Five more stars added to line-up for Reebok Grand Prix – News & Notes, Volume 8, Number 31 – US Track & Field – NEWS

Five of the top female track and field athletes in the world have been added to the field for the fourth-annual Reebok Grand Prix on May 31in New York City, organizers announced Wednesday.

    The third event of USA Track & Field's 2008 Outdoor Visa Championship Series, the Reebok Grand Prix will be televised on ESPN2 from 8:00-10:00 p.m. EST on May 31 and on CBS from 1:30-2:30 p.m. EST on June 1. The Reebok Grand Prix will begin at 5 p.m. on May 31, at Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island. On the heels of a sell-out last year, 1,500 bleacher seats have been added on the backstretch to accommodate the expected demand in this Olympic year.

    Sprinter Allyson Felix, a triple 2007 World Champion; Sanya Richards, ranked #1 in the world at 400 meters; Maryam Yusuf Jamal of Bahrain, the reigning 1500-meter World Champion; Jenn Stuczynski, American Record-holder and #2 all-time in the pole vault; and Lisa Barber, 2006 World Indoor Champion at 60 meters, will all be in the lineup. They join the previously announced Tyson Gay, Usain Bolt, Veronica Campbell-Brown and Lauryn Williams in what is shaping up to be an extraordinary night of sprint action.

    Felix, the two-time world champion ranked #1 in the world at 200 meters, will step down in distance here to face 100-meter world champions Campbell-Brown (2007) and Williams (2005). Barber, a native of Montclair, N.J., and two-time World Championships relay gold medalist, will also challenge. Richards, an Olympic gold medalist in the 4×400-meter relay and three-time U.S. champion, leads the 400-meter field, while Jamal, ranked #1 in the world and the reigning world champion, headlines the 1,500 meters.

    At the Reebok GrandPrix last year, Stuczynski, who won the silver medal at the 2008 World Indoor Championships, became the first American woman to jump 16 feet, an American Record she broke last week at the adidas Track Classic when she thrilled the crowd with a vault of 4.90m/16-0.75 inches for the win.

    The new bleacher seats along the backstretch at Icahn Stadium feature clear views of the finish line and will be available for $15. Grandstand tickets range from $50-$24. USATF welcomes you to pay with your Visa. Tickets are on sale now by phone at 1-877-TIX-TRAC or on-line at www.ReebokGrandPrix.com, where information about special buses to Icahn Stadium is also available.

    Tower sets American masters record

    Alyssa Tower of Vancouver, Wash., set a new U.S. masters W45 age-group record May 10 at the John Knight Twilight Meet at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Ore.

    Tower, who several days before the race claimed that the American record would be hers, finished the race in 37 minutes 57.46 seconds to better the 17-year old American record of 38:10.89 by Joan Colman set in July of 1991.

    Tower, who credited faster college women running in the race in helping her set the record, covered the 6.2-mile distance averaging 6:05 per mile.

Tom Surber
Media Information Manager
Tom.Surber@usatf.org