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Richards to compete at Road to Eugene 08
Sanya Richards, American women's record holder in the 400 meters outdoors, 2006 IAAF World Athlete of the Year and Jesse Owens Award winner, will run the 400 meters at the Road to Eugene 08 Track & Field Meet at historic Hayward Field on Sunday, May 27.
In 2006, the 21-year-old Richards had one of the greatest seasons ever by an American 400-meter runner. She ran under 50 seconds nine times during the season, including breaking the American record on September 16 with her time of 48.70 at the IAAF World Cup in Athens. The win placed her seventh on the all-time world list. Richards ran the five fastest times in the world in 2006, the six fastest times by an American and 10 of the top 11 American performances. She was undefeated outdoors in the 400 on the year, winning a $249,999 portion of the jackpot for sweeping the Golden League series and taking the USA Indoor, USA Outdoor, World Athletics Final and World Cup titles. She added the World Cup 200m crown as well.
Some of the world's best athletes will compete in 15 events for more than $150,000 in prize money in this elite high performance invitational. Besides Richards, other confirmed athletes who will compete in the meet, include:
Maria Mutola - women's 800 meters, Olympic gold medalist, 12-time world champion
Tianna Madison - women's long jump, reigning world champion
Tim Mack - men's pole vault, Olympic gold medalist
Toby Stevenson - men's pole vault, Olympic silver medalist Stacy Dragila - women's pole vault, Olympic gold medalist
Nick Symmonds - men's 800m, 2007 USA Indoor champion
In addition, fans have the opportunity to receive special discounts for tickets to the Road to Eugene 08 meet on sale now through the University of Oregon athletic ticket office or at GoDucks.com.
Spectators can receive half off of the $10 general admission tickets by showing a ticket stub for the OSAA State Championships at Hayward Field, May 17-19, or the NCAA West Region Championships, May 25-26, when purchasing tickets for the Road to Eugene 08.
University of Oregon students will receive free admission to the Road to Eugene 08 with a student I.D.
Hosted by the Eugene Local Organizing Committee for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials -Track & Field (Eugene 08), the Road to Eugene 08 meet is part of a commitment to advance the sport of track and field in the United States, from youth to masters competition. NIKE, Inc., and Eugene 08 are sponsoring the meet with the assistance of the PAA, USA Track & Field and its Athletes Advisory and High Performance Committees, the University of Oregon, and the Oregon Track Club.
Tickets are $15 for reserved seating/$10 for general admission at GoDucks.com or 1-800-WEBFOOT.
Harvey, Shaheed set U.S. Masters records
Alisa Harvey and Nolan Shaheed each set U.S. Masters age-group records over the weekend at separate ends of the country.
An 11-time All American as a collegiate star at the University of Tennessee, Harvey lowered her own W40 American 800m record when she crossed the finish line in 2 minutes 7.57 seconds at the UNC Elite Meet in Chapel Hill, N.C. Harvey's effort bettered the previous standard of 2:08.05 that she set two months ago.
At the Fountain of Youth Invitational Mile in Canby, Ore., Nolan Shaheed grabbed the spotlight Saturday with his eighth place finish over all in 4 minutes 42.7 seconds. Shaheed's performance is an American M55 age group record, which bettered the previous standard by three seconds. Shaheed flew in from Washington, D.C., that morning, arriving just two hours prior to his race. An accomplished trumpet player, Shaheed performed Friday evening at the Kennedy Center in Washington.
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