EUGENE, Oregon: Mo Farah laid down a marker to his rivals with a superb 5,000m victory in the Prefontaine Classic here Saturday as triple jump king Christian Taylor edged ever closer to his dream of a world record leap.
Farah, the four-time Olympic champion who is embarking on his final season of track racing, clocked the fastest time of the year after romping home in 13min 00.70sec at Eugene’s Hayward Field in Oregon.
The 34-year-old British distance running king, who completed a ‘double-double’ of 5,000m and 10,000m gold at last year’s Olympics, said he had been determined to send a message to his challengers as he builds toward his farewell at the World Championships in August.
“For me it wasn’t about time. It was just a matter of telling the boys ‘Look, I’m ready’,” Farah said.
“A lot of the boys talk a lot. I just want my running to do the talking and get on with it.”
Farah’s brilliant tactical victory was one of seven world leading performances set across a high quality day of action.
The display of the day came from US triple jump king Taylor, the two-time Olympic and world champion who recorded the third longest leap in history, 18.11m, to win a duel with compatriot Will Claye, who was second with 18.05.
Taylor, 26, is now within striking distance of Jonathan Edwards’ 1995 world record of 18.29m. Afterwards, Taylor admitted pursuit of Edwards’ record was his main motivation.
“It’s the only reason I’m here,” he told AFP. “I’ve got two Olympic titles, two world titles, the American record, I’ve been blessed beyond belief.
“The only thing that kills me now is that I’m number two all-time. And nobody will remember number two. And that’s what’s pushing me every single day,” he added.
Arguably the most surprising result of the day came in the women’s 200m which had been billed as one of the strongest fields ever assembled.
America’s Tori Bowie, a bronze medallist over the distance at last year’s Olympic Games in Rio, blasted to victory in the quickest time of the year in 21.77sec.
Bowie led from start to finish to come home ahead of Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas in second with 21.91. Olympic champion Elaine Thompson was third with 21.98 while Dutch star Dafne Schippers was fourth in 22.30. Allyson Felix, the 2012 200m Olympic champion, was fifth in 22.33.
Elsewhere Saturday, Jamaica’s 110m hurdles star Omar McLeod signalled once again he will be the man to beat at the World Championships after storming home in 13.01sec.
McLeod, the Olympic champion, crossed ahead of compatriot Ronald Levy, who was second in 13.10 and Devon Allen of the United States who was third with 13.11.
“I was feeling good, my race wasn’t as sharp but I was glad I was able to get a clean run,” McLeod said.
“I’m always consistent, I’m not as sharp as I wanted to be but preparation for this year was different. I didn’t have a peak at indoors, so I think I’m going to peak at the right time which is really good.”
In the men’s 100m, American Ronnie Baker posted a brisk but wind-assisted 9.86sec to pip China’s Su Bingtian for victory. Su finished second in 9.92sec. Britain’s Chijindu Ujah was third in 9.95 while Canada’s Andre De Grasse was fourth with 9.96.
The women’s 800m meanwhile saw a virtual repeat of the 2016 Olympic final, with all three Rio medallists occupying the top three positions.
South Africa’s Olympic champion Caster Semenya won in 1:57.78, ahead of Kenya’s Margaret Wambui in 1:57.88. Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi was third with 1:59.10.
Farah, Taylor shine at Prefontaine Classic
Farah, Taylor shine at Prefontaine Classic
Drake Maye aims to do what Tom Brady couldn’t with the Patriots: win a playoff game in Denver
FOXBOROUGH, Mass.: Drake Maye has a chance to accomplish something not even Tom Brady did with the Patriots.
Maye is hoping to beat the Broncos in the AFC championship game in Denver on Sunday and lead New England to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2018. The Patriots have never won a playoff game in Denver — losing all four tries, with Brady going 0-3.
“Just the AFC championship, the chance to go to the Super Bowl. That’d be huge,” Maye said. “Another road environment that’s had success in the past. … I know it would be a big-time win.”
The Patriots advanced to their 14th AFC championship game in the last 25 years on Sunday when they beat the Houston Texans 28-16 in Foxborough. Denver beat Buffalo 33-30 to reach the conference title game.
New England and Denver both finished 14-3 in the regular season, but the Broncos won the tiebreaker for home-field advantage because they had a better record against common opponents: Denver beat the Raiders twice this season but the Patriots lost to them.
That loss — to the worst team in the NFL in the first game of the Mike Vrabel era — sent New England into one of the most inhospitable environments in the league. In addition to the high-energy crowd, the Patriots will also have to contend with a low-oxygen environment that they won’t have a chance to acclimate to.
“Kind of what we’ve been doing on the road all season long,” said Maye, who has guided the Patriots to an 8-0 road record this season. “They’ve got a great team, so we’re going to have a tough challenge. But I’m looking forward to getting out there. And getting a chance to possibly celebrate on an away field would be pretty special.”
The last team to go undefeated on the road with a new head coach was the San Francisco 49ers under George Seifert in 1989; they won the Super Bowl.
“Coach has always been saying, ‘Road warriors,’” Maye said. “So, we’re trying to find that one more time and finish out strong what we’ve done this year.”
The Broncos are 18-5 in home playoff games all-time. But they’ll will be without starting quarterback Bo Nix, who broke his ankle near the end of the divisional round victory over Buffalo. Instead, the offense will be led by former Patriot Jarrett Stidham, who hasn’t thrown a pass since 2023.
That’s why New England opened as a 5½-point favorite — the biggest road favorite ever in a conference championship game. The line has since moved to Denver plus-4½.
“We always feel as though no matter what anyone else has to say, we still have something to prove,” said cornerback Marcus Jones, who returned an interception for a touchdown against Houston. “We’re trying to always prove ourselves right and not trying to prove other people wrong. That’s kind of the philosophy we’ve had for a long time.”
Win or lose, the Patriots could have trouble getting back to New England: A major snowstorm is expected to dump a foot or more of snow on the area.
Vrabel said the team is prepared if it can’t leave Denver on Sunday night.
“We have multiple plans of what could go on based on the weather. something that they’re familiar with here,” he said. “I mean, there’s things I can control, that I can’t control.”
