A look at all of the men’s events

Oregon’s Olympic gold medalist is coming home.

Cole Hocker, in his first race at Hayward Field since his thrilling and unexpected victory in the men’s 1,500-meter final in Paris last summer, is among the headliners in a stacked field of competitors entered in the Bowerman Mile – the signature event in the annual Prefontaine Classic Diamond League meet at Hayward Field July 5.

The former NCAA champion and a two-time U.S. outdoor champion, had an Olympic- and personal-record finish in Paris with his win in 3 minutes, 27.65 seconds to take down a field that also included Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who was fourth in the 1,500 final but won gold in the 5,000, and American Yared Nuguse, who claimed bronze.

Nuguse is also entered in the Bowerman Mile, but Ingebrigtsen – who won three straight Bowerman Miles from 2021-23 – has recently pulled out of the meet.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Bowerman Mile, named in honor of legendary former Oregon track and field coach Bill Bowerman in 2000.

Ingebrigtsen is the meet record-holder from his 2023 win in 3:43.73, which is also a Diamond League record. The slowest winning time since 2000 is 3:51.84.

The 16-man field also includes 2024 U.S. Olympian Hobbs Kessler, who was fifth in the Paris final, and Grant Fisher, who became the first American to medal in the 5,000 and 10,000 at the same Olympics when he won bronze in both last summer.

Also entered are 2024 Olympic 1,500 finalists Niels Laros (sixth) and Stefan Nillessen (ninth) of Netherlands, Neil Gourley (10th) of Great Britain, and Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot (11th), who was the silver medalist in Tokyo in 2021 and the 2019 world champion.

Here’s a look at the other Pre Classic men’s events as of July 1, keeping in mind the list of entries are fluid and the participants could change right up to the start of the meet.

Prefontaine Classic men’s program

100 meters – Kishane Thompson won silver in Paris after missing out on gold in a photo finish with Noah Lyles. The Jamaican will bring a PR of 9.79 to Hayward Field, making him second-fastest among entries to American Trayvon Bromell, who has run 9.76. Great Britain record-holder Zharnel Hughes is also entered, as is American Christian Coleman.

200 meters – Letsile Tebogo, the 22-year-old sprinter from Botswana who was once committed to running collegiately for Oregon, is the reigning Olympic champ. American Kenny Bednarek is the reigning Olympic silver medalist and Diamond League champion. They’ll go head to head for the eighth time on Saturday. Also entered is former Duck Kyree King.

400 meters – American Quincy Hall returns to Hayward Field as the Olympic champion and will face a field that will also include Paris bronze medalist Muzala Samukonga of Zambia and Grenada’s Kirani James, a three-time Olympic medalist and one of the event’s all-time greats.

International mile – Current Ducks Simeon Birnbaum and Elliott Cook are entered in this mile race, as is former Duck Sam Prakel.

10,000 meters – American Conner Mantz, the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials winner in 2024 and U.S. half-marathon record-holder, is entered in a 20-man field that includes 14 Kenyans in a race that is doubling as the Kenyan national championships.

400-meter hurdles – Five-time Olympic medalist and American record-holder Rai Benjamin is the headliner. Benjamin already has two wins this season at Diamond League meets and has won 11 straight 400 hurdles races beginning with his victory during the Diamond League final in Eugene in 2023 and including the Olympic final in Paris. His competition will include Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos, the Paris bronze medalist.

Para 100-meter mixed classification – Reigning Paralympics gold medalist Noah Malone is entered. The American is a five-time Paralympic medalist and the 2023 Pre Classic champion.

Para 200-meter T62/T64 – Hunter Woodhall is a three-time Paralympic medalist in the 400, including gold in Paris in the 400 T62. He is also the American record-holder in the 100 T62 and 400 T62.

Shot put – Oregon native, three-time Olympic champ and world record-holder Ryan Crouser was expected to compete but has pulled out of the meet. Fellow American, three-time Olympic silver medalist and four-time Pre Classic champion Joe Kovacs is entered, however, as is Olympic bronze medalist Rajindra Campbell of Jamaica.

Discus – World record-holder and Paris silver medalist Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania will get another chance to defeat Roje Stona, who made history last summer when he won Jamaica’s first Olympic gold in the discus. Also entered is reigning world champion Daniel Stahl of Sweden.

Hammer – Canada’s Ethan Katzberg has been a big-meet performer the past two years, winning Olympic gold in 2024 and World Athletics Championship gold in 2023. Mykhaylo Kokhan of Ukraine was the bronze medalist in Paris.

Pole vault – Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, the U.S.-born sensation who competes for his mother’s native Sweden, first broke the world record in 2020 and has since reset that mark 11 times. Two of those have come at Hayward Field – during the World Athletics Championships in 2022 and during the 2023 Pre Classic. Among those trying to top him this weekend are American Sam Kendricks, who won Olympic silver in Paris, and Renaud Lavillenie of France.

Chris Hansen covers University of Oregon football, men’s basketball, track and field, cross country and softball for The Register-Guard. You can reach him at chansen@registerguard.com and you can follow him on X @chansen_RG