2021 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene: Preview, schedule and stars to watch


https://olympics.com/en/news/olympic-champions-and-medallists-back-in-action-prefontaine-classic-2021-oregon





Steve Prefontaine, 62, setting a new US record in the 5000m in a US vs USSR All Stars meet at Edwards Field, Berkeley, CA, July 3, 1971. This was Pre's first American Record since he set the national high school record in the 2-mile on April 25, 1969.

bearister said:

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2021 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene: Preview, schedule and stars to watch


https://olympics.com/en/news/olympic-champions-and-medallists-back-in-action-prefontaine-classic-2021-oregon





Steve Prefontaine, 62, setting a new US record in the 5000m in a US vs USSR All Stars meet at Edwards Field, Berkeley, CA, July 3, 1971. This was Pre's first American Record since he set the national high school record in the 2-mile on April 25, 1969.

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Several others on this forum also attended that meet in 1971 - I don't remember Pre's race, but I do recall Pat Matzdorf's world record high jump. I believe the team competition wasn't decided until the 1500m decathlon race - really a thrill to see. I worked in a sporting goods store on Shattuck that summer, just a block down from Edwards and we had all sorts of athletes wandering in that week - fun times.

Next year, the World Athletics (aka T&F) Championships will be in Eugene in August.

I was 16 and went with my Dad. Yeah, Pat's WR in the high jump was the memorable event.
Pat was a straddle roll practitioner (even though this was after the introduction of the superior Fosbury Flop).

Pat Matzdorf's Surprise World Record Turns 50 - Track & Field News

https://trackandfieldnews.com/pat-matzdorfs-surprise-world-record-turns-50/

Pat is 71 now. Looks like he golfs instead of jumps these days (I assume he is on left)


WR jump at Cal:



Pat Matzdorf - Wikipedia


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Matzdorf

bearister said:

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I was 16 and went with my Dad. Yeah, Pat's WR in the high jump was the memorable event.
Pat was a straddle roll practitioner (even though this was after the introduction of the superior Fosbury Flop).

Pat Matzdorf's Surprise World Record Turns 50 - Track & Field News

https://trackandfieldnews.com/pat-matzdorfs-surprise-world-record-turns-50/

Pat is 71 now. Looks like he golfs instead of jumps these days (I assume he is on left)


WR jump at Cal:



Pat Matzdorf - Wikipedia


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Matzdorf

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Given the facial hair he had back in the day maybe that is him on the right!

I found the video:

I was also at the event when Matzdorf set the record--selling programs, but got to see the jump

HearstMining said:

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bearister said:

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2021 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene: Preview, schedule and stars to watch


https://olympics.com/en/news/olympic-champions-and-medallists-back-in-action-prefontaine-classic-2021-oregon





Steve Prefontaine, 62, setting a new US record in the 5000m in a US vs USSR All Stars meet at Edwards Field, Berkeley, CA, July 3, 1971. This was Pre's first American Record since he set the national high school record in the 2-mile on April 25, 1969.

---

Several others on this forum also attended that meet in 1971 - I don't remember Pre's race, but I do recall Pat Matzdorf's world record high jump. I believe the team competition wasn't decided until the 1500m decathlon race - really a thrill to see. I worked in a sporting goods store on Shattuck that summer, just a block down from Edwards and we had all sorts of athletes wandering in that week - fun times.

Next year, the World Athletics (aka T&F) Championships will be in Eugene in August.

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You worked at Harberts?

Speaking of Edwards Track Stadium, I posted the below photo on reddit a few years back of Wilt Chamberlain (link) I took at a track meet there in the 1970's when Wilt walked by my row. I also saw a Wilt observing the finish line at Bay to Breakers in 1968 (won by Kenny Moore, Army; only a few thousand runners in race).

Reddit - OldSchoolCool - Wilt Chamberlain, Edwards Track Stadium, Berkeley, CA (early 1970's)


https://www.reddit.com/r/OldSchoolCool/comments/7aomnu/wilt_chamberlain_edwards_track_stadium_berkeley/



*reddit later banned me for life for trolling the gun, knife and pit bull communities. Those m f'ers have no sense of humor. Tightly wound and too high strung.

He looks young for 62. Haven't heard much from him lately.

Who is 62?

Serious -- albeit somewhat rhetorical -- question: Has there ever been an athletic venue as disproportionally sized in terms of capacity vs. the success of the athletic program housed therein as Cal's own Edwards Stadium? We're talking 22,000 seating capacity and 1 NCAA title in more than 100 years of Cal Track & Field. By Berkeley price per square foot real estate standards, that's an underperformer, National Register of Historic Places be d@rned!

