In a much-anticipated Saturday (16 Sept) session, The Prefontaine Classic —acting as this year’s Wanda Diamond League Final—will feature star-studded line-ups, including a head-to-head between Co-World Champions Katie Moon and Nina Kennedy, and the 2016 Olympic runner-up Sandi Morris.
In an unprecedented turn of events at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, Katie Moon of the United States and Nina Kennedy from Australia both cleared to 4.90 meters, failing to go over 4.95 meters. This led to the unique decision to split the women’s pole vault gold medal.
Kennedy and Moon met again at the Zürich Diamond League gathering, where Kennedy set a global best of 4.91 meters, clinching the Weltklasse Zürich championship. With the next face-off scheduled for September 16, Kennedy aims to keep her 2022 Diamond League Final crown, as Moon targets her inaugural Diamond League Final win.
Olympic Silver Medalist Sandi Morris Joins Elite Field at Prefontaine Classic
Sandi Morris, the Olympic silver medalist, is set to compete fiercely against these seasoned athletes. Finishing as the runner-up to Moon in the 2023 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships with a jump of 4.61 meters, Morris recently achieved a season’s best of 4.80 meters at the Galà dei Castelli competition in Switzerland. In her own words on Instagram, Morris announced, “I’ve rediscovered the beast within.”
The complete Prefontaine Classic women’s pole vault field with the athletes’ season-best marks is as follows:
- Nina Kennedy (AUS), 4.91 meters (16 feet, 1¼ inches)
- Katie Moon (USA), 4.90 meters (16 feet, ¾ inches)
- Sandi Morris (USA), 4.80 meters (15 feet, 9 inches)
- Wilma Murto (FIN), 4.80 meters (15 feet, 9 inches)
- Tina Šutej (SVN), 4.80 meters (15 feet, 9 inches)
- Roberta Bruni (ITA), 4.61 meters (15 feet, 1½ inches)
Saturday’s session of the 2023 Prefontaine Classic begins at 11:30 a.m. Pacific time at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon. The specific timetable will be released at a future date via Pre Classic’s website, email, and social media channels. Single day tickets are on sale at PreClassic.com/tickets.
