Slaney Coasts; Tarpenning Clears 19-2

Mary Decker Slaney breezed to victory in the women’s mile, and Kory Tarpenning cleared 19 feet 2 inches in the pole vault Saturday to highlight the Prefontaine track and field meet, a final tuneup for the U.S. Olympic trials.

Slaney, 30, led from the start and was timed in 4 minutes 21.25 seconds, just 4.54 seconds off her world record set three years ago.

She wanted to break 4:20 but pronounced herself satisfied. “I feel extremely strong,” she said. “I have another two weeks of training (before the Olympic trials), and this is the first week I’ve actually done any speed work.”

Slaney said she plans to run in both the 1,500 and 3,000 meters at the Olympic trials.

Despite a sore right leg, Tarpenning managed a personal best on his final try. The mark, a Hayward Field and meet record, was the second-best by an American this year, just short of Earl Bell’s 19-3.

Brazilian Joaquim Cruz, the Olympic gold medalist at 800 meters, won the mile in a hand-timed 3:56.9, barely edging Jeff Atkinson, who finished in 3:57.2.

Lynn Nelson won the women’s 5,000 in a hand-timed 15:12.7. The time was by far the fastest by an American this year and was only 6.17 seconds off Slaney’s U.S. record.