USA Track & Field announces bonus money increase for Visa Champion
By Tom Surber, USATF
Posted Friday, 29 January, 2010
INDIANAPOLIS - The highly successful Visa Championship Series, which showcases and rewards America's finest track and field athletes, will enter its sixth season beginning January 29 with the famed Millrose Games in New York City featuring an increase in bonus money available to U.S. athletes, USA Track & Field announced Thursday.
The Visa Championship Series is a prestigious series of nationally televised USA Track & Field (USATF) competitions featuring the very best track & field athletes from Team USA, the World's #1 Track Team. It brings the speed, strength, excitement and fun of track & field directly to fans around the country, allowing them to experience firsthand the world's most popular sport. Perhaps most important, it gives American athletes the opportunity to compete against the world's best, on home soil and in front of U.S. fans.
In recent years U.S. athletes posting the best performances during the indoor and outdoor Visa Championship Series events have received a $25,000 bonus from Visa, in addition to the title of Visa Champion. Beginning in 2010, Visa Champions will receive bonuses of $30,000, with the first runner-up receiving a bonus of $15,000 and the second runner-up earning $5,000.
Visa's long-standing commitment to helping USATF develop the country's preeminent track and field athletes is a primary goal of the Visa Championships Series. Since becoming the title sponsor in 2005, of what was formerly the Golden Spike Tour, Visa has awarded nearly $450,000 in prize money and has crowned 20 Visa Champions between the indoor and outdoor seasons. Along with programs such as the Team USA Athlete of the Meet and support of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Visa's support of Olympic dreams continues to be unwavering.
"We are pleased to work with Visa to provide an increased financial incentive to our athletes as they prepare for the World Indoor Championships and ultimately London 2012," said USATF CEO Doug Logan. "Enabling more athletes to win support money through the Visa Championship Series will help us pursue our Project 30 goals and will greatly assist our athletes. The bonus change will also add to the excitement at the U.S. Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, where our indoor Visa Championship Series winners will be determined. All of us at USA Track & Field are grateful to Visa for their continued support."
The top American male finisher and top American female finisher in each event of the Visa Championship Series will have their performances assigned a point total based on the IAAF Scoring Tables of Athletics. The athlete whose performance has the highest point total at the end of the Visa Championship Series will be named the Visa Champion.
Although the top performance can come at any of the Visa Championship Series meets, an athlete must compete at the USA Indoor Championships during the indoor season, or the USA Outdoor Championships during the outdoor season, in order to be named Visa Champion. For more information on how Visa champions are determined, visit: http://www.usatf.org/events/2010/VisaChampionshipSeries/standings.asp
Many of America's finest athletes have earned the title of Visa Champion. A complete list of winners follows along with their winning performances:
2009
Indoors Male:
Terrence Trammell - 60m hurdles - 7.37 seconds
Indoors Female: LoLo Jones - 60m hurdles -7.84 seconds
Outdoors Male: Dwight Phillips - Long Jump - 8.74m/28 feet 8.25 inches
Outdoors Female: Dawn Harper - 100m hurdles - 12.36 seconds
2008
Indoors Male: Adam Nelson - Shot Put - 22.40m/73 feet 6 inches
Indoors Female: Lolo Jones - 60m hurdles - 7.88 seconds
Outdoors Male: Tyson Gay - 100 meters - 9.68w seconds
Outdoors Female: Jenn Stuczynski - Pole Vault -4.92m/16 feet 1.75 inches
2007
Indoors Male: Christian Cantwell - Shot Put - 21.88m/71 feet 9 inches
Indoors Female: Shalane Flanagan - 3,000 meters - 8:33.25
Outdoors Male: Tyson Gay - 200 meters - 19.62 seconds
Outdoors Female: Tiffany Williams - 400m hurdles - 53.28 seconds
2006
Indoors Male: Terrence Trammell - 60m hurdles - 7.46 seconds
Indoors Female: Lisa Barber - 60 meters - 7.05 seconds
Outdoors Male: Kerron Clement - 400m hurdles - 47.39 seconds
Outdoors Female: Lashinda Demus - 400m hurdles - 53.07 seconds
2005
Indoors Male: John Godina - Shot Put - 21.83m/71 feet 7.50 inches
Indoors Female: Angela Daigle - 60 meters - 7.09 seconds
Outdoors Male: Kerron Clement - 400m hurdles - 47.24 seconds
Outdoors Female: Sanya Richards - 400 meters - 49.28 seconds
For more information on the 2010 Visa Championship Series, visit: www.visachampionshipseries.com.
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