Bowerman Mile

The Bowerman Mile is a prestigious and historic mile race for elite middle distance runners held annually at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon.

Along with Oslo's Dream Mile and New York's Wanamaker Mile, the Bowerman Mile is among the world's premier track mile races, and one of the few examples of a major international mile race, since the 1500m is the much more common event.

The Bowerman Mile, and the Prefontaine Classic as a whole, is famous for its "Hayward Magic", where the crowds and energy of Hayward Field push competitors to fast times. In fact, between the Bowerman Mile and other mile races held at the University of Oregon, Hayward Field has seen more than 500 sub-four minute mile clockings, the most of any facility in the world.

History
The Prefontaine Classic began in 1973, as a Hayward Restoration meeting. Two years later, the meet was officially founded and was set to be named the "Bowerman Classic" after University of Oregon Coach Bill Bowerman.

However, following Steve Prefontaine's tragic passing in 1975, the meeting's name was switched to the Prefontaine Classic in honor of him.

The Prefontaine Classic has held mile races since 1975, but the Bowerman Mile was not established until 2000, where Bill Bowerman's name would find a place to be honored.

2001: Alan Webb's high school mile record
At the 2001 Prefontaine Classic, Alan Webb competed in the Bowerman Mile against elite international runners, in a field that included world record holder Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco, and the 2000 Sydney Olympics 1500m bronze medalist Bernard Lagat of Kenya (at the time).

Although El Guerrouj won in 3:49.92, with Kevin Sullivan (3:51.82), Bernard Lagat (3:53.14) and Adil Kaouch (3:53.40) following behind, the young Webb finished in 5th place. Webb ran 3:53.43 and broke Jim Ryun's national high school record of 3:55.3 that had stood for 36 years.

2023: Jakob Ingebrigtsen's mile & 3000m double
In the 2023 Prefontaine Classic & Diamond League Final, on September 16, Norwegian athlete Jakob Ingebrigtsen won the Bowerman Mile, in a time of 3:43.73, with the aid of pacing lights and pacemakers Erik Sowinski & Cameron Myers.

Ingebrigtsen missed Hicham El Guerrouj's mile world record by .60 seconds, still having run the fastest mile in 24 years and the third fastest mile in history at the time.

Ingebrigtsen was closely followed by Yared Nuguse, who finished in an American record time of 3:43.97, breaking Alan Webb's former 2007 American mile record of 3:46.91 by almost three full seconds and running the fourth fastest mile in history at the time.

The race closely mimics El Guerrouj's 1999 world record run in Rome, where El Guerrouj won in 3:43.13, but was being closely tracked by Kenyan athlete Noah Ngeny, who came in second place at 3:43.40. El Guerrouj and Ngeny still hold the first and second fastest mile times respectively as of 2023.

These four men (El Guerrouj, Ngeny, Ingebrigtsen, Nuguse) remain the only ones in history to have run a mile under 3:44.00 as of 2023, with the #5 fastest mile of all time being Noureddine Morceli's 1993 time of 3:44.39.

The next day, Ingebrigtsen would go on to win the 3000 m, in a time of 7:23.63, beating Yomif Kejelcha by only one hundredth of a second. At the time, this ranked Kejelcha at #4 all time and Ingebrigtsen at #3 all time, behind Hicham El Guerrouj's 7:23.09 and Daniel Komen's world record of 7:20.67.

Both of Ingebrigtsen's performances stand as Diamond League Records and are the third fastest performances in their respective event as of 2023.

2024: "The Mile of the Century"
A good benchmark of physical fitness for the approaching 2024 Summer Olympics, and an analogue to the Paris 1500m final, the 2024 Bowerman Mile on 25 May featured the greatest 1500 meter and mile runners in the world today, including Josh Kerr, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, and Yared Nuguse. This 2024 edition, considering these three athletes and the historically deep field, was billed as the "Mile of the Century".

Kerr won in a new British record time of 3:45.34, eclipsing Steve Cram's previous 1985 record of 3:46.32, with Ingebrigtsen coming second in 3:45.60 and Nuguse in third at 3:46.22.

Annual Champions
* All former meet records in the Bowerman Mile are denoted with an asterisk. The current meet record is bolded.

Other "Miles" at the Prefontaine Classic
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Men
The Bowerman Mile is not to be confused with an "International Mile", a race held in conjunction with the Bowerman Mile, from 2010-2018, and in 2021. The meet record for this "International Mile" is held by Thiago Do Rosario Andre of Brazil, with his 2017 clocking of 3:51.99.

In 2015, a high school boys' mile was also held, which was won by Carlos Villarreal of Mexico, in a time of 4:05.25.

In 2004, 2008, 2013, and 2022, a 1500m run was held in addition to the Bowerman Mile. Standalone 1500m races were also held in 1976, 1978, 1980-1981, 1985, and 1992. The fastest 1500m time recorded, not en-route to a mile, was Samuel Tanner of New Zealand's 2022 time of 3:34.37. Otherwise, the fastest 1500m recorded at the Prefontaine Classic was 3:28.90 by Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway, en route to his 2023 time of 3:43.73.

Women
As of 2024, there is no Women's Bowerman Mile, with women instead competing in the 1500m run. Faith Kipyegon of Kenya holds the Prefontaine 1500m record, with her 2023 time of 3:50.72.

However, in 1975, 1987-1989, 1991, and 1993, a mile run was held for women instead of the 1500m, with Mary Decker holding the meet record with her 1988 time of 4:21.25.

A high school girls' mile was also held in 2015, won by Ryen Frazier of the United States, in a time of 4:39.84.