The women’s side of the 2019 Prefontaine Classic is as loaded as ever, with every event closely resembling the level of competition we’ll see at the World Championships. The only difference relative to past versions of this great track meet is the venue: with Hayward Field under construction, Bay Area fans are in for a special treat as Stanford will host a Diamond League meet for the first, and likely only, time. Silicon Valley may be known for its tech companies, but on Sunday afternoon track comes to town.

Here’s a preview of all the women’s track events plus the high jump at Pre:

100m

Top Names: Sha’Carri Richardson, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Aleia Hobbs

Biggest Question: Is Sha’Carri ready to take on SAFP?

Three weeks after blasting off at NCAAs to the tune of a 10.75 collegiate record, 19-year-old Sha’Carri Richardson will face a world-class test in her pro debut against two-time Olympic 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who just ran 10.73 over the weekend. The Jamaican has an incredible start that could serve as a rude awakening for Richardson as she wades into professional track. 

Curious To See… If anyone is close to the two 10.7 women

Even among accomplished names like Bowie and Hobbs, Fraser-Pryce and Richardson are in a league of their own right now. Their 10.7s were indicative of two athletes at the peak of their powers, while everyone else in this Pre field is probably thankful that the World Championships are still three-plus months away: the next-fastest season’s best is 10.99. Bowie doesn’t need to be fit right now since she has a bye to Worlds, but her lackluster early season results suggest she could get trounced on Sunday if her fitness hasn’t progressed. No world champ wants that.

3,000m Steeplechase

Top Names: Beatrice Chepkoech, Emma Coburn, Courtney Frerichs, Norah Jeruto

Biggest Question: Can Chepkoech get back on top?

World record holder Beatrice Chepkoech lost her first steeple in over a year on June 13 in Oslo to fellow Kenyan Norah Jeruto, and she’ll look to re-establish her dominance over the event at Prefontaine. Chepkoech’s 8:44 record is so superior to her peers-- 8:58 is the next fastest PB at Pre-- that until recently it appeared that she could simply bludgeon her competition from the gun. But her loss in Oslo threw some doubt on that possibility.

For Chepkoech, getting back to her winning ways on Sunday against a loaded field is critical as she looks to ride her breakout 2018 season to the top of the podium in Doha.

Curious To See… How close the other Americans will be to Emma Coburn

While Courtney Frerichs is the U.S. record holder (9:00.85), reigning World champion Emma Coburn is the logical pick to finish as the top American at Pre given her career 12-1 record against the 2017 World silver medalist. Coburn has a solid 9:08 opener under her belt already, while Frerichs will make her steeple season debut on Sunday. Pre should provide a good indication of what to expect between the two at USAs. 

It will also be interesting to see what sort of shape Frerichs’ training partner, Colleen Quigley, is in coming off an injury. It’s easy to lose sight of Quigley in the shadow of medalists Coburn and Frerichs, but her 9:10 PB isn’t too far off.

800m

Top Names: Caster Semenya, Ajee’ Wilson, Natoya Goule, Raevyn Rogers

Biggest Question: Is this Caster Semenya’s final 800m in 2019?

The ongoing fight between Caster Semenya and the IAAF continues to shroud anything that the South African does on the track, and that’s true even though Semenya will run an event on Sunday that she hasn’t lost in over three years. Even if Semenya cruises to victory at Pre as is expected, the broader implications for the event are tenuous at best as we still have no idea when or if she will be allowed to compete in the distance again. Semenya was granted a reprieve by a Swiss court earlier in the month that allowed her to skirt the IAAF’s testosterone rules temporarily, and the next step will come as the court rules on the IAAF’s response. For now, though, the 28-year-old remains in flux, with only the promise of two laps on Sunday guaranteed.

Curious To See… How fast Ajee’ Wilson runs with Semenya in the field

Ajee’ Wilson ran 1:56 last year at Pre to finish second behind Semenya, and I would expect something similar for the American record holder. The 25-year-old was nowhere close when Semenya ran 1:54 on May 3, but Wilson is likely much fitter nearly two months on. 

3,000m

Top Names: Genzebe Dibaba, Hellen Obiri, Sifan Hassan, Almaz Ayana

Biggest Question: Who wins this comically loaded race?

