Stars Aligned For Millrose Games' 2 Mile Dream Field
Stars Aligned For Millrose Games' 2 Mile Dream Field
Jan 9, 2013 by FloTrack Staff
Stars Aligned For 106th Millrose Games' Dream Field
World Champion and London Silver Medalist Jason Richardson
Among New Entries for Stellar Field at Armory
New York, NY, January 9, 2013 - In one day, the field for the 106th Millrose Games raised its bar to extraordinary new heights.
Significant additions were announced today for the Millrose Games on February 16 at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armory. The Millrose fields for men's 60 meter hurdles, women's long jump and men's two mile will include some of track & field's foremost athletes.
"I'm very excited that we have continued to put stellar fields together following the U.S. team's great success at the London Games," said Dr. Norb Sander, Executive Director of the Armory Foundation.
In the men's 60 hurdles all eyes will be on London Olympic Games Silver Medal winner Jason Richardson, former World Champion Ladji of France and 2012 NCAA Champion Andrew Riley.
Richardson won the Silver Medal with a 13.04 in the 110 hurdles behind only American teammate Aries Merritt (12.92). The 26-year-old Richardson captured the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea and also turned in a personal best 12.98 in last June's U.S. Olympic Trials.
"The Millrose Games is one of the most historical track and field meets in the U.S. and the hurdles have always been a big part of this event, so I'm definitely looking forward to this opportunity in such a unique, fan-friendly environment like the Armory," Richardson said.
Doucoure, a three-time Olympian, secured the Gold with a 13.07 in the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki. Doucoure also won the Gold in the European Indoor Championships 60 meter hurdles in both 2005 in Madrid and 2009 in Torino.
Riley became the first athlete to capture both the 100 meter dash and 110 meter hurdles last June at the NCAA Track & Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.
Earlier commitments Brittney Reese, a London Olympian Gold Medalist in the long jump, and eight-time Wanamaker Mile winner Bernard Lagat learned their fields were notably upgraded Wednesday.
Reese now will face a stern challenge in the long jump from Olympic Bronze Medalist Janay DeLoach (22 feet, 7.25 inches) and 2012 NCAA Champion Whitney Gipson of Texas Christian University (tying NCAA mark of 22 feet, 8 inches). Reese and DeLoach finished one-two respectively in last year's IAAF World Indoor Championships.
Lagat is in one of the most compelling two-mile fields ever assembled. Not only will Lagat be trying to reclaim the American two-mile mark, but also against 2012 American record holder in the steeplechase Evan Jager and former 5,000 meters American record holder Dathan Ritzenhein.
Last but certainly not least are 2009 NCAA Outdoors 1,500 meters champion German Fernandez and U.S. Olympian World Championship participant Andrew Bumbalough.
The two-mile field already included 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters 2012 NCAA Champion Cam Levins and NCAA cross country champion Lawi Lalang.
"I couldn't be more excited about how this race is coming together," said Millrose Games Meet Director Ray Flynn.
The 106th Millrose Games will be the second stop of USA Track & Field's nationally televised 2013 Indoor USATF Championship series. The meet will be delivered live on ESPN3 on February 16 and 8-10 p.m. February 17 on ESPN. Time of the live ESPN3 coverage will be announced in coming weeks.
The USATF Championship Series also includes the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston February 2 and the USATF Indoor Track & Field Championships in Albuquerque March 1-2.
Tickets to the 106th Millrose Games can be purchased online by going to the website link below and group sales can be completed by calling the Armory at 212.923.1803, at either extension 7010 or 7037.
Go to www.millrose-games.org for further information on the Armory and Millrose Games and to www.usatf.org for further information on USA Track & Field.
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About The Armory Foundation:
The Armory is a New York City non-profit institution which each season hosts over 100 track & field meets and welcomes more than 125,000 individual athletes.The Armory for the second consecutive year is the proud home of the Millrose Games. Besides its many youth sports and educational programs, the Armory runs the Hispanic Games, the New Balance Games, and the Armory Collegiate Invitational, the largest indoor college meet in the United States. The Armory is also the home to the National Track & Field Hall of Fame.
About USA Track & Field (USATF):
USA Track & Field is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the No. 1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States. Led by President Stephanie Hightower and CEO Max Siegel, USATF is a volunteer-driven, not-for-profit organization with a staff of professional program administrators at the National Office in Indianapolis.
