It’s a big weekend of racing on the sports calendar. There’s the start of the Tour de France, the Formula 1 British Grand Prix in Silverstone, and the 50th edition of the Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Named in memory of the legendary American long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine, the Prefontaine Classic has become one of the premier annual global track and field meets and doubles as the only American stop on the Diamond League circuit.

If you loved track and field at last year’s Olympics, you’re in for a treat. There are over 60 Olympic and Paralympic medalists from the Paris Games, with five full podium rematches on tap. This meet is so loaded that an outstanding women’s 100-meter hurdles isn’t in the two-hour television window. Let’s look at some of the top storylines and athletes to watch this Saturday.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone tests herself in the 400 meters

Photo by Melinda Meijer/ISI Photos/Getty Images

McLaughlin-Levrone is unquestionably the GOAT of the women’s 400m hurdles, but her versatility is remarkable. She’s one of the 12 fastest 400m flat runners ever and even beat eventual Olympic champion Gabby Thomas in a 200m race last year. The 25-year-old was scheduled for the 200m/400m double at (the ill-fated?) Grand Slam Track in Los Angeles before the meet was cancelled.

We won’t see Dominican Olympic champion Mareiledy Paulino or Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser, the top two 400m runners right now. It’s nevertheless a very good field that includes Americans Alexis Holmes and 2025 NCAA champion Aliyah Butler, plus 2023 NCAA champ Rhasidat Adeleke of Ireland. McLaughlin-Levrone has the fastest personal best and only needs to shave 0.05 seconds off that to eclipse Sanya Richards-Ross’ 19-year-old American record of 48.70.

A Paris podium rematch in the women’s 100 meters

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

This is the first showdown for this trio since Paris. Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred’s historic gold made her the Caribbean nation’s first ever Olympic medalist. Sha’Carri Richardson took silver before winning gold as the USA anchor leg in the 4x100m relay. Her compatriot Melissa Jefferson-Wooden has been superb, boasting the fastest time in 2025 at 10.73 seconds, making her one of the top 10 fastest women ever.

Sha’Carri might be the biggest star but her only race this year was a fourth-place showing in Tokyo. On current form, the favorites are Alfred and Jefferson-Wooden, but if Richardson brings her best then we’ll have a thriller. Alfred’s training partner Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain and Jamaican champion Tina Clayton are among the athletes who could pull a surprise.

Kishane Thompson, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt successor?

The powerfully built Thompson just booked his spot in this September’s World Championships in Tokyo by running 9.75 seconds in the Jamaican championships, a time only five others have achieved.

Thompson avenging his narrow Olympic defeat to Noah Lyles will have to wait, but on paper he’s the class of this race, which will have former world champion Christian Coleman, fellow American Trayvon Bromell, plus Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake.

Middle-distance Magic: Faith Kipyegon in the 1500m, Athing Mu-Nikolayev in the 800m, and a stacked Bowerman Mile

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Kenyan icon Faith Kipyegon unsuccessfully tried becoming the first woman to run a sub-4-minute mile in last week’s special Nike-orchestrated time trial. I guess she’ll have to settle for only having the women’s mile and 1500m world records, plus three Olympic and World Championship 1500m golds. Rescheduled as the meet’s final race, Kipyegon is aiming to lower her 3:49.04 1500m WR against a stacked field that includes American Nikki Hiltz, Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji, as well as Paris medalists Jess Hull of Australia and Britain’s Georgia Hunter-Bell.

In the newly named Mutola 800 meters (in honor of Mozambican 800m great Maria Mutola), Athing Mu-Nikolayev returns to the scene of her heartbreaking fall in last year’s US trials, which cost her a place in Paris. The long-striding Tokyo Olympic champ hasn’t raced an 800 this year, instead competing in 1500 and 5000m races. She told SB Nation on Thursday that she had planned to run in the NYC Grand Prix last month before it was cancelled, so this is a significant test for her. Key contenders here include Kenya’s Mary Moraa, Paris silver medalist Tsige Duguma of Ethiopia, and reigning world indoor champion Prudence Sekgodiso of South Africa.

