Mo Farah Switches From 10k To 5k; David Rudisha Out Of 800

Prefontaine Classic Press Release
May 30, 2013

It’s been a tumultuous day in TrackTown USA.  Double Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah, still recovering from a stomach virus picked up after the Oxy High Performance meet a month ago, has requested a move from the 10k on Friday night to the 5k on Saturday.  Add the Olympic gold medalist at 5000m to the Pre Classic 5k? Yes, that can be accommodated! Farah thus joins teammate Galen Ruppand a field that includes American record holder Bernard Lagat and Olympic bronze medalist Thomas Longosiwa.  The 10k on Friday night still features world recordholder Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia and 6 other athletes ranked in the top 10 in the world. And entry for “Distance Night In Eugene” is still free.

In more serious news, an MRI was performed yesterday at the Slocum Center for Orthopedics & Sports Medicine in Eugene on the knee of David Rudisha, the world recordholder in the 800m. The scan showed bruising of the bone and underlying ligaments. Efforts today to test out the knee during a light workout did not go well, and Rudisha has had to withdraw from the Prefontaine Classic 800m.

In more upbeat news, the complete sweep of the medals at London will be represented in the Pre Classic women’s 400m on Saturday, as 6 of the 8 lanes are filled with the numbers 1-2-3-4-5-8 ranked runners in the world. Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross will be making her season-debut, and will face silver medalist Christine Ohuruogu of Great Britain and bronze medalist DeeDee Trotter of the U.S. (Full release to come.)

Sanya RICHARDS-ROSS USA
Amantle MONTSHO BOT
Christine OHURUOGU GBR
Novlene WILLIAMS-MILLS JAM
Francena MCCORORY USA
DeeDee TROTTER USA
Shericka WILLIAMS JAM
Stephanie MCPHERSON JAM