Courtesy: USATF

In a head-spinning day of competition at the Nike Prefontaine Classic, it was the spinners in the shot put ring who stole the show.

Three Americans threw over 71 feet, 10 inches for the first time ever in a single competition, with Kevin Toth earning victory with a throw of 21.19m /72-9.75 to break John Godina's 1999 Hayward Field record of 72- 3 as well as Al Feuerbach's 1974 meet mark of 70-7.5

Olympic silver medalist Adam Nelson was second at 21.95/72-0.25, and 2001 world champion Godina was third at 21.91m/71-10.75.

Three other Hayward Field records fell in the IAAF Grand Prix I meet, the second stop on USA Track & Field's Golden Spike Tour. Olympic gold medalists Marion Jones and Stacy Dragila did the honors in the women's 100m (10.90) and women's pole vault (4.72m/15-5.75), respectively, and Charles Clinger set the standard in the men's high jump (2.35m/7-8.5).

Toth, Nelson and Godina all worked the crowd with pre-throw psych-ups and post-throw celebrations, drawing in an already captivated audience. As all of Hayward Field's standing-room-only crowd of 11,227 rhythmically applauded with every throw, the shot putters seemingly have replaced women's pole vaulters as the darlings of track and field.

And they are loving it.

"The shot put is quickly becoming the most electric event in track and field," said Nelson, who in the second round threw 21.95m to take the lead from Toth, who had thrown 21.91/71-10.75 two minutes earlier.

"This is Shot Put Town now," said Toth, referring to Eugene's nickname of Track Town U.S.A., after winning the competition with his fourth- round throw.

On the track, Marion Jones shrugged off a false start, followed by a slow start, in the women's 100m to come from behind and win in a meet and Hayward Field record time of 10.90 seconds. Tayna Lawrence was second in 11.00 and Chryste Gaines third in 11.10. Jones broke Gwen Torrence's Hayward Field and meet record of 10.96 seconds, set in 1996.

Dragila also overcame a slow start, in the form of a miss at the opening height of 4.22m/13-10, to win the competition with a Hayward Field record vault of 4.72m/15-5.75. She beat her own 2001 record of 15-1.5. Mary Sauer was second at 4.42m/14-6 and Mel Mueller was third at the same height.

Charles Clinger won the men's high jump by 5 centimeters over Tora Harris of Princeton with a clearance of 2.35m/7-8.5, which tied his personal record. The winning jump beat Charles Austin's Hayward Field and Pre Classic record of 7-8, which was set in 1996, the year Austin won the Olympic Games.

Despite the fireworks on the field, the Bowerman mile still thrilled the crowd in the meet's final event on the track. World, Hayward Field and meet record holder Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco held off final- stretch challenges from William Chirchir and Bernard Lagat of Kenya to win in 3:50.89. Chirchir was second in 3:51.03, and Lagat third in 3:52.63.

El Guerrouj led 11 men - including Americans Seneca Lassiter (3:55.30), Bryan Berryhill (3:56.30), David Krummenacker (3:56.45), Adam Goucher (3:56.76) and Matt Lane (3:57.57) - under the 4:00 mark.

Marla Runyan barely missed the Prefontaine and facility record in the women' s 3,000m. The 2001 U.S. 5,000m champion, Runyan moved from fourth to just off the shoulder of Irish legend Sonia O'Sullivan with a lap to go, sprinting past O'Sullivan in the final 100m to win in 8:39.36, just .03 off Sullivan's Prefontaine and Hayward records. O'Sullivan finished in 8:39.88.

American veterans ruled the hurdles, with three-time world champion Gail Devers running the fastest time every by an American woman, 12.39 seconds, in the 100m hurdles. The too-drafty tailwind of 2.7 mps kept her off the recordbooks but didn't keep her from beating Miesha McKelvy of the U.S. (12.51) and Lacena Golding-Clarke of Jamaica (12.70).

Fellow triple world champion and Olympic gold medalist Allen Johnson took the men's 110m hurdles with a time of 13.16, outleaning training partner and world-class leaner Terrence Trammell (13.17). Larry Wade was third in 13.21.

World Championships silver medalist Tim Montgomery also scored a narrow win, holding off Kim Collins of St. Kitt's in the men's 100m, running 9.97 seconds to 9.98 for Collins. If not for a too-favorable tailwind of 3.5 meters per second, his mark would have stood as a meet record.

Nicole Teter stole the show in the women's 1,500m, coming off a very slow pace to scorch the final 400m and trounce the field, including U.S. champion Regina Jacobs, in a time of 4:12.93. Jacobs was second in 4:14.95, with Mardrea Hyman of Jamaica third in 4:15.92.

In other events, Aretha Hill won her second consecutive Golden Spike Tour title in the women's discus with a throw of 63.48m/208-3, and Tim Mack won the men's pole vault with a personal-best height of 5.84m/19-2. Toby Stevenson was second at 5.74m/18-10, with Derek Miles and Nick Hysong third and fourth, respectively, at the same height.

Angelo Taylor won the men's 400m in 44.85 over Michael Blackwood of Jamaica (45.11), and Michelle Collins ran 50.87 to win the women's 400m over high schooler Sanya Richards (51.16) and former world champion Jearl Miles-Clark (51.22).

Abraham Chebii of Kenya won the men's 5,000m in 13:13.53 to earn the Prefontaine Trophy.

For complete results from the Prefontaine Classic, visit the USATF Web site, www.usatf.org

ATHLETE QUOTES

Nicole Teter, 1500m: "The race went out perfectly for me (slowly - 800m in 2:25). I just sat and kicked. This is definitely a confidence- booster."

Tim Montgomery, 100m: "I'm just happy to pull the race out. I kind of pressed a lot, but a win is a win, and under 10 seconds is under 10 seconds."

Adam Nelson, shot put: "The shot put is quickly becoming the most electrifying event in track and field. Nobody wants to lose to each other, and we're all good friends. . Having three guys throwing 71 feet makes nationals that much more interesting. . I was very pleased with my throwing today. Coming back from last week, I had a slight groin strain and I wasn't able to throw as much this week. . [on Toth's return to form after a back injury] "I'm so fired up to have him back here."

Kevin Toth, shot put: "I knew I could throw 72 feet. I'm just proud of myself. This is the beginning of a short, long career for Kevin Toth. With the three of us out there competing, you've got to establish yourself early, and that's what I did. This is Shot Put Town now, it's not Track Town anymore."

Gail Devers, 100m hurdles: "I feel good. I love coming here to open my season, because the fans are great. I was a little apprehensive, because I' ve been training by myself this year. My goal coming in was to run the fastest time in the world."

Marla Runyan, 3000m: "I wore these Nike spikes in 1999 at the Pre meet. Now I got to take them out of the closet and they brought me good luck. . I can' t believe I won. It was such a great field. I have so much respect and admiration for Sonia [O'Sullivan]. I tried to hold back just a bit. I came up on her shoulder around the curve."

Stacy Dragila, pole vault: "I felt good. Of course I didn't get the (world) record, but I got to work on different poles that I haven't been on since last year. I'm going in the right direction. I haven't been up that high in a while, so I had to get used to it and be patient. . The conditions were great. It's great to be back to my full run, where I was last year. Dave (Nielsen, her coach) said I was flying. I just have to put it all together now."

Marion Jones, 100m: "It felt good. The false start flustered me a bit, so I didn't have a good start. It was fun. It's just great to compete in front of this crowd. Without a doubt I will be here through the end of my career (in 2008). . I feel it would have been a much faster time if not for the false start. I had to sit, so when I looked up, everybody was ahead of me."