Posted: January 6, 2004

Athletics: Team USA Distance Running Athletes Continue to Shine

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - (January 5, 2004) - Team USA Distance Running athletes again distinguished themselves with another banner year. Collectively, in 2003, the group set 3 national records, won 11 national titles and mined more medals at the World Cross Country Championships.

2000 Olympians Meb Keflezighi and Deena Drossin - the dynamic duo - again led the way with three more national titles each and national records by Drossin at 15K and the marathon and by Keflezighi at 20K.

Below is the 2003 athlete performance summary for the Team USA development program.

MORE MEDALS AT WORLD CROSS COUNTRY 8K CHAMPIONSHIP
Deena Drossin won her second consecutive individual 8K silver medal at the World Cross Country Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland. Her efforts helped the USA win the 8K team bronze medal. Five of the 6 team members - Drossin, Elva Dryer, Milena Glusac, Katie McGregor and Sara Wells - came from the Team USA program.

THREE NATIONAL RECORDS
On March 8 at Jacksonville, Fla., Deena Drossin broke her U.S. 15K record - set in 2002 - by 57 seconds with her 47:15 at the USA 15K Championship hosted by the Gate River Run. Her performance is the #2 all-time 15K behind Elana Meyer's world record (46:57).

On April 13 at the Flora London Marathon, Drossin ran 2:21:16 to break Joan Benoit Samuelson's long-standing U.S. record (2:21:21, Chicago 1985).

On Labor Day, September 1 at the New Haven Savings Bank 20K, Meb Keflezighi shattered the U.S. record with his 58:57 (previous record 59:13 by Paul Cummings at the 1987 New Bedford Half-Marathon).

6 USA CHAMPIONS, 11 NATIONAL TITLES
Peter DeLaCerda, 7.5 Mile mountain
Deena Drossin, 8K cross country, 10,000m and 15K
Elva Dryer, 10K
Meb Keflezighi, 8K, 15K and 20K
Ryan Shay, half-marathon and marathon
Sara Wells, marathon

3 USA NATIONAL RUNNERS-UP, 4 TIMES
Elva Dryer, 10,000m
Meb Keflezighi, 10,000m and 12K cross country
Brian Sell, 20K

WORLD CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM (7)
Deena Drossin, 8K
Elva Dryer, 8K
Milena Glusac, 8K
Meb Keflezighi, 12K
Katie McGregor, 8K
Nick Rogers, 12K
Sara Wells, 8K

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TRACK TEAM (5)
Deena Drossin, 10,000m
Elva Dryer, 10,000m
Meb Keflezighi, 10,000m
Ryan Shay, marathon
Clint Verran, marathon

BOLDER BOULDER THREE-PEAT
On Memorial Day, May 26, Deena Drossin again defended her Bolder Boulder 10K title in 33:17 and became only the second person to three-peat (Olympic champion Rosa Mota of Portugal was the other). In addition, Drossin and Team USA California teammate Elva Dryer who finished 4th (34:02) led the USA women's successful defense of their International Team Challenge crown.

USA RUNNING CIRCUIT GRAND PRIX
Ryan Shay, USARC Grand Prix Champion
Meb Keflezighi, USARC Grand Prix Runner-Up
Sara Wells, USARC Grand Prix Runner-Up

WORLD HALF-MARATHON CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM (2)
Brian Sell
Sara Wells

PAN AM GAMES TEAM
Jeff Campbell, marathon

Team USA Distance Running is a national athlete development program created by Running USA and USA Track & Field. The program, launched at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Sacramento, is dedicated to developing and promoting U.S. distance runners by providing coaching, structured group training, athlete support and media services.

There are four Team USA Training Centers - with over 40 athletes - operating in California, Michigan, Minnesota and New York. A fifth training center at Monterey Bay, Calif. joins the program in 2004. Sponsored by Nike and supported by a grant from the ING New York City Marathon, Team USA California - the most elite training group with U.S. Olympians Drossin, Keflezighi, Dryer, Jen Rhines, Amy Rudolph and Nick Rogers - utilize the resources at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista for sea level training and Mammoth Lakes for high/low altitude training throughout the year. Renowned coaches Joe Vigil and Bob Larsen coordinate this elite group.

Since 2001, Team USA Distance Running athletes have set one world road record, eight national records and numerous personal records, won 33 national titles in three disciplines: the roads (21), cross country (5), outdoor track (5)/indoor track (1) and mountain (1) and added to world and U.S. all-time lists.

In addition, internationally, Team USA program athletes led the U.S. to team medals at the past three World Cross Country Championships - 2001 12K men (bronze), 2002 8K women (silver) and 2003 8K (bronze) and won two individual World Cross silver medals (Drossin). In Dublin 2002, 9 of the 24 athletes and in Lausanne 2003, 7 of 24 athletes on the USA Senior XC teams came from Team USA Training Centers. Five of six members from the women's World Cross 8K silver and bronze medal teams - 2002 Drossin, Rhines, Glusac, Dryer and Rudolph and 2003 Drossin, Dryer, Glusac, McGregor and Wells - were from the Team USA program.

In short, as a group, Team USA program athletes have improved the fortunes of U.S. distance running, raised the bar and the sport's profile and served as excellent ambassadors for the sport and the country - more than any other training program in this country. For more information on Team USA Distance Running and how to join the Team USA Support Crew, go to www.runningusa.org or call Ryan Lamppa at (805) 696-6232.