Posted: January 27, 2004

Athletics: adidas Boston Indoor Games Set For Saturday

By David Monti

(c) 2004 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved < RaceResultsWeekly.com>

The first major competition of the U.S. indoor season and the kick-off of the USA Track & Field Indoor Golden Spike Tour is set for Saturday night at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center in the Roxbury section of Boston. The meet, to be televised live in the U.S. on ESPN2 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern time, holds particular interest for fans of middle and long distance running.

Haile Gebrselassie will make his U.S. indoor debut, and will actually be running his first race in the U.S. outside of the 1996 Olympic Games. The two-time Olympic gold medalist will be shooting for a world indoor record at 3000m, currently 7:24.90 by Kenyan Daniel Komen set in Budapest in 1998. Gebrselassie held that mark himself in 1998 when he ran 7:26.15 in Karlsruhe on 25-Jan, but Komen broke it 12 days later.

"I am confident to run a fast race," said Gebrselassie, in a recent press release. "My aim is always to do something special."

His race will be stacked with talent looking to achieve their own goals, including Kenyan Olympic medalist Bernard Lagat, Ethiopians Marcos Geneti and Hailu Mekonnen, American Jonathan Riley, Irishman Alistair Cragg and New Zealander Nick Willis.

American David Krummenacker will compete in the 1000m, and may be looking to lower his own U.S. mark of 2:17.86 set at this meeting in 2002. He'll be racing against training partner Patrick Nduwimana of Burundi and Canadian Nate Brannen, who competes for the University of Michigan.

U.S. 800m indoor record holder Nicole Teter (1:58.71) will line up against Jen Toomey for four laps of the banked 200m Mondo track. Toomey, who ran 2:01.42 in a mixed race on 04-Jan and then followed up with a 2:00.34 on 18-Jan, is the fastest U.S. performer at 800m so far this year. Both athletes will be trying to peak at the U.S. Indoor Championships in the same arena at the end of February and earn the two available U.S. berths at their distance for the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Budapest in March.

In other events, the men's mile will feature Kenyans William Chirchir and Laban Rotich, plus Americans Bryan Berryhill and Seneca Lassiter; Arkansas will take on Michigan in the college DMR; Shalane Flanagan, redshirting from the Univ. of North Carolina this year to try to make the U.S. Olympic team, will run the 1500m with Amy Rudolph and Carrie Tollefson; and double Olympic gold medalist Derartu Tulu headlines the women's 5000m field.

The complete starting fields are below, as furnised by USA Track & Field. More information is available on the meet website at www.BostonIndoorGames.com.

Entry Lists:

Verizon Men's 60m: John Capel, Shawn Crawford, Darvis Patton, Jon Drummond, Mickey Grimes, Bobby Williams (JAM), Pierre Browne (CAN), Nicholas Macrozonaris (CAN)

Men's 600m: Joey Woody, Kobie Fuller, Frederick Sharpe, Trinity Gray, Osmar dos Santos (BRA), Sanderlei Parella (BRA)

adidas Men's 1000m: David Krummenacker, Sam Burley, Derrick Peterson, David Paulsen, Floyd Thompson, Patrick Nduwimana (BDI), Berhanu Alemu (ETH), Nicholas Wachira (KEN), Nate Brannen (CAN), Alex Kipchirchir (KEN)

Men's Mile: Bryan Berryhill, Ibrahim Aden, Jason Pyrah, Ryan Bak, Seneca Lassiter, Charlie Gruber, William Chirchir (KEN), Marco Koers (NED), Laban Rotich (KEN), Boaz Cheboiwoyu (KEN), James Karanu (KEN), Fidel Beragezabi (BDI), Julius Achon (UGA)

adidas Men's 3000m: Jonathon Riley, Dan Lincoln, Jason Lunn, Matt Lane, Luke Watson, Haile Gebrselassie (ETH), Kevin Sullivan (CAN), Alistair Cragg (IRL), Markos Geneti (ETH), Bernard Lagat (KEN), Michael Aish (NZL), Martin Keino (KEN), Anthony Whiteman (GBR), Nick Willis (NZL), Hudson de Souza (BRA), David Lelei (KEN)

College Distance Medley Relay: Arkansas, Michigan, Georgetown, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Villanova, UNC

adidas Women's 400m: Allyson Felix, Melisa Barber, Tonique Williams (BAH), Karen Shinkens (IRE), Sandie Richards (JAM), Foy Williams (CAN)

Sunny D Intense Sports Drink Women's 800m: Nicole Teter, Alice Schmidt, Jen Toomey, Hazel Clark, Chantee Earl, Tanya Blake (MALTA), Brigita Langerholc (SLO), Marian Burnett (GUY), Christiane dos Santos (BRA)

Women's 1500m: Amy Rudolph, Carrie Tollefson, Nicole Jefferson, Shalane Flanagan, Miesha Marzell-Arnold, Mary Jane Harrelson, Sally Houser, Carmen Douma (CAN), Birhane Hirpasse (ETH), Meskerem Legesse (ETH), Mardrea Hyman (JAM)

Women's 5000m: Blake Russell, Derartu Tulu (ETH), Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH), Meseret Defar (ETH), Larisa Michaileva (RUS), Kathy Butler (GBR), Catherine Berry (GBR), Ejegayehu Dibaba (ETH), Lyubov Kremleva (RUS), Sentayehu Ejigu (ETH)

Verizon Women's 60m Hurdles: Gail Devers, Melissa Morrison, Meisha McKelvy-Jones, Jenny Adams, Anjanette Kirkland, Aquila Williams-Judge, Vonette Dixon (JAM), Linda Ferga (FRA)

Visa Women's Pole Vault: Stacy Dragila, Jill Starkey, April Steiner, Jill Schwartz, Dana Ellis (CAN), Nastja Ryshich (GER)

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