up. I think I ran a season best, which felt great.”
Wright will rabbit the 1,500 meters tomorrow and said today’s race was great practice for that. The 34-year-old said the key for her in future races is having the ability to make a successful push to the finish.
Vessey crossed the finish line with a big smile. She said that she appreciates the love for track and field in Eugene and that competing at the Pre Classic, you feel as if you are with the spirit of Steve Prefontaine.
“This is just a mecca for track and field – you feel it with everybody you meet out here,” she said. “Everyone is just so knowledgeable about track, and you don’t really get that everywhere you go throughout the United States.”
