Posted: December 16, 2005

Athletics: 99th annual Millrose Games slated for Feb. 3; Olympic medalists Lagat, Williams entered

NEW YORK - With just a year to go before its centennial running, the 99th annual Millrose Games is set for Feb. 3 in Madison Square Garden. Among the headliners on the second stop of the 2006 Visa Championship series will be world- champion sprinter Lauryn Williams in the 60-meter dash and Bernard Lagat, the two-time Olympic medalist, who will defend his record-setting title in the Wanamaker Mile.

The 2006 Millrose Games will be presented in a collaboration between USA Track & Field and Global Athletics & Marketing, Inc., which also owns or manages three other track events in USATF's Visa Championship Series. Now in its second year, the Visa Championship Series is USATF's elite series of nationally-televised competitions, composed of a season-long battle for individual performance points and the crowning of two Visa Champions.

"Millrose is the most historic indoor track meet in the world," said Craig Masback, CEO of USA Track & Field. "There is nothing else like it, and we are proud to join with Global Athletics & Marketing in propelling Millrose toward its 100th anniversary in 2007 with a tremendous 99th edition, featuring the sport's top athletes. The early commitments of Americans Bernard Lagat and Lauryn Williams certainly get us off to a flying start."

In his 2005 Wanamaker Mile victory, Lagat broke the legendary Eamonn Coghlan's 24-year-old Millrose record just months after earning a 2004 silver medal at 1,500 meters in Athens. One of the most accomplished middle-distance runners of his generation, Lagat was the 2000 Olympic bronze medalist at 1,500 meters; was runner-up at the 2001

World Championships, and won the 2004 World Indoor title at 3,000 meters, all whilecompeting for his native Kenya. Now an American citizen, Lagat in 2005 broke the American record over 1,500 meters.

Williams, meanwhile, is the 2005 World Champion at 100 meters, and also earned Helsinki gold in the 4x100m relay. The 22-year-old out of the University of Miami took the 2004 NCAA title at 100 meters before notching a silver medal in Athens later that summer, enchanting U.S. fans and returning home as the newest star in American sprinting.

Steeped in history, the Millrose Games began in 1908 at a local armory the same year its parent, the Millrose Athletic Association, was formed as a recreational club by the employees of the John Wanamaker Department Store. "Millrose" was the name of the country home of Rodman Wanamaker, son of the founder, and the famed Wanamaker Mile has long been the cornerstone of the event. The Millrose Games is the oldest continuing sporting event held in Madison Square Garden, where it moved in 1914.

Tickets for the 2006 Millrose Games are on sale through Ticketmaster by phone (212-307-7171); via internet at www.ticketmaster.com ; at a Ticketmaster outlet near you; or by visiting the Madison Square Garden ticket office. Information on the event can be found at www.millrose-games.com . The Millrose Games will be broadcast on ESPN2 on Feb. 5 from 6-7:30 p.m.