Pre Classic roundup: Francine Niyonsaba has record-setting return to Eugene

There was a record set during the opening night of the Prefontaine Classic. It just wasn’t by the women gunning for one.

Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba, a one-time Eugene resident who has had to take her talents to longer distances since winning an Olympic silver medal in the 800 in 2016, won the 2-mile Friday in meet and Hayward Field record of 9:00.75.

In the first 2-mile race of Niyonsaba’s professional career, she became the second-fastest performer outdoors all-time.

“It was amazing. It was amazing,” she said. “It was hard but I knew it was going to be hard.”

Meet organizers said attendance was just north of 5,000 — 3,541 ticketed spectators, plus those with credentials — were on hand to witness the Pre Classic return to Hayward Field with the four-event Distance Night in Eugene.

It was a homecoming for Niyonsaba as well. After winning the World Indoor Championship title in Portland in 2016, she joined Eugene’s Oregon Track Club Elite and trained with coach Mark Rowland for three years.

She won silver in Rio and then silver at the 2017 world outdoor championships. In 2018 she won another gold at the world indoor meet.

But in 2019 World Athletics instituted a rule that puts a limit on testosterone levels for athletes competing in events between the 400 meters and the mile. Niyonsaba acknowledged in 2019 that she has hyperandrogenism.

She either had to take testosterone-suppressing drugs to remain an 800 runner, or  move up in distances. She chose the latter and qualified for Tokyo in both the 10,000 and 5,000.

On Friday, she took on a field that included Kenya’s Hellen Obiri, who won Olympic silver in the 5,000 and was fourth in the 10,000, Ethiopian 5,000 world-record holder Letesenbet Gidey, American Olympian Elise Cranny (5,000) of Portland’s Bowerman Track Club and German Olympian Konstanze Klosterhalfen (10,000) of Pete Julian’s group in Portland.

It was a two-women race between Gidey and Niyonsaba with two laps to go but Niyonsaba moved into the lead with 600 meters left and slowly pulled far ahead.

Gidey was second in 9:06.74 and Obiri was a distant third in 9:14.55.

“I was really glad to be here because I feel at home,” Niyonsaba said. “I didn’t expect to win by six seconds but I did this. I’m really happy.”

While Niyonsaba was surprised by her record night, Olympic star Sifan Hassan fell short of her orchestrated goal to break Gidey’s 5,000 record of 14:06.02.

Running on tired legs and with no one capable of pushing her, Hassan had to settle for the win in a season-best time of 14:27.89 — nearly 15 seconds ahead of Ethiopia’s Senbere Teferi who was second in 14:42.25.

Two weeks in Tokyo ago Hassan was wrapping up one of the most impressive individual performances at the Summer Games as she won gold in the 10,000 and 5,000, and was the bronze medalist in the 1,500.

“The last two laps I knew I wasn’t going to break the world record,” Hassan said. “I just wanted to finish strong and run hard. … I’m in shape but I’m just tired. I’m not fresh.”

Engels waves win goodbye

Who says track can’t be fun?

Not Craig Engels, who playfully raised his right hand and waved to the crowd when he took the lead coming around the final turn in the men’s International Mile.

Problem was, he didn’t see New Zealand’s Geordie Beamish sprinting from the middle of the pack as they raced down the home stretch.

Engels had a stunned look on his face as Beamish passed him with meters to to win in 3:54.86. Engels was second in 3:55.86 and Canada’s Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, who Engels passed with a wave, finished third in 3:55.48.

“I thought I had it with 100 to go. I didn’t have it and got outkicked by that guy over there,” Engels said as he pointed towards Beamish.

“I wasn’t going to let him get away with that,” Beamish said with a laugh when asked about Engels wave. “It was a super fun last lap. Craig (Engels) tried to celebrate with a 100 to go. I had a bit of a laugh down the home stretch. It would have been nice to run a bit faster but … I was pretty confident I would catch him in that last straight.

Former Duck Sam Prakel was fourth in 3:55.99 and Vincent Ciattei of OTC Elite was ninth in 4:00.45.

Mehra rallies for 1,500 win

American Rebecca Mehra took the lead with 100 to go and coasted across the finish line to win the women’s North American 1,500 in the opening event of the meet.

Mehra finished in 4:06.35, more than a second ahead of second-place Sage Hurta, who ran a PR 4:07.50. Fellow Colorado alum Dani Jones was third in 4:08.45.

Mehra, who lives in Bend, ran at the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials but didn’t advance out of the semifinals.

“This was a bit of a redemption run for me from the last time I was here at Hayward,” Mehra said.

Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com. For more sports coverage, visit registerguard.com. Want more stories like this? Subscribe to get unlimited access and support local journalism.