Pre Classic Men’s 400 Preview: Wariner Favored
May 23, 2011
For Immediate Release
Eugene, Oregon
Prefontaine Classic Men’s 400
Samsung Diamond League-Eugene
WARINER THE FAVORITE BUT EYES ON PISTORIUS
Despite the presence of 3 other athletes ranked in the top 10 in the world by Track & Field News, it is hard to see how any of them can be considered a threat to American Jeremy Wariner, gold medalist in the Athens and Bejing Olympic Games and 2007 Osaka World Championships. Wariner was ranked No. 1 in the world last year, his 5th time at the top of rankings.
That’s not to say he will be the focus of all eyes on June 4th in the 400 meters, however. South African Oscar Pistorius—the “Blade Runner”—will get his first opportunity of 2011 to race against the best in the world, this time at the Eugene Samsung Diamond League meet.
The 24-year-old Pistorius has already had an unprecedented career in track & field. Born without fibulas, his lower legs were amputated when he was 11 months old. After successes in Paralympic world events in ’05 and ’06, Oscar set his sights on qualifying for the 2007 World Championships. However, his carbon-fiber prosthetics proved controversial and in March 2007, the IAAF ruled that his blades gave him an unfair advantage. That decision was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and he is eligible to compete on the world stage. Pistorius recorded a lifetime best of 45.61 in March, and the Prefontaine Classic will be his next race.
As Pistorius tries to launch his career, supervet Angelo Taylor just keeps on going. The Olympic gold medalist in the 400 hurdles in Sydney and Athens, the 32-year-old Taylor also has won a bronze in the flat 400 at the 2007 World Championships, and ranked No. 4 in the world last year at that distance in addition to ranking No. 5 in the 400 hurdles. Great Britain’s Michael Bingham finished 4th in the Beijing Olympic final, and ranked No. 6 in the world in 2010. Reigning European Champion Kevin Borlee of Belgium, 2008 Olympic bronze medalist David Neville, and former 400-hurdle World Champion Bershawn Jackson round out the favorites.
Including relays, entrants in the Pre Classic 400 meters have won an astonishing sixteen gold medals in Olympic and World Championships competition!
400 METERS (MEN) Jeremy Wariner
Oscar Pistorius (South Africa)
Angelo Taylor
Michael Bingham (Great Britain)
Kevin Borlée (Belgium)
David Neville
Bershawn Jackson
Joshua Scott
Tickets for the Prefontaine Classic are on sale from www.goducks.com, 1-800-WEBFOOT, or at the UO Athletic Department ticket office.