Posted: June 7, 2005

Athletics: Olympic gold medalist Joanna Hayes to speak to students in NYC

Olympic gold medalist, Olympic record holder and 2004 Jesse Owens Award winner Joanna Hayes will speak to students at 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 9 at Columbus Middle School in Manhattan aspart of USA Track & Field's "Be A Champion" program. Hayes will address healthy lifestyles, keeping active, and living with integrity. She also will answer questions from the students and lead them in reciting the "Be A Champion" pledge.

The school visit also will provide a photo and one-on-one interview opportunity for local press in advance of the Reebok Grand Prix, set for Saturday, June 11 at Hayward Field in Eugene. The first professional track & field event to be held at the new Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island, the meet features some of the world's biggest Olympic track & field stars. The Reebok Grand Prix is the fifth stop of USA Track & Field's 2005 Outdoor Visa Championship Series.

Hayes enjoyed a dream season in 2004. The then-27-year-old ran a stunning 12.37 seconds in the women's 100-meter hurdles Olympic final to break the 16-year-old Olympic record of 12.38, previously held by world record holder Yordanka Donkova, becoming only the second American ever to win Olympic gold in the event. Hayes went on to win the World Athletics Final (12.58), and she had three of the six fastest times in the world in 2004, including four clockings of 12.50 or faster. To begin the 2005 season, Hayes ran a then-world-leading time of 12.64 on May 22 to win the adidas Track Classic, the second stop of USATF's Visa Championship Series.

But Hayes' talents are just as great off the track. She has long been involved in charitable causes, working at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Youth Center in 2001-'02 as the SMART Moves Coordinator, teaching kids to be positive in East St. Louis, Ill. Her father, Ted Hayes, is an L.A.-based homeless advocate, and Joanna was involved in her father's outreach efforts beginning at a young age. Workers and residents at Ted Hayes' temporary homeless shelter, Dome Village, call Joanna "Fly Dove."

A major initiative by USA Track & Field and the American College of Sports Medicine, "Be A Champion" facilitates direct interaction between Olympic medalists and middle-school aged children around the country, in order to positively impact their lifestyles and decision-making.

For more information USATF.org.