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Samuelson elected to USOC Hall of Fame
National Track & Field Hall of Famer Joan Samuelson leads the
distinguished Class of 2008 that will be inducted into the U.S. Olympic
Hall of Fame Presented by Allstate. The induction ceremony will take
place June 19 in Chicago at the Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater.
The winner of the first Olympic women's marathon at the 1984 Olympic
Games in Los Angeles, Samuelson is synonymous with the increased
popularity of long distance running in the United States. She is slated
to compete in her fourth U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women's Marathon on
Sunday.
Samuelson won the 1984 Olympic Trials Marathon at age 26, just 17 days
following agonizing knee surgery, and went on to win the first women's
Olympic Marathon in Los Angeles. She was ranked #1 in the world in the
marathon on two occasions, and is a former world and U.S. record holder
in that event. She was the 1981 U.S. 10,000m champion and the 1984 U.S.
women's marathon champion.
Samuelson set the world and U.S. women's marathon record in 1984, and
set the U.S. women's marathon record four times. She was ranked #4 in
the world at 10,000m in 1984, and she was world ranked five-times in the
marathon (#1 two times).
Recognized as a pioneer of women's marathoning, Samuelson won the 1979
and 1983 Boston Marathons, the 1992 Columbus Marathon and the 1985
Chicago Marathon. In 1985, she was awarded the prestigious AAU Sullivan
Award as the nation's finest amateur athlete.
Additional 2008 inductees to the USOC Hall of Fame include Wrestler
Bruce Baumgartner, figure skater Brian Boitano, boxer Oscar de La Hoya,
equestrian J. Michael Plumb, basketball athlete David Robinson, swimmer
Amy Van Dyken, shooter Lones W. Wigger, Jr. and Paralympic swimmer John
Morgan will be inducted as individuals. Figure skating coach Carlo Fassi
will be inducted in the Coach category along with Olympic figure skating
gold medalist Carol Heiss Jenkins in the Veteran category. The members
of the 1996 Women's Gymnastics Team - Amanda Borden, Amy Chow, Dominique
Dawes, Shannon Miller, Dominique Moceanu, Jaycie Phelps and Kerri Strug
- will be honored in the Team category, as will legendary Hollywood
producer Frank Marshall as the Special Contributor.
Tickets to the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony can be
purchased at www.usolympichalloffame.com. For more information visit: www.usolympichalloffame.com.
Hoffa, Cantwell to compete at Drake Relays
Two of the world's finest men's shot putters, Reese Hoffa and Christian
Cantwell, will compete Saturday, April 28 at the 99th Drake Relays in
Des Moines, Iowa.
Hoffa was ranked #1 in the world in 2006 and 2007 by Track & Field News.
He won 15 titles last year, while owning the best shot put throw in the
world with a personal best throw of 22.43 meters/73 feet 7.25 inches to
win the London Grand Prix.
Hoffa, who competed in the 2004 Olympics, threw past the 70-foot barrier
at 10 separate events last year. After winning the 2007 U.S. Indoor and
Outdoor titles,Hoffa captured the gold medal at the World Outdoor
Championships with a toss of 22.04m/72-3.75.
Cantwell was recently named the 2008 Men's World Indoor Athlete of the
Year after winning shot put titles at both the U.S. Indoor Championships
and World Indoor Championships.
Cantwell, who won the gold medal at the 2004 World Indoor Championships,
broke one of the oldest Drake Relays records in 2006 with a throw of
22.10m/72-6.25, bettering the previous mark of 21.19m/69-6.50 set by Al
Feuerbach in 1972. Cantwell, who was ranked #3 in the world in 2007, won
10 titles last year throwing a season best of 21.96m/72-0.75 at the
adidas Classic.
The invitational shot put field also includes Dan Taylor, who was ranked
#6 in the world last year;Sheldon Battle, who was ranked #8 in the U.S.
last year; Dorian Scott, the national record holder for Jamaica; former
Iowa State All-American Jamie Beyer, who was ranked #9 in the U.S. in
2006; Vince Mosca, who placed 10th at the 2007 U.S. Outdoor meet; and
Rhuben Williams.
For more information on the 2008 Drake Relays, visit: www.godrakebulldogs.com.
Williams, Xiang, Campbell-Brown to compete at Reebok Grand Prix
Three of the world's finest athletes, Lauryn Williams, Liu Xiang and
Veronica Campbell Brown, will compete May 31 at the third event of USA
Track & Field's Outdoor Visa Championship Series, the Reebok Grand Prix
at Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island in New York City.
Williams captured the women's 100m silver medal at the 2007 World
Outdoor Championships in Osaka, Japan, after finishing in a virtual tie
in the final with Campbell-Brown. The popular American is the 2005 World
100m champion and 2004 Olympic silver medalist, and is a two-time 4x100m
world champion. Her rematch with Campbell-Brown at 100m in New York is a
possible preview of the Olympic final later this summer.
The reigning Olympic 110m hurdles gold medalist, China's Liu Xiang will
return to Icahn Stadium to defend his hurdles title. Last year, he won
here in a scorching 12.92 seconds, the fastest time in the world for
2007 and tied for the fourth-fastest in history. In his onlycompetition
so far in 2008, Liu added the title of World Indoor Champion at 60m
Hurdles.
Jamica's Campbell-Brown - who married fellow Jamaican sprinter Omar
Brown last autumn - returns to New York as world 100m champion. Last
year, she ran four of the five fastest times in the world for 100
metres, including her victory here in 10.93 seconds.
On the heels of a sell-out crowd last year, 1,500 seats are being added
to Icahn Stadium to meet the expected demand in this Olympic year.
For more information on the 2008 Reebok Grand Prix, visit: www.reebokgrandprix.com.
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