Wariner, Defar added to adidas Track Classic lineup
By Tom Surber, USATF
Posted Monday, 30 April, 2007
Olympic gold medalists Jeremy Wariner and Meseret Defar will compete at the adidas Track Classic on May 20, organizers announced Thursday. Ranked #1 in the world, Wariner will compete at 400 meters, while Defar may have her eye on the 2-Mile World Record.
A double gold medalist (400m, 4x400m relay) at the 2004 Olympics, Wariner is also the reigning World Champion. His personal best of 43.62 already makes him the fourth-fastest man in history, and he is widely viewed as the athlete most likely to break Michael Johnson's 400-meter World Record.
Defar, from Ethiopia, is one of the top distance runners in the world, as well as one of the fiercest. Ranked #1 in the world at 5000 meters, she already holds the World Records for 5000 meters outdoors (14:24.53) and 3000 meters indoors (8:23.72). The current women's world best for 2 Miles is 9:11.97, set by Regina Jacobs in 1999.
At 3,000 meters, Ireland's Alistair Cragg, the 2005 European Indoor Champion, will face Anthony Famiglietti, a 2004 Olympian and 2007 U.S. 8 km champion, and Abdi Abdirahman, a two-time U.S. Olympian at 10,000 meters. With Mexico's Juan Luis Barrios previously announced, the race will be a rematch of the men who went 1-2 in the recent Mt. SAC Relays 5,000 meters, where Barrios edged Famiglietti, 13:11.37 to 13:11.93.
They join Allyson Felix, the reigning women's World Champion at 200 meters; Tyson Gay, the world's fastest men's 100m/200m sprinter; and Ana Guevara of Mexico, the 2003 World Champion at 400 meters. More Olympic and World Championship medalists will be announced soon.
The adidas Track Classic will begin at noon on May 20 at The Home Depot Center, on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills, and will be broadcast live on ESPN from 1 p.m.-3 p.m. PDT (4 p.m.-6 p.m. EDT).
Produced by Global Athletics & Marketing, Inc., the adidas Track Classic is the second stop of USA Track & Field's Visa Championship Series. Tickets, from $40 (finish line) down to $10, are now available by calling Ticketmaster at 213-480-3232 or visiting www.Ticketmaster.com. USA Track & Field welcomes you to pay with your Visa. For group sales, call 1-877-AEG-TICKETS. Visit the event website at www.adidasTrackClassic.com for updates and more information.
Contact:
Tom Surber
Media Information Manager
USA Track & Field
317-713-4690
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