Posted: June 23, 2005

Athletics: Team Running USA Athletes Set for USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships

Olympic Medalists Keflezighi and Kastor to Defend 10,000 Meter Titles

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - (June 22, 2005) - This week, from June 23-26, the best U.S. track and field athletes will compete at the USA Outdoor Championships in Carson, California at the Home Depot Center, and six Team Running USA athletes - led by Athens Olympic medalists Meb Keflezighi and Deena Kastor - will be vying for spots on the U.S. team for the World Championships in Helsinki, Finland this August.

Due to minor physical setbacks, Keflezighi and Kastor have raced sparingly in 2005, but the dynamic duo of American distance running will defend their respective 10,000 meter titles. At the 2004 Olympic Track Trials in Sacramento, the Mammoth Lakes residents defended their 10,000 meter Trials titles with Trials records (27:36.49 and 31:09.65). In Athens 2004, both opted for the marathon over the 10,000 meters and both won medals - silver, Keflezighi and bronze, Kastor; the first Olympic Marathon medals for the U.S. since 1984.

Kastor and Keflezighi also come to the national championships with local Los Angeles connections. Kastor, 32, grew up in Agoura Hills, while Keflezighi, 30, was a four-time NCAA champion at UCLA.

Here are Team Running USA athletes competing in Carson and their racing schedules:

10,000m, Thursday, June 23 - 9:15pm
Abdi Abdirahman (Nike)
Meb Keflezighi (Nike)

5000m, Friday, June 24 - 8:15pm
Abdi Abdirahman (Nike)
Bolota Asmerom (Nike)

10,000m, Friday, June 24 - 9:01pm
Deena Kastor (ASICS)
Jen Rhines (adidas)

3000m steeplechase, final, Saturday, June 25 - 12:45pm
Jacques Sallberg (adidas)

For more 2005 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships information including entry lists, CLICK here.

About Team Running USA
Team Running USA, formerly Team USA California, is a national athlete development program created by Running USA, an industry trade organization. Supported by grants from the New York Road Runners, Houston Marathon and Atlanta Track Club, Team Running USA athletes utilize the resources at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista for sea level training and Mammoth Lakes for high/low altitude training throughout the year. Renowned and Olympic coaches Joe Vigil and Bob Larsen and new coach Terrence Mahon coordinate this elite group.

Since 2001, Team Running USA athletes have won two Olympic medals and twelve World Cross Country Championship medals, set one world road record, nine national records and numerous personal records, won 42 national titles and added to world and U.S. all-time lists.

In short, as a group, Team Running USA program athletes have improved the fortunes of U.S. distance running, raised the bar and the sport's profile and served as excellent ambassadors for the sport and the country - more than any other training program in this country.

For more information on Team Running USA, contact: Ryan Lamppa, (805) 696-6232 or ryan@runningusa.org.

Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services Director
385 Oak View Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93111

(805) 696-6232, fax (805) 967-5958
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
www.runningusa.org.