Athletics: 2004 Outdoor Golden Spike Tour Announced By USATF

INDIANAPOLIS – USA Track & Field’s 2004 Outdoor Golden Spike Tour will feature events at the world’s premiere relay carnival and four world-class invitational meets as part of the U.S. domestic season that reaches its zenith at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials.

Including the Olympic Trials, six domestic USATF events will be broadcast on 12 nationwide shows this spring and summer. NBC will air six broadcasts throughout the year, with NBC and its cable partner airing 14 hours of coverage from the Olympic Trials alone.

The elite USATF outdoor season kicks off on April 24 with USA vs. The World, Presented by Verizon, a special event within the Penn Relays that pits Team USA’s top talent against relay teams from around the world. Crowds of 40,000-50,000 have typically attended the Penn Relays in Philadelphia each year on the meet’s final day of competition to support USA vs. The World and all of the 110-year-old Penn Relays’ Championship of America events, held at Franklin Field.

The Golden Spike Tour’s invitational meetings begin May 22 with the Home Depot Invitational in Carson, Calif. In its first year in 2003, the meet drew a capacity crowd of nearly 11,000 fans. In 2004, meet organizers are expanding the facility to hold 12,000.

The Tour continues May 31 with the U.S. Track & Field Open May 31 in Stanford, California, where sell-out crowds have supported the Golden Spike Tour since 2000; on June 5 it moves to the adidas Oregon Track Classic in Portland, Oregon for a fast-growing event; and on June 19 it hits the Nike Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore., for the country’s most prestigious and historic invitational meet.

American athletes will conclude their domestic outdoor schedule with the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field, held July 9-18 on the campus of California State University – Sacramento. More than 1,000 athletes will compete in front of sell-out crowds for the right to represent Team USA at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Each of the eights days of competition at the 2000 Olympic Trials in Sacramento sold out, with more than 187,000 fans attending the meet to set a new Olympic Trials record.

Now in its sixth year, the Golden Spike Tour provides America's best athletes the opportunity to compete in the United States, against fellow Americans and top international competition, and earn substantial prize money in front of a nationally televised audience. Sponsors of the 2004 Outdoor Golden Spike Tour are Nike, Verizon, Visa, Sunny D Intense Sport Drink, General Motors and Bengay.

For more information on USA Track & Field and the Golden Spike Tour, visit www.usatf.org

2004 USA Track & Field Outdoor Schedule:

Date 	Event 					Site
April 24	*USA vs. The World Presented by Verizon	Philadelphia, Pa. (Franklin Field)
May 22	*Home Depot Invitational			Carson, Calif. (Home Depot Center)
May 31	*U.S. Open				Stanford, Calif. (Cobb Track and Angell Field)
June 5	*adidas Oregon Track Classic			Portland, Ore. (Mt. Hood CC)
June 19	* Nike Prefontaine Classic			Eugene, Ore. (Hayward Field)
July 9-18	U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field		Sacramento, Calif. (Alex G. Spanos Complex)

* Denotes Golden Spike Tour meet

2004 USATF Outdoor TV schedule

(All Times Eastern; check local listings)

Event 				Network 	Time 		Date
USA vs. The World, Presented by Verizon	NBC	4:30-6 p.m. LIVE	April 24
Home Depot Invitational		NBC	4-6 p.m. LIVE	May 22
U.S. Open			ESPN2	9-10 p.m.	June 1
adidas Oregon Track Classic		ESPN2	6-7 p.m. LIVE	June 5
Nike Prefontaine Classic		ESPN2	9:30-11 p.m.	June 19	
U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field		NBC/cable partner	July 9-12, 15-18