A Prefontaine Classic tradition is the Bowerman Mile, named after celebrated track coach and Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman. Cole Hocker shocked the world in 2024 by besting Norwegian phenom Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Britain’s Josh Kerr (neither of whom is in this race) for an unexpected American gold in the 1500 meters. The strong American contingent includes Olympic bronze medalist (and former indoor world record miler) Yared Nuguse, 5k/10k double Olympic bronze medalist Grant Fisher, and young star Hobbs Kessler. French national record holder Azeddine Habz, a late bloomer at 31, has 2025’s fastest 1500m time. Hocker, Nuguse, and Habbz are among the top contenders, but this exciting era of middle-distance racing is very unpredictable.

Another world record (and $100,000) for Mondo Duplantis?

The men’s pole vaulting GOAT is always reaching new heights. The American-born Swede surpassed Renaud Lavillenie’s world record in 2020 at 6.17m (20 ft, 2 ³⁄₄ in) and has since set a new top mark 11 more times on his way to 6.28m (20 ft, 7 in) in Stockholm.

Each new world record earns the ex-LSU star a $100,000 bonus from World Athletics, so this approach has netted Duplantis over $1 million. Expect a 6.29m try on Saturday from… Carmy Berzatto?

Daughter of former WWE and UFC superstar goes pro

Photo by Melinda Meijer/ISI Photos/Getty Images

Mya Lesnar—yes, the daughter of former NCAA wrestling, WWE, and UFC champion Brock Lesnar—is turning pro after closing her decorated Colorado State career with an NCAA shot put title. Her recent personal best 19.60m (64 ft, 3 ³⁄₄ in) throw would’ve won bronze in Paris. Don’t expect a win against elite competition like German Olympic champion Yemisi Ogunleye or America’s two-time world champion Chase Jackson (who just improved her American record to 20.95m last week), but Lesnar is a serious talent who will look to make Team USA’s World Championship roster later this month.

4 other notable events to watch

Photo by JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images

• Men’s 200 meters: Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo and USA’s Kenny Bednarek went 1-2 in Paris, over Noah Lyles. ‘Kung Fu’ Kenny swept the 100 and 200 in all three Grand Slam Track meets, whereas Tebogo’s season has been somewhat disrupted due to injury.
• Men’s 400 meters: Kansas City’s Quincy Hall is must-watch for his improbable comebacks, most notably against Great Britain’s Matt Hudson-Smith in the Olympic final. This is their first meeting since that epic finish, with Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga making it a full podium rematch. (Update: Hall has scratched from the race with an injury)
• Men’s 400-meter hurdles: Olympic champion and American record holder Rai Benjamin has formed a gripping rivalry with Brazil’s Alison dos Santos and Norwegian world record holder Karsten Warholm. Rai beat both in Stockholm, but Warholm won’t be in this one.
• Women’s 5000 meters: The Kenya vs. Ethiopia rivalry is renewed between double Olympic champ Beatrice Chebet and two-time world champion Gudaf Tsegay. Chebet set the 10k world record in last year’s Prefontaine Classic, while Tsegay has the 5k record, but the Kenyan is hot on her heels after her No. 2 all-time run in the Rome Diamond League.

What time is the 2025 Prefontaine Classic?

The Prefontaine Classic airs live on NBC and Peacock on Saturday, July 5 at 4 pm ET/1 pm PT, with USATF.tv broadcasting preliminary events at 1 pm ET/10 am PT. SB Nation will be providing on-site coverage from Eugene. Here’s the timetable for all of the competitions.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – A former University of Nebraska-Lincoln athlete, who has competed on American Ninja Warrior, is participating in track and field events at the Cornhusker State Games for the first time in 18 years.

Maggi Thorne’s reasoning to come back, is her three children who are teaming up with their mom for the 4×1 relay.

All three of her children have strong interest in the sport, participating in track and field events at their schools. With Maggi’s athletic background, she’s been able to coach her kids which is something her youngest daughter, Ellie is grateful for.

“She is teaching me her ways that way I can get better with it,” Ellie said.

Ellie’s older siblings, Charlie and Fiona are echoing that similar message.

“She’s always there for me anyways, so having her as a coach is just like having a mentor that’s always there for you,” Charlie said.

“When we travel like out of state, we can still do workouts and I don’t have to contact a coach asking for a workout,” Fiona said. “If we are just sitting down having coffee or having dinner, we can go over thoughts and plans about form or what the meet is going to look like.”

Despite Maggi having an experienced background with athletics, Maggi said her kids teach her just as much.

