Posted: June 2, 2007

Athletics: World's best at Reebok Grand Prix this Saturday!

NEW YORK CITY (June 1) - More than a dozen Olympic gold medalists from around the world, including World Record-holder Liu Xiang (110m hurdles), Veronica Campbell (100m), Nick Hysong (pole vault) and Stacy Dragila (pole vault), are coming to New York for the Reebok Grand Prix at Icahn Stadium on Saturday. Also in the lineup are World Champions Allyson Felix, who will double at 100 meters and 400 meters; Bershawn Jackson (400m hurdles); Torri Edwards (100 meters); and Tirunesh Dibaba, the double World Champion at 5000 and 10,000 meters and World Indoor Record-holder at 5000 meters. So get your tickets now, by visiting www.ReebokGrandPrix.com. or calling 1-877-TIX-TRAC. Hurry, because the best seats are selling out fast! Last year, Meseret Defar thrilled the crowd when she broke the 5000-meter World Record, and rumor has it that Dibaba will be aiming to break it again. On the mens side, a deep international field is out to run the 5000 meters in under 13 minutes for the first time on US soil. At least five athletes in the field, led by Kenyas Edwin Soi, ran under 13 minutes in 2006. The All-Comers Record they will be shooting for was set here last year, when Abraham Chebii won in 13:04.56. The Reebok Grand Prix will also be your chance to see rising American superstars Tyson Gay and Jenn Stuczynski. Gay, ranked #1 in the world at 200 meters and #2 at 100 meters, last summer became the fastest 100m-200m combination sprinter in history, according to IAAF scoring tables. On May 20, he won the 100m at the adidas Track Classic in 9.79 seconds, a time that would have tied the American Record had the tailwind not been slightly over (2.5) the allowable (2.0) limit. At that same meet, Stuczynski vaulted 15 feet, 10.5 inches to break the American Record in the pole vault, held for 11 years by Dragila. That mark makes Stuczynski the third-best woman on the world all-time list. One top athlete even has deep ties to the New York area: Anthony Famiglietti grew up on Long Island and ran for Patchogue-Medford High School. A 2004 Olympian in the steeplechase and the US 8K Champion, 'Fam' will run the 5000m here. In a top-flight Mile field, two-time Olympic medalist Bernard Lagat and Craig Mottram, the World Championship bronze medalist at 5000 meters, headline a field that includes Alan Webb, who holds the 2-Mile American Record; and Nick Willis, the 2006 Commonwealth Games gold medalist at 1500 meters. In a special treat, high schooler Matthew Centrowitz, son of 1970s Power Memorial High School legend Matt Centrowitz, will be in the elite open field, chasing his fathers high school personal best of 4:02.7. Several area high schools will also be featured in the high-school relays, which will include an international 4x400 lineup of three powerhouses from Jamaica (St. Jago, Calabar and Herbert Morrison); two of the top American teams from Texas, Lancaster and DeSoto; and Newburgh (NY) High School. Other relays teams include Great Neck and Chaminade in the Boys 4x800; Iona Prep, Christ the King and Monsignor Farrell in the Boys Sprint Medley; and Uniondale, Our Lady of Mercy, St. Peter's and Eleanor Roosevelt in the Girls 4x400. The third-annual Reebok Grand Prix, named one of the two top international track-and-field events in the country, will begin at 5 p.m. Saturday, June 2, at the state-of-the-art Icahn Stadium, on Randalls Island. It is the third stop of USA Track & Fields Visa Championship Series. Tickets remain at $20 and $30 ($40 tickets are already sold out) by calling 1-877-TIX-TRAC. For more information and event updates, visit the event website at www.ReebokGrandPrix.com.