For comparison...

University of Arkansas:
41 NCAA men's championships in cross country, indoor & outdoor track... 7,000-seat stadium

University of Southern California:
26 NCAA men's championships (same 3 sports)... 3,000-seat stadium

University of Texas - El Paso:
20 NCAA men's championships... 15,000-seat stadium (originally for football team)

University of Oregon:
18 NCAA men's championships... 12,650-seat stadium ("new" Hayward Field looks pretty cool)

Any chance there is a streaming link for the distance events tonight?

sonofabear51 said:

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Any chance there is a streaming link for the distance events tonight?

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How to Watch the Prefontaine Classic: Live Stream, TV Channel, Start Time | Sports Illustrated, What's on TV, powered by Fubo


https://www.si.com/tv/other/prefontaine-classic-track-and-field-aug-21-live-stream-watch-online-free

Maybe demons had secret ceremonies there late at night.

Thank you bearister! Very much appreciated, I owe you one!

Used to go to the California Relays in Modesto. Crowds of double the capacity of a 4,000 seat stadium, US and international stars galore. They held the state JC championships concurrently with the meet. Remember in late 60's just walking in when they announced that (don't recall who) just broke the world record in the discus (discus throwers loved to throw there as the winds were just right). Yeah, used to see Wilt there too. Tom Moore, who was a hurdler at Cal and held the world record for awhile was the organizer and starter. In 1969 John Carlos ran and had a huge following. At the end of one meet sat on the infield with Dwight Stones and watched the end of the pole vault, as it was the last thing going. Great times, but interest gradually waned. Harder and harder to get the big names, too expensive, and it just gradually went away. There used to be big meets like that at Cal, too, and they just went away. Nowhere near the interest in track and field now in the US.

Remember Charlie Green, Army. He always wore shades. I saw him run the 100m at Edwards a few times. I thought he was so cool.

How about Dr. Delano Meriweather. Ran with suspenders and a scrub shirt.

bearister said:

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Pat Matzdorf - Wikipedia


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Matzdorf

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"Patrick Clifford Matzdorf worked for AT&T Bell Labs at Indian Hill in Autoplex. He coined the phrase 'wireless' as part of a standards meeting and was distinguished by his mustache."

dimitrig said:

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HearstMining said:

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bearister said:

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2021 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene: Preview, schedule and stars to watch


https://olympics.com/en/news/olympic-champions-and-medallists-back-in-action-prefontaine-classic-2021-oregon





Steve Prefontaine, 62, setting a new US record in the 5000m in a US vs USSR All Stars meet at Edwards Field, Berkeley, CA, July 3, 1971. This was Pre's first American Record since he set the national high school record in the 2-mile on April 25, 1969.

---

Several others on this forum also attended that meet in 1971 - I don't remember Pre's race, but I do recall Pat Matzdorf's world record high jump. I believe the team competition wasn't decided until the 1500m decathlon race - really a thrill to see. I worked in a sporting goods store on Shattuck that summer, just a block down from Edwards and we had all sorts of athletes wandering in that week - fun times.

Next year, the World Athletics (aka T&F) Championships will be in Eugene in August.

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You worked at Harberts?

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Yep - three summers in the early 1970s. The brothers who owned the place were characters - in a pro-business Republican sort of way.

Larno said:

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How about Dr. Delano Meriweather. Ran with suspenders and a scrub shirt.

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CHAMPION OF THE ARMCHAIR ATHLETES | Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com


https://vault.si.com/vault/1971/02/22/champion-of-the-armchair-athletes


Famous daughter:


Nana Meriwether - Wikipedia


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nana_Meriwether
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nana_Meriwether

rossmoor bear said:

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I post here very seldom. I used to watch lots of Cal track and field and was very fortunate to be in Edwards Stadium to see world records set by Jim Ryan, Pat Mattzdorf and Henri Romo. Good memories.

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Did anybody else attend the 1968 NCAAs at Berkeley? I remember seeing OJ on the USC 4x1 relay team.
I don't know if it was Dave Maggard's track connections or what, but Cal had big national and invitational meets (Kennedy Games) for years and I regret I didn't go to more of them. Still, like many of you, I saw Green, Carlos, Lee Evans, Don Paige, Shorter, Mary (Decker) Slaney, Francie Larriue, Stones, Lindgren, James Robinson, etc (I missed Ryun) and those are just the ones I explicitly recall. Here is a link to a photo of the 1500m start that I found from the 1982 Kinney Games. I hope this doesn't violate any rules of the road - Getty Images says it's ok to use for blogs:
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/john-walker-of-new-zealand-and-steve-scott-of-the-usa-wait-news-photo/858423042

I know I was at the event, but maybe I got there late as I don't recall this race. Except during the Olympics, track is just a footnote now. But it wasn't back then. I live near Sacramento now and I've been fortunate enough to attend the occasional big T&F event at Sac State (Olympic Trials 2000, 2004), but with that spectacular new stadium in Eugene, I'd say anything they bid for, they'll get.

