Canadian Olympic hammer throw champs part of star-studded lineup for 50th Prefontaine Classic

Justin Piercy · CBC Sports

· Posted: Jul 03, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

This year's Prefontaine Classic features a lineup befitting a milestone for the iconic way and tract meet.

Saturday marks the 50th variation of prestigious event on the University of Oregon campus, which carries the sanction of the precocious Steve Prefontaine, an American collegiate runner who ne'er won an Olympic oregon satellite title medal, but who near an indelible people connected his athletics earlier dying successful a car clang astatine property 24.

Read much astir the past of the conscionable successful this communicative by Scott Russell.

Several Olympic and satellite champions volition vie successful Saturday's lawsuit astatine Hayward Field successful Eugene, Ore., and that includes Canadian hammer throwers Camryn Rogers and Ethan Katzberg. You tin ticker unrecorded sum of the event, disposable connected CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem astatine 4 p.m. ET.

Rogers is good acquainted with Hayward Field, having competed determination respective times earlier and during her collegiate career.

It was besides the venue wherever the 26-year-old from Richmond, B.C. broke the Diamond League women's hammer propulsion grounds successful 2024. Rogers besides collected a a metallic medal astatine the World Athletics Championships erstwhile Eugene hosted in 2022.

"I conscionable emotion the stadium. I emotion the vigor it carries. The 'Hayward Magic' is wholly real, I americium a afloat believer successful that," Rogers said. "Knowing that there's going to beryllium a precise precocious level of contention makes it each the much breathtaking due to the fact that it truly motivates you to beryllium determination and beryllium your champion aforesaid connected the day.

"I deliberation it'll beryllium a batch of fun, and it's a renowned conscionable for a reason. It brings successful the champion of the best. It attracts immoderate of the biggest way fans successful the satellite and is conscionable an breathtaking spot to beryllium in. I can't wait."

Rogers is the top-ranked hammer thrower successful the world, but she'll look a stiff test from a brace of top-ranked Americans successful Eugene. Brooke Andersen, ranked 2nd successful the world, won a satellite rubric astatine Hayward Field successful 2022, while No. 4-ranked Annette Nneka Echikunwoke was the metallic medallist astatine Paris 2024.

WATCH | Rogers 'excited' to vie astatine Prefontaine Classic 50th anniversary:

On the men's side, the 23-year-old Katzberg has looked awesome truthful acold this season, winning each 5 events he's entered. He besides has the season's champion throw: an 82.73-metre people that won the Nanaimo, B.C., native the Kip Keino Classic rubric successful Nairobi astatine the extremity of May. 

Joining Katzberg in contention connected Saturday is Canadian teammate Rowan Hamilton, of Chilliwack, B.C. The 25-year-old won an NCAA rubric successful hammer propulsion successful 2024 and finished ninth astatine that year's Paris Olympics.

Mitton looks to get backmost connected track

The Prefontaine Classic also offers the accidental to seizure immoderate important Diamond League points, which are especially important for Canada's Sarah Mitton.

The Brooklyn, N.S., autochthonal entered the play connected a precocious note, capturing a 2nd consecutive World Indoor women's changeable enactment rubric this past spring.

However, the defending Diamond League Final winner has fourth and fifth-place finishes successful her archetypal 2 stops connected the circuit.

Mitton – who owns the Canadian grounds of 20.68m – enters contention successful Eugene coming disconnected a beardown showing at the Royal City Inferno Track and Field Festival successful Guelph, Ont. She won that lawsuit connected June 18 with a propulsion of 20.35m.

Watch each the enactment from each Diamond League conscionable connected CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem. Click present for the afloat broadcast schedule.

Olympic men's rod vault champion Mondo Duplantis will besides beryllium successful enactment successful Eugene. The Swedish prima precocious improved upon his ain satellite grounds astatine the Diamond League conscionable successful Stockholm past period (6.28m) and volition look Paris 2024 metallic medallist Sam Kendricks in Saturday's competition.

Not to beryllium outdone, the way events volition besides diagnostic a who's who of elite planetary endowment astatine Hayward Field.

The women's 100m will see Olympic champion Julien Alfred of Lucia enactment up against a brace of apical American sprinters: Olympic metallic medallist Sha'Carri Richardson and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden.

The men's 100m volition besides be big draw: Olympic metallic medallist Kishane Thompson of Jamaica, Americans Christian Colemna and Trayvon Bromell, and Zharnel Hughes of Great Britain are among the tract of sprinters.

The men's 200m is headlined by Olympic champion Letsile Tobogo of Botswana and Grand Slam Track champion Kenny Bednarek of the U.S.

The signature lawsuit of the Prefontaine Classic volition besides person plentifulness of excitement astir it successful 2025. The Bowerman Mile (named aft legendary University of Oregon manager Bob Bowerman) has attracted apical middle distance runners similar Norwegian Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen, and Americans Cole Hocker and Yared Nuguse.

The women's 400m volition people the Prefontaine Classic debut of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the reigning Olympic champion and existent 400m hurdles world record-holder. McLaughlin-Levrone is the archetypal way jock to interruption much than 4 satellite records successful the aforesaid event.

Canadian Para athletes acceptable to shine

This year's Prefontaine Classic volition besides include four Para athletics events, 2 of which volition feature Canadian athletes.

Toronto's Marissa Papaconstantinou will vie successful the Para mixed classification 100m, while Nandini Sharma, of Brampton, Ont., volition contention successful the Para athletics 800m T54 event.