Several of the top distance track athletes in the nation and the world will gather this weekend at Klapstein Stadium on the Mt. Hood Community College campus in Gresham for the Portland Track Festival.
The track meet will provide a preview for the USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships, set to run July 6-9 at Hayward Field in Eugene, and the world championships in Hungary in August.
Among the top events to watch at the Portland Track Festival:
• The men’s 1,500 meters will feature U.S. national champion Craig Engels, German Olympian Amos Bartelsmeyer, Kenyan Amon Kemboi, and former Oregon Ducks Sam Prakel, Johnny Gregorek, Cole Hocker and Olympic gold medalist Matthew Centrowitz. Racing fans are rooting for a fast race from Hocker, a Tokyo Olympian and national champion who has kept a low profile so far this year.
• The women’s 1,500 will include Nike-sponsored Helen Schlachtenhaufen, Asics-sponsored former Duck Alli Cash, Adidas-sponsored former Portland Pilot Taryn Rawlings, and former Grant High School standout Ella Donaghu, who runs for Nike’s Union Athletics Club. The women should be inspired by Faith Kipyegon of Kenya, who set a new women’s world record Friday in Florence, Italy, with a time of 3 minutes, 49.11 seconds.
• The women’s 5,000 will include Olympians Natosha Rogers, Roisin Flanagan of Ireland and Xu Shuangshuang of China. The men’s 5,000 will include NCAA national champion Olin Hacker, Pan American Games gold medalist Fernando Estrada of Mexico and Chinese national champion Xie Dongsheng.
• The women’s 800 will feature Olympian and former Oregon Ducks star Raevyn Rogers, Mckenna Keegan of Union Athletics and Oiselle-sponsored Rebecca Mehra. Rogers is prepping for a highly anticipated showdown with Olympic gold medalist Athing Mu at the U.S. championships.
• The men’s 800 will feature Nike-sponsored 19-year-old prodigy Noah Kibet of Kenya, who has a personal-best time of 1:44.88. The race is loaded with Scottish Olympian Josh Kerr, U.S. NCAA champion Isaiah Harris and former Duck and Australian Olympian Charlie Hunter.
The Portland Track Festival runs Saturday and Sunday, and will include a beer garden and food trucks. High school and open races will begin at 5 p.m. Saturday and 3:40 p.m. Sunday. The professional athletes will race beginning at 6:50 p.m. Saturday and 5:15 p.m. Sunday. Weekend passes are $15, with free entry to those 18 and under.
— Will Lee for The Oregonian/OregonLive