Posted: June 18, 2005

Athletics: America's star athletes Greene, Scott, Miller, Denby and Williams will speak to students in L.A.

America's star athletes, Maurice Greene, Leonard Scott, Inger Miller, Nichole Denby, Angela Williams will speak to students at 1:50 p.m. on Tuesday, June 21 at Bud Carson Middle School in Hawthorne, Calif., as part of USA Track & Field's new "Be A Champion" program. The athletes all of whom live and train with L.A. based club HSI, will address healthy lifestyles, keeping active, and living with integrity. They 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 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, presented by Visa, set for Thursday through Sunday, June 23-26 at the Home Depot Center. The Outdoor Championships is the last stop of USA Track & Field's 2005 Outdoor Visa Championship Series.

The dominant 100m sprinter of his era, Maurice Greene won the bronze medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens in the same time in which he won the 2000 Olympic gold medal. In 2001, Greene received recognition as USATF's Visa Humanitarian of the Year Award. This season, he ran 10.08 seconds to win the men's 100m at the Reebok Grand Prix, the fifth stop on the Visa Championship Series.

A standout sprinter while at the University of Tennessee, Leonard Scott returned to track in 2004 after an attempt at a pro football career. Scott joined the HSI group, and under the tutelage of coach John Smith, he posted a new personal best in the 100 meters of 10.01 seconds, and placed eighth in that event at the Olympic Trials. He began the Visa Championship Series with a win in the men's 100m at the adidas Track Classic earlier this year at the Home Depot Center.

Inger Miller was the 1999 World Champion at 200m and silver medalist at 100m. She also ran on the 1996 Olympic 4x100m gold medal relay team in Atlanta.

Former University of Southern California sprint star, Angela Williams, returns to her native state as a two-time World Indoor 60m silver medalist, three-time U.S. Junior 100m champion, and four-time NCAA 100m champion.

The 2004 NCAA 100m hurdles champion while at the University of Texas, Nichole Denby is a four-time All-American and is the school record holder in the 60m hurdles. A Moreno Valley, Calif., native, Denby began the 2005 outdoor season with a victory in the 100m hurdles at the Texas Relays.

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

For more information on Be A Champion, visit USATF.org.