Kipyegon to headline women’s Mile at 2026 Prefontaine Classic
Three-time Olympic champion also holds the 1500m world record, set at last year's meet
EUGENE, Ore. – For the first time since joining the Diamond League, the Prefontaine Classic will host a women’s Mile. The Hayward Field record for the Mile of 4:21.25 was set at the 1988 Prefontaine Classic by legend Mary Decker. Kenyan Faith Kipyegon set the current Mile world record in 2023 at the Monaco Diamond League meet, clocking 4:07.64. At the 2025 Prefontaine Classic, she set the world record in the women’s 1500m with a time of 3:48.68 at Hayward Field.
Kipyegon is the first woman ever to hold the world records for the 1500m, Mile and 5000m simultaneously. She has dominated World Athletics’ global rankings, holding the #1 spot in the 1500m for 198 weeks and ranking as the world’s top female athlete for 90 weeks. A four-time Olympic medalist, she has won three consecutive Olympic 1500 gold medals (Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024).
Faith added a silver Olympic medal in Paris in the 5000m and also holds five World Championship titles. With 29 career Diamond League victories across six distances, she has also remained unbeaten for a decade at the Prefontaine Classic. Three of Kipyegon’s all-time top ten performances in the 1500m have been run at Hayward Field.
The Prefontaine Classic will take place on Friday, July 3, and Saturday, July 4, 2026.
A Diamond Discipline, the Women’s Mile, is scheduled for Saturday, July 4.
The tentative event schedule windows for each day of competition are: Friday, 6:00 - 10:00pm / Saturday, 12:00 - 3:00pm
The complete women's Mile field will be announced before the Prefontaine Classic.
Tickets, VIP Experience Packages and Accommodations packages are now on sale HERE.
