TRACK AND FIELD PREFONTAINE MEET : The Going Gets Tough, but Hamilton Wins Mile

EUGENE, Ore. —  Suzy Hamilton edged a lunging PattiSue Plumer at the tape Friday to win the women’s mile in the Prefontaine track and field meet.

Hamilton, the two-time defending national champion at 1,500 meters, won in a Hayward Field-record 4 minutes 32.99 seconds. Plumer, who had to be helped to her feet and was taken for medical treatment, was second in 4:33.04.

Hamilton, Plumer and Maria Mutola of Mozambique were virtually tied on the final turn when some bumping occurred.

Hamilton, who was Suzy Favor before marrying last month, said Plumer grabbed her jersey.

“It was almost like she was trying to hold me back,” Hamilton said. “When she got to the corner, she pulled on my jersey with her hand. I don’t know. I was just kind of shocked and I think that kind of made me kick harder.”

Plumer blamed Mutola.

“She kept trying to cut in. There was no place for her to go and no place for me to go,” Plumer said. “I accidentally grabbed at Suzy’s back. I almost went down at that point and Suzy made a clean break.”

Mutola, 19, also said Plumer pushed her twice, causing her to fall back to a fifth-place finish.

Joe Falcon outsprinted Shannon Butler over the final 100 meters to win the men’s two-mile run but failed in his goal to set a world record in the rarely run event. Falcon’s time was 8:24.43, far off the world mark of 8:13.45 held by Said Aouita of Morocco.

Butler, the national 10,000-meter champion and NCAA 5,000-meter winner from Montana State, was second in 8:24.60.

Earlier in the meet, Lance Deal broke his Hayward Field hammer record with a throw of 257-4.

Deal, who lives in Eugene, beat American record-holder Jud Logan with a performance that included the five best throws of the competition.

Logan, who won at the U.S. championships, was second Friday at 248-9. Ken Flax was third at 246-3.