Prefontaine Classic schedule, broadcast info, preview

Allyson Felix, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
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The stars are out for the third Diamond League meet of the season — Allyson FelixShelly-Ann Fraser-PryceAshton Eaton and David Rudisha, among others.

The Prefontaine Classic is the most mouth-watering outdoor meet of 2014 so far, living up to its venue, revered Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

Competition starts Friday night, with Olympic and world champion Brittney Reese in the long jump, Mary Cain in the 800m and Olympic silver medalist Galen Rupp in the 10,000m. USATF.TV will have live coverage.

NBCSN will have live coverage Saturday from 3:30-4:30 p.m. ET, followed by NBC from 4:30-6. NBC Sports Live Extra will be available for the entire 3:30-6 window (HERE from 3:30-4:30 and HERE from 4:30-6). The full schedule and entry lists can be found here.

Here’s the schedule of events (all times Eastern):

Friday
10 p.m. — Women’s discus
10:03 — Women’s long jump
10:30 — Women’s 800m I
10:50 — Women’s 800m II
11:10 — Men’s shot put
12:17 a.m. (Saturday) — Men’s 10,000m

Saturday
3:22 p.m. — Men’s triple jump
3:25 — Men’s pole vault
3:33 — Men’s mile
3:44 — Women’s two mile
3:59 — Women’s high jump
4:03 — Women’s 400m hurdles
4:11 — Women’s 3000m steeplechase
4:25 — Men’s 400m
4:34 — Men’s 100m
4:38 — Men’s javelin
4:42 — Women’s 400m
4:49 — Women’s 1500m
5:05 — Men’s 110m hurdles
5:13 — Women’s 200m
5:20 — Men’s 5000m
5:41 — Men’s 800m
5:49 — Bowerman Mile

Here are five track events to watch Saturday:

Men’s 100m

No Usain Bolt or Yohan Blake, but all seven men in the field have a personal best of 10.0 or better. The favorite is Justin Gatlin, who owns the fastest time of the year at 9.87. His top competition should be France’s Jimmy Vicaut, the second fastest man this year (9.95), and Jamaica’s Nesta Carter, who was second to Gatlin at a Diamond League meet in Shanghai on May 18.

Women’s 1500m

Ethiopian-born Swede Abeba Aregawi has owned this event the last year, winning all six Diamond League races she entered in 2013, then the World Championship and then the World Indoor Championship.

American Jenny Simpson, the 2011 world champion and 2013 world silver medalist, will try to break Aregawi’s streak. As will Kenyan Hellen Obiri, who set a meet record in winning in Eugene last year (it wasn’t a Diamond Race event in 2013).

Men’s 110m hurdles

Olympic decathlon champion Ashton Eaton will try his hand against all six hurdles medalists from the 2012 Olympics and 2013 World Championships, including world-record holder Aries Merritt and world champion David Oliver.

Eaton has been running the 400m hurdles this season, dabbling outside the decathlon in a non-outdoor World Championships year. His personal best in the 110m hurdles, 13.35 from the 2011 Pre Classic, would have placed fourth in the London Games final.

Women’s 200m

Bill this as Allyson Felix vs. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Olympic champion vs. world champion. Remember, Felix collapsed to the track with a torn hamstring in this race at the World Championships on Aug. 16. Fraser-Pryce, in a neighboring lane, went on to win gold.

Fraser-Pryce has said she’s focusing on the 200m in 2014, while Felix is putting greater emphasis on the 400m. Both have pulled out of meets so far this year, reportedly due to injuries, giving hope to reigning U.S. champion Kimberlyn Duncan and world silver and bronze medalists Murielle Ahoure and Blessing Okagbare.

Men’s 800m

Olympic champion and world record holder David Rudisha will race for the first time in more than one year. The field is worthy of his return, including world champion Mohammed Aman of Ethiopia, Olympic silver medalist Nijel Amos of Botswana and American Duane Solomon, the fastest man in the world this year seeking to break the American 800m record.

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World Athletics excludes transgender women, tightens DSD athlete restrictions, extends ban on Russia, Belarus

Track and Field
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World Athletics is excluding male-to-female transgender athletes from top-level international track and field and increasing restrictions for athletes with differences of sexual development (DSD).

Also Thursday, World Athletics lifted its ban on Russia’s track and field federation that dated to 2015 over doping violations, but Russia and Belarus athletes and officials remain banned due to the war in Ukraine. More on that here.

Regarding transgender athletes, the World Athletics council “decided to prioritize fairness and the integrity of the female competition before inclusion,” according to a press release.

The decision was made after a two-month consultation with national federations, athletes, coaches, the IOC and representatives from transgender and human rights groups.

