Posted: February 19, 2005

Athletics: Leaders in Visa Race for the Championship to appear at USATF press conference

The top three contenders in the race for the Visa Championship will appear at a USA Track & Field press conference at 2 p.m. on Thursday, February 24, at the Marriott Copley Place in Boston. Two-time Olympic silver medalist Adam Nelson, double hurdles winner on the 2005 Visa Championship Series Danielle Carruthers, and 2004 world indoor silver medalist Reese Hoffa will speak to the press about their upcoming competition at the 2005 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships.

The 2005 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships will be held February 25-27 at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center in Roxbury. The meet will be broadcast from 3-5 p.m. on Sunday on ESPN.

Best of the best

A two-time Olympic and world outdoor championship silver medalist, Adam Nelson is in the driver’s seat to win the title of Visa Champion – and the accompanying $25,000 cash prize – if he wins the 2005 USA indoor title. His personal-best and world-leading throw of 21.66 meters/71 feet, 0.75 inches at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games has kept him in the lead for the Race for the Championship with 1,220 points since the first week of the Visa Championship Series.

Since 2000 Nelson has been the most consistently successful of Team USA’s impressive shot put corps, winning four U.S. outdoor titles, two indoor titles, the Olympic silver medal in 2000 and 2004, world outdoor silver in 2001 and 2003, 2001 world indoor silver medal and the 2001 Goodwill Games gold medal.

It is another shot putter, 2004 world indoor silver medalist and 2003 Pan Am Games gold medalist Reese Hoffa, who will provide Nelson with his toughest competition for the title of men’s Visa Champion. The 2004 USA indoor and Olympic Trials runner up, Hoffa defeated Nelson at the Millrose Games February 4 with his own personal-best of 21.62 meters/70 feet, 11 inches. The throw is worth 1,218 points on IAAF scoring tables.

A ten-time All-American while at Indiana University, 60-meter hurdler Danielle Carruthers has been in control of the women’s Race for the Championship since winning the Reebok Boston Indoor Games on January 30. She currently enjoys a comfortable lead with 1,191 points from her 7.98-second win at the Powered by Tyson Invitational on February 11. Sprinter Muna Lee is in second with 1,174 points.

The prize

During USA Track & Field's 2005 Indoor Visa Championship Series, American athletes are competing not only for more than $1 million in prize and athlete support money, they are racing toward their share of a combined $100,000 jackpot and other prizes for the Visa Championship.

The male and female athlete with the top overall performances in the 2005 Indoor Visa Championship Series will be named Visa Champion and receive a $25,000 bonus. In addition, each Visa Champion will be awarded an invitation of their choice to a premiere Visa-sponsored event.

Crowning the Visa Champion

The top eligible American male finisher and top American female finisher in each event of the Visa Championship Series, including the USA Indoor Track & Field Championships, will have their performances assigned a point total based on the IAAF Scoring Tables of Athletics. The athlete whose single-best 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 2005 USA Indoor Championships in order to be named Visa Champion. Athletes competing on the high school or college level are not eligible. Ties will be broken by determining which tied athlete had the best mark at the USA Indoor Track & Field Championships. If a tie still exists, it will be broken by a coin toss.

For more information on the 2005 Visa Championship Series, and for complete athlete bios of Nelson, Hoffa and Carruthers, visit www.usatf.org.

Source: Jill Geer,
USATF Director of Communications
USATF.org.