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dl · 05-20-2009, 08:34 PM

Those are some fantastic line-ups!

**AthleticsInBritain** · 05-20-2009, 08:40 PM

Wow! I hope these races are streamed!

Those are some serious quality line ups! Looking forward especially to the women's 800 and the men's mile. Alan Webb up against his competition (well a fair % of it) for the World's in Berlin.

**Taliban** · 05-20-2009, 09:25 PM

Can't wait til Pre! Impressive line ups, I hope my man Ishmael takes the 800.

**TrackDaddy** · 05-20-2009, 10:06 PM

Originally posted by dl

Those are some fantastic line-ups!

Yes, indeed.

**nevetsllim** · 05-20-2009, 10:20 PM

Looks strange seeing the women's 800m start-list without the name of Maria Mutola. Is this the first time she won't be at the Pre since 1990?

Look forward to watching how fast Asbel Kiprop can go in the mile.

**AthleticsInBritain** · 05-20-2009, 10:47 PM

The women's 1500m looks very tasty - I would've said Lagat, Burka and Alminova would be the three favourites for the Worlds in August, no?

**doug091463** · 05-20-2009, 10:47 PM

great matchups i also like the kiprop vs keitany matchup, i think they can both go under 3:45(or more likely its equivalent in a1500) this year, but probably not this meet as it is early.

the only thing i would change is i would put meseret defar in the 1500, rather than have her run the 2k which is what she is scheduled to do, i would be more interested in defar in a good 1500 field rather than the rarely run 2k, they probably have that so defar can get the 2k record, but defar could also get the mile record if they ran the mile there. i hope they have official times for defar at the mile mark as i think she can still move way up on the all time mile list en route to 2k.

enough of my griping these are great fields and i really look forward to the meet.

**Marlow** · 05-20-2009, 10:48 PM

Gee, I sure hope there's no rabbits, so we just get good competition. Wouldn't want to spoil it with any world list leaders!

TJ · 05-21-2009, 01:49 AM

Meseret Defar

Defar is not in the meet.

**EPelle** · 05-21-2009, 11:57 AM

800 METERS (MEN)

**Nick Symmonds
**Khadevis Robinson
**Gary Reed (Canada)
**Alfred Yego (Kenya)
**Yuriy Borzakovskiy (Russia)
**Amine Laalou (Morocco)
**Ahmad Ismail (Sudan)
**Boaz Lalang (Kenya)
**Christian Smith
**Matt Scherer--pace

=========================================

Observations:

Yego won last year's 800m in a meet-record 1.44,01, which, incidentally, is also the Hayward Field record. Yego's time was only 0,12 seconds from his lifetime best of 1.43,89 set two years earlier in Rieti (a mark which lowered his previous best set earlier that season by 0,02 seconds).

As you know, Yego ran 3.33,68 in Doha two weeks ago in his only race this outdoor season - a 1.500m time which established a new personal best by 0,01 seconds (Zürich 2008). He looks to be the best threat to reach the finish line first.

Going back to Johnny Gray's 1996 winning time, there have been 12 sub-1.45,00 races at Pre. Of the scheduled competitors, Robinson and Borzakovskiy have each run sub-1.45 twice in losses, with Reed, Yego and Symmonds noting one sub-1.45,00, but each a victory.

The fastest Pre Classic year-after-Olympics 800m race has been Reed's 1.44,82 over Borzakovskiy in 2005. The 2001 Pre Classic also yielded a sub-1.45,00 from the winner (1.44,93 Nduwimana).

Borzakovskiy, each time he has finished runner-up at Pre, has also not gone on to win the world championship either year (2005, 2007), though there is no connection between what he accomplishes at Pre and what he tactically accomplishes in a championship.

Perhaps the race will yield a terrific finishing time, because Matt Scherer is pacing it. His claim to fame? Most of his personal bests of note (200m, 400m, 600m and 800m) have been set at Hayward Field. See if he can have it rub off.

The fastest 800m race ever recorded on 7-june - the same day as the Pre 800m - is 1.43,62 by Bungei in Sevilla in 2003 (Pela2).

**EPelle** · 05-22-2009, 01:17 PM

800 METERS (WOMEN)

**Pamela Jelimo (Kenya)
**Hazel Clark
**Alice Schmidt
**Janet Jepkosgei (Kenya)
**Kenia Sinclair (Jamaica)
**Alysia Johnson
**Tatyana Andrianova (Russia)
**Jemma Simpson (Great Britain)
**Jesse Carlin--pace

=========================================

Observations:

Has any defending world champion (Jepkosgei) ever entered a new season 0-9 against an opponent the year they were set to defend their title? Though this 800m race is only a june race, it will be the third early-season test Jepkosgei and Jelimo have had against one another since last year. Jelimo defeated Jepkosgei by 4,14 and 4,16 seconds, respectively, in their first-ever lifetime clashes last year - both in june. The fastest time ever recorded in the month of june is the 1.54,85 Ukraine's Nadezhda Olizarenko recorded in Moscow during the Olympic year there. The fastest time ever recorded on 7-june, the day this race will take place, is 1.57,42 (Fita Lovin, 1981).

Jepkosgei has a lifetime june best of 1.57,22 (Gateshead 2006), but that race came in her sixth outing of the season. This year, as most of you know, she has opted to start off with a 1.500m to-date (4.13,87), and has yet to contest the two-lap distance.

Jelimo, on the other hand, can't be boxed into convention. She ran 1.54,99 in june last year and improved to 1.54,01 in september. Jelimo has yet to contest a race this season, but the expectation I am sure many of you feel is that she should break Mutola's meet record.

Tatyana Andrianova has yet to put up an 800m time this season, but does hold a 1.56,07 personal best for the month of june. She is 0-3 against Jelimo and 2-5 against Jepkosgei, with Jepkosgei 5-0 since finishing two spots and 0,20 seconds behind Andrianova at ISTAF four years ago. Andrianova looks to need time to round into form, winning none of her open races until her fourth race last season.

Neither Jepkosgei nor Jelimo nor Andrianova has ever competed in the USA.

Kenia Sinclair, with her fine 1.57,43 sprint medley anchor at Penn, is in excellent form. Sinclair broke 2.00 11 times in 2006 and nine times last season, and has also run a 1.500m this season (4.13,16) slightly faster than Jepkosgei. Since her heavy schedule in 2006, she has eased into the past three seasons with relatively few races under her belt (as have now Jelimo, Jepkosgei and Andrianova) before july.

Hazel Clark, who has run 1.59,10 at Pre, has three races under her belt this outdoor season - one at 1.500m, but has not yet broken 2.00 (2.01,40). Clark has twice run five sub-2.00 times in a season (2005, 2006), but she is coming off a less than thrilling 2008, where she managed just two sub-2.00 times. If Jepkosgei and/or Jelimo break the doors open and really make a go at Mutola's 1.57,57 (a mark each athlete has surpassed 8 and 10 times, respectively), Clark may get pulled to a 1.59, but won't be in the hunt to break the tape - or the meet record. The fastest American mark ever recorded at Pre was the 1.57,98 Jearl Miles-Clark recorded in finishing second to Mutola 12 years ago.

Speaking of Americans, Alice Schmidt has run as fast as 1.58,75 at Pre, but has not yet competed this outdoor season.

**EPelle** · 05-25-2009, 02:25 PM

So Jelimo's race puts a small question mark on her fitness level. What happens now?

**EPelle** · 06-04-2009, 02:38 PM

Nearing that time...

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