Posted: May 2, 2006

Athletics: Strong Prefontaine Classic Men's Mile Field Taking Shape

From David Monti

© 2006 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

By Bob Ramsak

Rachid Ramzi, the 2005 double world champion, leads a solid field in the men's mile for the Prefontaine Classic on May 28 in Eugene, Ore., organizers announced.

At last summer's World Championships in Helsinki, the Moroccan-born Ramzi became the first man to win global titles at 800 and 1500 meters since Peter Snell accomplished the feat at the 1964 Olympic Games. The 26-year-old Ramzi, who now competes for Bahrain, followed up his Helsinki victories with a runner-up finish in the 1500 at the Van Damme Memorial in Brussels, before a disappointing pair of races in September, running fourth in the 800 in Berlin's ISTAF race and a distant eighth in the 1500 at the World Athletics Final.

In last year's Prefontaine race, Ramzi finished second behind Kenyan Alex Kipchirchir, clocking a Bahraini national record of 3:51.33. Kipchirchir, who raced to gold in the 800 at this year's Commonwealth Games, is also slated to return. Americans Bernard Lagat, Alan Webb and Jason Lunn are also in field, along with Kenyans Laban Rotich and Elkanah Angwenyi, Canadians Nate Brannen and Kevin Sullivan, and Mo Farah of Great Britain.

Lagat, who lowered the U.S. record to 3:29.30 last August in Rieti, Italy, opened his outdoor season at last weekend's Penn Relays, where he was edged on the anchor leg of the distance medley relay by Kipchirchir. Webb, the defending US champion in the 1500, made his 2006 outdoor debut on Sunday, where he produced a notable 27:34.72 victory in the 10,000 meters at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational. It was his first attempt at the distance.

World record holder Hicham El Guerrouj set the Prefontaine Classic record in the mile in 2001, clocking 3:49.92.

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