Shaunae Miller-Uibo Runs Facility Record 49.08 In The 400; Rudy Winkler Gives Hammer A Ride And Moves To No. 2 All-Time In U.S.; Hobbs Kessler Closes Hard To Become No. 3 All-Time Prep In 1,500m

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

EUGENE – The professional component of track and field clicked back into place Saturday at the new Hayward Field as masked officials and empty green seats greeted dozens of Olympic hopefuls for the televised USATF Grand Prix. 

Shaunae Miller-Uibo became the first athlete to break a facility record that is superior to one from historic Hayward Field, winning the women's 400 meters in 49.08 seconds. 

Her winning time surpassed Sanya Richard Ross' time of 49.29 at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials. 

It was the fourth-fastest time of Miller-Uibo's career. 

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Outside the stadium, in the hammer cage, Rudy Winkler launched a four-foot personal best and moved to No. 2 in U.S. history behind Lance Deal with a sixth-round mark of 268-11 (81.98m). It was the farthest throw in the world since 2017.

"Lance was the first person to congratulate me," Winkler said. "It's great to be up there with people that I've looked up to. It's awesome."

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Winkler revealed that he contracted COVID-19 in the initial outbreak in April of 2020 and took some time off for one of the first times since he started throwing. 

"I was sick for 10 days and took some time off," he said. "I didn't have any severe effects (of the illness) and still don't, thankfully."

Laura Muir of Great Britain came to the track eager to run fast in the 1,500 meters and charged out ahead of the pack to make it happen. She ran alone up front and took the brunt of the wind on the way to a winning time of 4:01.54. 

Nigeria's Blessing Okagbare and resurgent American Trayon Bromell were dominant in the 100 meters. 

Okagbare won the women's final in 10.97 seconds. Bromell dominated the men's competition and ran 10.01 in the finals to beat runner-up Noah Lyles (10.17).

Oregon's Kemba Nelson won her prelim in a lifetime-best 11.08 against some of her idols, but finished fifth in the final (11.22). 

Isaac Updike, a former Eugene resident who now trains with coach Tom Nohilly and the Empire Track Club in New York, sliced nine seconds off his personal best and won the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 8:17.74.

Oliver Hoare, who made the decision to stay put in the U.S. when the pandemic hit rather than go home to Australia, showed that the hard work he has put in with new coach Dathan Ritzenhein is paying off. 

Hoare ran aggressively from the gun and tore through the men's 1,500 meters in 3:33.54 in his first race at Hayward Field since he won the the NCAA title for Wisconsin in 2018. 

In the same race, high school phenom Hobbs Kessler from Ann Arbor, Mich. finished a strong sixth in 3:40.46 to become the third-fastest prep in U.S. history behind Alan Webb and Jim Ryun. 

Kessler's closing lap of 56.06 seconds was the fastest in the entire field. 

Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, representing Puerto Rico, kept her hot streak going in the women's 100-meter hurdles, pulling away for a dominant victory in 12.46 seconds in cool, damp conditions. 

The meet concluded with a 1-2 finish in the men's 400 meters for training partners and former USC teammates Michael Norman and Rai Benjamin. 

Norman ran 44.67 seconds and Benjamin was second in 44.98. Justin Robinson, a 2020 high school graduate, was third in 45.55.

Some of the Hall-of-Fame level athletes in the meet did not fare so well. 

Olympic women's shot put champion Michelle Carter returned to competition after 14 months and finished ninth out of 10 competitors. Chase Ealey threw over 62 feet twice and won it with 62-1.25 (18.93m).

Olympic triple jump champion Christian Taylor managed third place out of four jumpers with a best of 54-2.50. (16.52m). Instead, Donald Scott won it with 55-5 (16.89m).

Allyson Felix, America's most decorated Olympian, made the finals of the women's 100 and finished seventh in 11.30.