“Decisions are always difficult when they involve conflicting needs and rights between different groups, but we continue to take the view that we must maintain fairness for female athletes above all other considerations,” World Athletics President Seb Coe said in the release. “We will be guided in this by the science around physical performance and male advantage which will inevitably develop over the coming years. As more evidence becomes available, we will review our position, but we believe the integrity of the female category in athletics is paramount.”

A working group, which will include a transgender athlete, will “further consider the issue of transgender inclusion” for 12 months.

There are no transgender athletes currently competing in top-level international track and field, according to World Athletics.

World Athletics also increased restrictions on DSD athletes.

Previously, DSD athletes were eligible to compete in women’s track and field events without having to suppress testosterone, except for running distances from the 400m through the mile. For 400m through the mile, athletes were eligible if their testosterone levels were capped at five nanomoles per liter. World Athletics said that no female athletes would have a level above the cap unless they had a DSD or a tumor.

Starting March 31, all women’s events will have a stricter limit of two and a half nanomoles per liter.

World Athletics said it made the decision based on “more than 10 years of research and evidence of the physical advantages that DSD athletes bring to the female category.”

All DSD athletes who have been competing outside of the 400m through the mile must suppress their testosterone levels below two and a half nanomoles per liter for six months before being eligible to compete again. This makes them ineligible to compete through the world championships in August, but they can come back and qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Testosterone must be suppressed for two years for events from 400m through the mile and for DSD athletes who have not already been competing.

Notable athletes who previously said they were affected by the DSD rules include South African Caster Semenya, the Olympic 800m champion in 2012 and 2016 who moved up to the 5000m rather than suppress testosterone to remain in the 800m. Semenya, 32, was eliminated in the 5000m heats at last summer’s world championships.

Also Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi, who took 2016 Olympic 800m silver behind Semenya and also moved up to longer-distance events. She won the 2021 Diamond League 5000m title and missed last year’s worlds due to a foot injury.

Christine Mboma of Namibia took silver in the Tokyo Olympic 200m after being ruled ineligible to race the 400m due to the testosterone cap. Mboma, 19, missed last year’s worlds after tearing a thigh muscle.

Niger’s Aminatou Seyni finished fourth in the 200m at last year’s worlds after dropping down from the 400m due to the rule.

Athlete Ally, a nonprofit LGBTQ athletic advocacy group, called the new policies discriminatory.

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2023 World Figure Skating Championships TV, live stream schedule

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The world figure skating championships from Saitama, Japan, air live on USA Network and Peacock this week.

The U.S. has medal contenders in all four disciplines, one year after winning a medal in all four events for the first time since 1967 (note Russia’s ban, and China sent no skaters).

In the pairs’ event that starts Tuesday night (U.S. time), Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier can become the first U.S. duo to win multiple world titles, one year after becoming the first American pair to take gold since 1979.

They rank second in the world this season behind Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, last year’s silver medalists who look to earn Japan’s first pairs’ world title.

Japan has the world’s top two women’s singles skaters in reigning world champion Kaori Sakamoto and Grand Prix Final winner Mai Mihara.

Isabeau Levito, a 16-year-old American who won last year’s world junior title, ranks fourth in the field by best score this season. She can become the youngest world medalist since 2014.

Ilia Malinin, an 18-year-old American who this season became the first skater to land a quadruple Axel, is seeded second in the men’s field behind Shoma Uno, the reigning world champion from Japan.

In ice dance, Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates posted the world’s top score this season at last month’s Four Continents Championships in Colorado Springs. After 12 seasons together, their goal is to win their first world title after silver in 2015, bronze in 2016 and bronze in 2022.

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2023 World Figure Skating Championships Broadcast Schedule

Day Competition Time (ET) Network
Tuesday Pairs’ Short 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Peacock | LIVE STREAM | Skate Order
Wednesday Women’s Short 2:45-8 a.m. Peacock | LIVE STREAM | Skate Order
Women’s Short 6-8 a.m. USA | LIVE STREAM | Peacock
Pairs’ Free 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Peacock | LIVE STREAM | Skate Order
Thursday Men’s Short 2:45-8 a.m. Peacock | LIVE STREAM | Skate Order
Men’s Short 6-8 a.m. USA | LIVE STREAM | Peacock
Pairs’ Free 8-10 a.m.* USA | STREAM LINK
Rhythm Dance 10 p.m.-3:30 a.m. Peacock | LIVE STREAM | Skate Order
Friday Women’s Free 4:15-8:30 a.m. Peacock | LIVE STREAM | Skate Order
Women’s Free 6:30-8:30 a.m. USA | LIVE STREAM | Peacock
Free Dance 11:30 p.m.-3 a.m. Peacock | LIVE STREAM
Saturday Men’s Free 4:15-8:30 a.m. Peacock | LIVE STREAM | Skate Order
Men’s Free 6:30-8:30 a.m. USA | LIVE STREAM | Peacock
Highlights 8-10 p.m.* NBC | STREAM LINK

*Delayed broadcast.