Posted: May 24, 2006

Athletics: World's No. 1 Miler Enters Pre Classic

Eugene, Oregon---When the Pre Classic mile field was originally announced on May 1, about the only thing missing was the worlds No. 1-rated performer. That minor omission has now been taken care of, with the addition of Daniel Kipchirchir Komen, the top-rated miler in the world in both the IAAF and Track & Field News rankings. The 21-year-old Kenyan will make his U.S. debut in the Bowerman Mile at Hayward Field on May 28th. Komen, who brings a lifetime best of 3:48.49 to the table, won three Golden League meets and six Grand Prix meets in 2005, vaulting him ahead of other Prefontaine Classic entrants Bernard Lagat--the American 1500-meter recordholder (ranked No. 2 by T&FN), Rashid Ramzi--the World Champion in Helsinki (No. 3), Alex Kipchirchir--the defending Prefontaine Classic champion (No. 5), and Alan Webb, the second-ranked American (No. 7).

The addition of Komen makes the 2006 Bowerman Mile field the best in the 32-year history of the meet, and arguably the best ever on American soil. "Outside of the 1996 Olympic Games final, there has never been a field with all the world's best like this one assembled in the U.S.," said meet director Tom Jordan. "And I'm not so sure this isn't better than Atlanta."

Mile (Men)

Bernard Lagat 
Rachid Ramzi (Bahrain)
Alex Kipchirchir (Kenya)
Alan Webb
Daniel K. Komen (Kenya)
Jason Lunn
Elkanah Angwenyi (Kenya)
Rob Myers
Chris Lukezic
Jon Rankin
Ming Gu (China)
Geoffrey Rono (Kenya)--pace
Mo Farah (Great Britain)
Justus Koech (Kenya)--pace

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