Even with reigning Olympic champion Lamont Jacobs withdrawing from the Prefontaine Classic with an injury, the men’s 100-meter field features both the silver and bronze Olympic medalists from Tokyo as well as several other world champion winning sprinters.
Fred Kerley, the American who won the silver medal in Tokyo after running a personal best time of 9.84 seconds, is one of the favorites in the race.
“Just win, I think my only goal is really to win,” he said. “I mean, I’m a competitor. That’s all I really want to do.”
The field also features defending Prefontaine Classic champion Andre de Grasse of Canada, who won the event last year with a personal best time of 9.74 seconds.
Erriyon Knighton, an 18-year-old recent high school graduate, will be one of the youngest to ever run the 100 meters at the Prefontaine Classic, having just gone pro after finishing up high school.
“I mean, sometimes I used to have homework like algebra and stuff on my way back from the airport,” said Knighton.
Defending world champion Christian Coleman also returns to this event, after an 18 month ban for doping, which caused him to miss the Tokyo Olympics. Coleman ran the 100 meters in 9.76 seconds to win the gold medal in Doha in 2019.
The 100 meters will also be the final event of the Prefontaine Classic, marking a change from the Bowerman Mile traditionally being the last event of the meet.