This race is so loaded that not even the fact that the 3k isn’t a real distance can dull my excitement. We get a rematch of world 5k/cross country champion Hellen Obiri vs. 1,500m world record holder Genzebe Dibaba from their Doha duel on May 3, plus appearances from rangy extraordinaire Sifan Hassan and 10k world record holder Almaz Ayana. Either Obiri or Dibaba seem most likely to win, but six other women with sub-8:30 PBs will make this race spectacularly chaotic.

Curious To See…What kind of shape Almaz Ayana is in

Ethiopian Almaz Ayana hasn’t run a track race since the 2017 World 5k final, so it’s anyone’s guess how fit she’ll be in Palo Alto. But just the fact that the 2016 Olympic 10k champion is here makes me think that the 27-year-old is ready to go: Ayana hasn’t finished worse than third in a race since 2014.

So happy to make my comeback at the @nikepreclassic this weekend!

Can't wait to be back in action after a long road of recovery and to start my season. ??? pic.twitter.com/W2jtmyB7I8

— Almaz Ayana (@Ayana_Almaz) June 26, 2019

200m

Top Names: Elaine Thompson, Dina Asher-Smith

Biggest Question: Who is the best 200m runner in the world right now?

Two-time Olympic champion Elaine Thompson firmly announced her return to form with her 10.73/22.00 double at Jamaican Champs over the weekend. Both times reset world leads and established Thompson as the woman to beat in the sprints. But Pre will offer an immediate test to that status. Dina Asher-Smith is two-for-two in Diamond League 200m races in 2019, and her 22.18 in Stockholm was faster than it appeared given the chilly conditions. With Shaunae Miller-Uibo likely to focus on the 400m, and Dafne Schippers not yet at her best, the winner on Sunday can claim the title of the best active 200m runner in the world.

Curious To See… How the Americans stack up

After making two straight global finals in the 200m in 2016 and 2017, 2019 is a big year for Deajah Stevens to potentially take another step forward to medal contention. But Stevens hasn’t raced yet this outdoor season, so her result at Prefontaine is unpredictable. Her U.S. counterpart, Jenna Prandini, has already run four 200m races, but she’s only managed a 22.53 season’s best. Neither woman is likely to contend on Sunday, but their finishing order will be telling with USAs less than a month away.

1,500m

Top Names: Faith Kipyegon, Shelby Houlihan, Laura Muir, Gudaf Tsegay

Biggest Question: Is Faith Kipyegon Ready To Conquer 1,500m World Again?

The winner of two straight global 1,500m titles, Kenyan Faith Kipyegon will race for the first time since she had a baby last year. While there’s no Genzebe Dibaba in this race to give it a true World Championships feel, Kipyegon will need to be sharp to beat the likes of Laura Muir and Gudaf Tsegay, who have run 3:56 and 3:57 this season, respectively. If Kipyegon does that on Sunday, she immediately emerges as Dibaba’s stiffest competition for gold in Doha. 

Curious To See… If Shelby Houlihan is back on form

American Shelby Houlihan is the defending champion at Pre and would certainly be among the favorites in this race if not for a stress reaction in her foot that prevented her from debuting until this weekend. As such, it seems a bit much to expect the same version of Houlihan who won two Diamond League races last year and ran 3:57 to be on the start line on Sunday. But Houlihan gave the business to Muir on two occasions last season with her lethal kick, and if she’s still around with 100m to go-- watch out.

High Jump

Top Names: Mariya Lasitskene

Biggest Question: Will Lasitskene break the world record?

After matching her 2.06m PB in Ostrava last Thursday, the two-time defending world champion took three cracks at a 2.10 world record to set the stage for more of the same at Pre. Lasitskene is ridiculously consistent-- she’s cleared 2.00m in 12 of her 14 competitions in 2019-- so a world record is absolutely in play if the Russian/authorized neutral athlete has a good day at Stanford.

Curious To See… If anyone else can clear 2.00m

While Lasitskene has been dominating the high jump to a comical degree in 2019, the rest of the women’s high jump field hasn’t been laughing as no one else at Pre has cleared 2.00m this season. Lasitskene is so good that the event is basically a formality at this point, but another woman jumping two meters would at least add a layer of intrigue beyond just one athlete chasing high bars. The seven other jumpers have PBs ranging from 1.95 to 2.01m, so that tricky 6'6¾ bar is practically begging to be cleared by one of them.