Two Track Town, U.S.A. events earn top marks in World Athletics Competition Performance Rankings

Beatrice Chebet (KEN) set a new world record of 13:58.06 to win the women’s 5,000m at the 50th Prefontaine Classic on July 5, 2025. Photo by Howard Lao.

The outdoor track & field season in Track Town, U.S.A. concluded in August with not just one, but two events earning the top spot in their respective categories in World Athletics Competition Performance Rankings. Competition performance scores are calculated based on the athletic performances of the meeting’s competing athletes. The faster, higher, and farther the mark, the better the score.

This year’s Prefontaine Classic, which celebrated its 50th edition on Saturday, July 5, earned the highest competition performance score for a single day invitational meeting ever given by World Athletics in the history of competition performance rankings: 98,121 points. The incredible athletic achievements that led to such a score included eight world-leading marks, seven meeting records, seven national records, four Diamond League records, three area records, and two world records over just five hours of action on the track and field.

The only invitational event to ever score higher in competition performance score was the 2023 edition of The Prefontaine Classic, which was staged over two days while serving as the Wanda Diamond League Final. The two-day event scored 99,156 points and saw 14 meeting records, 12 national records, eight world-leading marks, seven area records, three Diamond League records, two world records, and one world U20 record. 

Donavan Brazier (right) and Cooper Lutkenhaus (left) claimed first and second in the men’s 800m final at the 2025 Toyota USATF Outdoor & Para National Championships on August 3. Photo by Howard Lao.

Less than one month following The Prefontaine Classic, professional track & field returned to Hayward Field with the 2025 Toyota USATF Outdoor & Para National Championships – making history as the first event that has held both groups’ competition in conjunction with one another. The four-day meeting, which served as the selection process for the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 and the World Para Athletics Championships New Delhi 25, scored 183,498 points. This is the highest competition performance score recorded by World Athletics for a championship competition so far in 2025. The meet’s impressive performances included three world-leading marks and one world U18 record.

The past two editions of the United States national championship and world team qualifying events, the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field and the 2023 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships, also held the top competition performance scores for championship competition in their respective years until that year’s global championship. In 2024, the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field scored 184,657 points for the No. 1 spot before being surpassed by the Paris Olympic Games, which scored 198,350 points. The 2023 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships scored 181,519 points and held the No. 1 spot for a few weeks before the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 took the year’s lead with 196,643 points. This year’s global championship, the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25, is set to be held September 31-21.

Hayward Field at the University of Oregon is home to some of the greatest athletics achievements and events ever staged. 2025 was no exception.

What will 2026 have in store? Only time will tell.

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