“We are at the point where they equally train me, coach me,” Maggi said. For them to say ‘ mom you need to do this and mom you said’ and I go ‘Okay you are right, okay guys, okay coach’.”

Maggi, Charlie and Fiona have all participated in the Cornhusker State Games before, but this year, it will be Ellie’s debut and she’s doing it with the people she knows best.

“I think it is exciting because we are going to race other families too and it’s nice to just be competitive after our track season ended, it’s good to get the energy back up,” Ellie said.

While Fiona and Charlie are siblings, they will have to work closer than ever on the track at Lincoln High School on July 12.

“I’m actually really excited because I get to hand off to him,” Fiona said. “I’ve seen all the hype of him running and I love the adrenaline I get during track, I feel like it is going to be super fun to pass it along to my brother.”

Charlie told 10/11 News he has received Division one offers from schools like UNL and Oklahoma State for track and field and is looking to commit soon. However he’s looking forward to working with his sisters and mom, and cherish the moments, win or lose.

“At the end of the day, it’s about going out there and having fun with my family and just doing what we love,” Charlie said.

The day of the track and field events for the Cornhusker State Games, will be a day that sticks with Maggi forever, because after suffering from a brain injury she thought she would be done with athletics for good.

“I feel like I’m dreaming and even going up to just about a week from now, when I get in those starting blocks and I have the baton in my hand there’s a small chance I am going to weep,” Maggi said. “Because it’s really emotional for me that I get to do this with my children, this is who we are.”

The track and field events will take place at Lincoln High School starting at 7:30 a.m.

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Football
7/4/2025 2:30:00 PM

Chatting with Brandon Bailey about his position group

As the dog days of summer roll on, GSEagles.com is sitting down with each of the 11 position coaches to discuss their room. Up next is defensive coordinator and safeties coach Brandon Bailey.

Q: Coach, what were your general takeaways from spring ball when it came to your safeties group?
BB: I was pleased overall. We had some new additions from the Portal and a few guys who had to step into bigger roles after we lost TJ Smith and Tyrell Davis, and with Mark Stampley II and Deontre Morris transferring. That meant a lot more reps for some guys, and they really embraced the challenge. They played fast and hard, and they showed up with the right mindset.

What I was most proud of, though, was how they attacked that bigger role. Whether it was getting in extra work with a position coach or just spending more time together as a group, they put in the effort. That kind of buy-in is what you need, and I think we’re in a good spot heading into fall camp.

Q: Which veterans really stood out this spring?
BB: I loved the way Justin Meyers practiced — consistent, high effort, locked in every day. Prince Green III, going into his third year here, made big strides. Devin Collier also took some nice steps forward. But the biggest surprise was Chris Crouch. He had a huge spring — flying around, making plays, and really carved out a role for himself on defense that hadn’t been there before. I’m excited to see what’s next for him.

Q: What about the newcomers? Who caught your eye?
BB: Jayden Davis, the transfer from Georgia Tech, is a big-time addition. He’s long, he can run, and he’s shown he can tackle in space. He came into a scheme that’s pretty similar to what he ran at Tech, so that helped his transition. He had a great spring, and we’re really excited about his potential.

Q: Who are your leaders?
BB: I think the needle immediately turns to Justin Meyers, no doubt. He’s earned his stripes — multi-year starter, battled through injuries, and just brings his hard hat and lunch pail every day. He’s not a loud guy, not one to scream or yell. But when he talks, people listen. He leads by example, and that goes a long way in our room.

Q: Any position battles you’re excited to watch unfold during preseason camp?
BB: Honestly, all of them. I think we’ve got five or six guys who can help us win football games, and that’s a great problem to have. The big challenge — and the fun part — will be figuring out how to get the best 11 on the field. We usually play two safeties, a nickel, and two corners, but if you’ve got three or four safeties playing at a high level, you’ve got to find creative ways to get them involved. There’s real depth in that room now, and the competition is going to be fierce. I’m excited to watch it play out.

Q: So from the safeties, what’s the top thing that you’ll be preaching that your group needs to do to help this team win
BB: Down the ball in open space. The number one quality of a great safety, I don’t care where you play or what scheme you play in, if you’re a third level defender then you have to be able to down the ball in open space. They call the position safety for a reason. You’ve got to do a lot of other things, but when everything goes wrong and maybe something spits out of there, if you’re playing a single high safety defense that just got to get the ball on the ground so you live to fight another day. So tackling in open space consistently is always the challenge.

