USA Track & Field – News – USATF encourages track community to support Japan

INDIANAPOLIS – As Japan negotiates crises in the wake of a massive earthquake and tsunami, USA Track & Field encourages anyone involved in the sport of track & field to reach out to the Japanese to express their support.

Japan has hosted two IAAF World Outdoor Championships, one cross country World Championship and one World Indoor Championship. In addition, each year, American teams are hosted in Japanese Ekiden competition, making the country a warm and enthusiastic host of U.S. athletes.

"USA Track & Field has officially expressed support to the Japanese Federation of Athletics Associations, and we are exploring ways to provide training assistance to their athletes," said USATF President and Chair Stephanie Hightower. "But the personal sentiments of friends and colleagues, and even anonymous donations, are especially valuable at a time like this."

Willie Banks, President of the U.S. Olympians and Paralympians Association and a USATF board member, has worked with his friend and colleague, Japanese 400m hurdle Olympian Dai Tamesue, to create a vehicle for Americans to show their support for the Japanese people.

Letters may be emailed to teamusa@athletesociety.org; emails received will be forwarded to Japanese athletes.

Team Japan also has a Facebook page that can be visited here.  About USA Track & Field

USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track & field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, the World's #1 Track & Field Team, the most-watched events at the Olympics, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport, and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States: www.usatf.org.

Kaite Landry
USA Track & Field
Marketing & Communications Coordinator
317-713-4672; Katie.Landry@usatf.org