I went to the June, 1983, Kinney Invitational Meet at Edward's to see my favorite runner, Eamonn Coghlan (Ireland and Villanova) take on Steve Scott in the mile (Eamonn won). My buddy took a telephoto shot during the race, which I had enlarged and framed, and still hangs on my wall.

Coghlan's nickname was Chairman of the Boards because he was virtually unbeatable in the indoor mile. He also holds the distinction of being only one of 3 men to run a Sub 4 mile at age 40.

This Sports Illustrated cover hangs on my wall (next to Kidd's and Muncie's covers in their Cal uniforms):

bearister said:

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I went to the June, 1983, Kinney Invitational Meet at Edward's to see my favorite runner, Eamonn Coghlan (Ireland and Villanova) take on Steve Scott in the mile (Eamonn won).

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Eamonn Coghlan was awesome. I'll never forget being in Ireland in summer of 1983, and Coghlan won the 5000m at the World Championships in Helsinki, unleashing his devastating miler's kick on the entire field, and winning going away. There was a huge concert that evening at the old Phoenix Park racecourse in Dublin, with the Eurhythmics, U2, Simple Minds, and Big Country all playing, and the whole crowd went absolutely nuts when they announced -- at the concert! -- that Coghlan had won gold for Ireland.

Imagine being at a pop concert and having a track & field result announced to the crowd. Ah, those were the days. Coghlan was a beast, and his running form was a thing of beauty.

BearBoarBlarney said:

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bearister said:

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I went to the June, 1983, Kinney Invitational Meet at Edward's to see my favorite runner, Eamonn Coghlan (Ireland and Villanova) take on Steve Scott in the mile (Eamonn won).

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Eamonn Coghlan was awesome. I'll never forget being in Ireland in summer of 1983, and Coghlan won the 5000m at the World Championships in Helsinki, unleashing his devastating miler's kick on the entire field, and winning going away. There was a huge concert that evening at the old Phoenix Park racecourse in Dublin, with the Eurhythmics, U2, Simple Minds, and Big Country all playing, and the whole crowd went absolutely nuts when they announced -- at the concert! -- that Coghlan had won gold for Ireland.

Imagine being at a pop concert and having a track & field result announced to the crowd. Ah, those were the days. Coghlan was a beast, and his running form was a thing of beauty.

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Everyone can do a mile as long as they don't try to 'run before they can walk' - Eamonn Coghlan - Independent.ie


https://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/fitness/everyone-can-do-a-mile-as-long-as-they-dont-try-to-run-before-they-can-walk-eamonn-coghlan-39450002.html

bearister said:

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BearBoarBlarney said:

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bearister said:

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I went to the June, 1983, Kinney Invitational Meet at Edward's to see my favorite runner, Eamonn Coghlan (Ireland and Villanova) take on Steve Scott in the mile (Eamonn won).

---

Eamonn Coghlan was awesome. I'll never forget being in Ireland in summer of 1983, and Coghlan won the 5000m at the World Championships in Helsinki, unleashing his devastating miler's kick on the entire field, and winning going away. There was a huge concert that evening at the old Phoenix Park racecourse in Dublin, with the Eurhythmics, U2, Simple Minds, and Big Country all playing, and the whole crowd went absolutely nuts when they announced -- at the concert! -- that Coghlan had won gold for Ireland.

Imagine being at a pop concert and having a track & field result announced to the crowd. Ah, those were the days. Coghlan was a beast, and his running form was a thing of beauty.

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Everyone can do a mile as long as they don't try to 'run before they can walk' - Eamonn Coghlan - Independent.ie


https://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/fitness/everyone-can-do-a-mile-as-long-as-they-dont-try-to-run-before-they-can-walk-eamonn-coghlan-39450002.html

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This kid Hobbs Kessler is certainly intriguing - broke the US high school 1500m record. The latest hope for USA middle distance running?

Sha'Carri Richardson finishes 9th in 100m. Jamaican Olympic medalists ate her breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Canada's and USC's Andre De Grasse takes 100m.

Dueling Pre biopics:

Prefontaine (1997) - IMDb


https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119937/


Without Limits (1998) - IMDb


https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119934/