Q: Final thoughts — when you look at the defense overall, with some veteran returners and new faces, how are you feeling heading into camp?
BB: We’re in a much better place than we’ve been before — year three in the system helps a lot. We did have some staff turnover with new coaches on the D-line and at linebacker, but we brought in guys who already knew the system. That made the transition smoother.

On the player side, we’ve got a good group of returners and some strong additions from both the Portal and high school recruiting. I think this might be the most athletic group we’ve had since I’ve been here, across the board — up front, at linebacker, and in the secondary.

What’s been most encouraging is how quickly the new guys have embraced our culture. When your head coach sets the tone the right way, new players come in and want to be part of it. If your culture’s broken, they’ll make it worse. But if it’s strong, and you recruit the right people, they’ll make it better. And that’s what we’re seeing with this group.

The Woodville volleyball program did not have look far to find its new head coach.

Woodville has promoted assistant Meg Paddock to the head volleyball coaching position.

Paddock takes over following the retirement of Woody Beard, who coached the Woodville volleyball and girls basketball teams for the past four seasons.

“Being entrusted to lead the volleyball program means a lot,” Paddock said. “It’s a dream come true. It’s about guiding the team, fostering growth and achieving our goals together.”

Paddock was Woodville’s junior high volleyball coach and served as a varsity/junior varsity assistant last season. 

Paddock is a 2016 Scottsboro High School alum and played both volleyball and basketball for the Wildcats. 

She teaches seventh- and eighth-grade math at Woodville.

Paddock believes the familiarity between her and the players will be beneficial during the coaching transition.

“Knowing the players well makes the coaching transition smoother because we already have trust and good communication,” Paddock said. “It helps us understand each other’s strengths and how to work best together.”

The Woodville volleyball program has posted four consecutive winning seasons and made three consecutive Class 1A North Super Regional appearances, and Paddock said her goal is to continue to the Panthers’ upward trajectory in the sport.

“I just want to see the program continue to build and see these girls grow in a sport they love,” Paddock said. “I want my volleyball teams to be known for their relentless hustle, smart plays and unbreakable bond, always pushing each other to be better.”

The road to 2025 racing is just prior to Nationals!

Track & Field 2025 season is over.

Time to rest up and get in two weeks of gentle running.

Today is  July 4 , 2025

For Slow Summer launch, two weeks of Easy Running: 

Warm-up, 30 minutes on bike, walking or swimming.

Hydrate and stretch.  Always hydrate.

Some thoughts on summer mileage program. 

Have you considered cross country?

Cross Country is offered in over 16,500 high schools and many junior high schools. It normally goes from mid-August to November for most.  To prepare for cross country, we at RunBlogRun encourage you and your 550,000 closest friends who like the 400m to 5,000m, consider cross country!

It is a great way to stay in shape and it builds your fitness so that you are ready for the challenges of cross country.

What motivated Steve Prefontaine in the summer between his sophomore and junior year?

Was it the knowledge that he had not done his very best in track and field? Perhaps, he had not taken his commitment as serious as he thought he should?

When you have not achieved what you expected, how do you respond? Are you being called to put in some more effort? Many of us have had those challenges, and Summer mileage is a great program to get one self focused.

Think about five things you can do better for fall cross country, write them on a post card, and tape it to a place in your room where you will see it at least once a day!

Remember to drink 8 glasses of water, 12 ounces each a day!

This week is the 50th NIKE Pre Classic. You will be able to watch it on Saturday, July 5, around 4 PM Eastern on NBC Sports and Peacock. It is a wonderous meet, celebrating the raw talent, courage and guts of one Steve Prefontaine. When Pre was in high school, after he failed to make his State track meet as a sophomore, he became obsessed with daily training. These were not just easy runs, they were bone-churning, gut-wrenching efforts focused to make him unbeatable. In his junior year of cross country, Pre saw that his summer of running made a huge difference. 

Do you want to be a better cross country runner than you were in the past? Focus and follow our training, but also, watch NIKE Pre Classic on Saturday to get inspired! 

Other book suggestions include Self Made Olympian by Ron Daws, A Clean Pair of Heels by Murray Halberg, and Pre! by Tom Jordan.