Olympic champion Ryan Crouser and Diamond League champion Joe Kovacs will both be hoping for a July 4 home win when they take on a world-class field in the men’s shot put in Eugene.
US stars Crouser and Kovacs will take on New Zealand’ star ‘s Tom Walsh and Italy’s Leonardo Fabbri at this year’s Prefontaine Classic, in a clash which pits the world record holder against the current top three in the world rankings.
Kovacs took his fourth career victory at the Prefontaine Classic last season, in the first of three Diamond League wins that saw him crowned Diamond League champion for the fourth time.
Crouser missed much of last season through injury but returns to Diamond League action as reigning world champion after a sensational victory in Tokyo last September.
Fabbri and Walsh are also former Diamond League champions, with the Italian winning the title in 2024 and Walsh holding it for two successive years in 2018 and 2019.
Together, the four men can boast an astonishing combined total of 31 world and Olympic medals.
Eugene is the ninth leg of the 2026 Wanda Diamond League, which begins in Shanghai/Keqiao on May 16 and ends at the two-day series final in Brussels on September 4-5.
The series unites the biggest names in track and field in some of the world’s most iconic arenas, crossing four continents and 15 cities over the course of the season.
