EUGENE — Kara Patterson now holds the two best women’s javelin throws in American history.
A three-time national champion and an Olympian, the Skyview High School and Purdue University graduate set a Prefontaine Classic meet record Saturday with her mark of 216 feet, 2 inches. She also holds the best mark ever by an American at 218-8, her winning throw at the previous week’s USA Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.
“The competition was a little slow at the beginning for everybody,” said Patterson, who had two fouls in her first three throws and whose best effort Saturday before her winner was 200-11. “You have to take it in stride and figure out how you’re going to pick up the intensity at the end. My last throw I knew I had to get after it more so I brought the intensity up and had the confidence I would hit the positions I needed to” in her approach.
Patterson’s winning throw bettered Martina Ratej of Slovakia, who threw 211-3 on her fifth attempt to temporarily take the lead. World-record holder Barbora Spotakova of the Czech Republic was third at 200-6.
The Pre, as it is known, is in its 36th year and first as part of the Diamond League, a series of 14 meets worldwide. The event at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field is named after distance runner Steve Prefontaine, an Olympian killed in a 1977 car accident at 24.
In the day’s featured event, Walter Dix spoiled Tyson Gay’s return to competition in the 200 meters. Dix won in 19.72 seconds, edging Gay by 0.04 seconds.
Gay has not competed since May because of a hamstring injury. The Prefontaine, which did not include a men’s 100, was a first step toward challenging Jamaican Usain Bolt’s dominance in the sprints.
“Yeah, it’s not bad for a first race,” Gay said.
Bolt, the world-record holder in the 100 and 200, did not compete at Saturday’s meet, part of the elite IAAF Diamond League series.
Dix was coming off a victory in the 100 last week in the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, where he finished second to Walter Spearmon in the 200.
Earlier this year Dix ran the 200 in 19.86 seconds at a Diamond League meet in Rome.
“Glad I got the competition against Tyson and came out victorious,” Dix said.
Gay last ran in May in Manchester, England, when he put up a 19.41 in a straight-track 200. His effort was a record on the straight track, but it is not recognized as an official world mark because track and field’s governing body only recognizes the 200 run around a curve.
Gay swept the 100 and 200 at the 2007 world championships and owns the American record in the 100, but in recent years he’s been dogged by injuries and surpassed by Bolt.
Gay has long maintained that he can better Bolt. Both sprinters were supposed to meet last month at the Adidas Grand Prix in New York but sat out because of injuries. Right now, a date for a possible showdown is uncertain.
Gay said he still had a long way to go.
“Basically, I came away with no injures,” he said.
American Ryan Bailey finished third in the 200 in 20.17.
Kenyan Asbel Kiprop won the Pre’s signature Bowerman Mile in 3 minutes, 49.75 seconds. The race is named after legendary Oregon coach Bill Bowerman.
But the highlight of the race was the surprising fifth-place finish by Oregon’s Andrew Wheating, running on his home track. Wheating, an Olympian in Beijing, leapt when his finish of 3:51.74 was announced to the cheering sellout crowd of 12,834. The mark shattered the Ducks’ all-time record in the mile, 3:53.00, set by Joaquim Cruz in 1984.
“I think I can run with the big dogs!” Wheating exclaimed.
Bernard Lagat, coming off a victory in the 5,000 in Des Moines, finished a disappointing ninth in 3:54.46.
Australian Ryan Gregson won the International Mile competition in 3:53.20 seconds. Oregon’s A.J. Acosta ran a personal best 3:53.76 on his home track.
Olympian Allyson Felix won the 400 in 50.27. While her specialty is the 200, Felix is experimenting with the longer distance and has said she could double in the 2012 Olympics.
“I’m coming off of speedwork so I’m really pleased with that. I need to do my speed endurance work to put it all together,” she said.
David Oliver won the men’s 110 hurdles in 12.90 seconds, matching the American record set by Dominique Arnold in Lausanne in 2006.
“Winning races is the most important thing to me, the time will come,” he said.
Olympic gold medal-winner Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia ran the 5,000 in a new meet record 14:34.08, well in front of American Shalane Flanagan in 14:49.08. Dibaba won both the 5,000 and 10,000 in Beijing.
On the men’s side, Ethiopian Tariku Bekele won in 12:58.93.
Abubaker Kaki Khamis of Sudan won the men’s 1,000 in 2:13.62, a meet record and personal best. Local favorite Nick Symmonds of the Oregon Track Club finished third in the event behind Kenyan Boaz Lalang.
Russian Mariya Savinova won the women’s 800 in 1:57.56, best in the world this year and also a Pre record, topping Maria Mutola’s mark of 1:57.57 set in 1997. Mutola won the event at the Pre from 1997-2008.
Kenyan Milcah Chemos Cheiywa won the women’s steeplechase in 9:26.70, while American Lashinda Demus won the 400 hurdles in 53.03 seconds.
Jamaican Veronica Campbell-Brown won the women’s 100 in 10.78 seconds, a personal best and the top time in the world this year. She also surpassed the meet record of 10.84 set by Torri Edwards in 2008.
“If it is my destiny to run faster, then I will,” she said.
Tariku Bekele of Ethiopia ran the men’s 5,000 in 12:58.93, best ever on American soil and new Pre best.
Christian Cantwell won the men’s shot put with a throw of 73-6¼ inches — setting meet and field records, and the best mark in the world this season. Russian Tatyana Lysenko set a new meet record in the hammer with a throw of 249-3. Fabiana Murer of Brazil won the women’s pole vault with a height of 15-¼. Piotr Malachowski of Poland topped the men’s discus at 222-0.
