This weekend will feature the most competitive races yet at the newly renovated Hayward Field. Racing starts Friday at the Oregon Relays with collegiate and open distance events, which will continue Saturday morning. Then professionals will take the track Saturday afternoon at the USATF Grand Prix. Both Friday and Saturday will be available to watch a livestream from RunnerSpace.
Here are the top races to watch:
Invitational 5,000 meters, Friday, 9:15 p.m.: Oregon standouts Cole Hocker and Cooper Teare are set to face off against Wesley Kiptoo and Edwin Kurgat of Iowa State. All four runners have won at least one NCAA title, and they will be chasing the Olympic standard of 13 minutes, 13.50 seconds.
Women’s 1,500 meters, Saturday, 2:21 p.m.: This race will feature a world championship-caliber field. Jenny Simpson, the 2011 world champion, is looking to make her fourth Olympic team this summer. Laura Muir, the British national record holder in the event, will be opening her outdoor season. Also competing are Nikki Hiltz, part of the U.S. team at the 2019 world championships, and four-time NCAA champion Dani Jones, who turned pro last year. Her former teammate, Colorado senior Sage Hurta, will also be racing; she opted into competing against the professionals on Saturday instead of the collegiate race on Friday.
Men’s 1,500 meters, Saturday, 3:41 p.m.: Among the entries chasing the Olympic standard of 3:35.00 are world championship finalists Bryce Hoppel, Justyn Knight and Johnny Gregorek. Hoppel placed fourth in the world championship 800 at the 2019 world championships; Knight, a Canadian, made the 5,000-meter final in 2019, and Gregorek was a finalist in 2017 . Two other noteworthy names among the entries are U.S. 800-meter record holder Donavan Brazier and high school senior Hobbs Kessler, who broke the indoor national record in the mile this past February, running 3:57.66.
Men’s 400 meters, Saturday, 3;53 p.m.: Two former USC standouts, Michael Norman and Rai Benjamin, will compete in their outdoor season opener. Norman, just entering the prime of his career, has the chance to solidify his status as one of the premier track and field stars of This will also be the outdoor season-opener for both athletes.
