Posted: January 19, 2006

Athletics: USATF News & Notes, Volume 7, Number 7

Defar, Richards added to Reebok Boston Indoor Games

Olympic 5000-meter gold medalist Meseret Defar of Ethiopia and American Sanya Richards, the World Championships silver medalist at 400 meters, are the latest additions to a star-studded field at the 11th annual Reebok Boston Indoor Games.

The first stop on USA Track & Field's 2006 Visa Championship Series, the 11th-annual Reebok Boston Indoor Games will be held at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center at Roxbury Community College, 1350 Tremont St., from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on January 28, and will be broadcast January 29 on ESPN2 from 3-5 p.m. Eastern Time. Tickets and information are now available on-line at www.BostonIndoorGames.com or by calling 1-866-GO-BIG06.

Defar, the reigning World Championships silver medalist at 5,000m and World Indoor Champion at 3,000m, will return to defend her 3,000m title. Last year, the 22-year-old provided one of the most dramatic moments of the night when, going after the World Record, she was slowed near the end by a pair of runners she was lapping and missed the mark by less than a second.

Richards, meanwhile, will compete at 400 meters in her Reebok Boston Indoor Games debut. Ranked #1 in the world in 2005, Richards is a two-time relay gold medalist, in the 2004 Olympics and 2003 World Championships, and last year became the youngest woman in history to break 49 seconds for the 400. The second-fastest American woman ever, trailing only the legendary Valerie Brisco-Hooks, Richards was named 2005 Visa Humanitarian Athlete of the Year for her work in USA Track & Field's "Be A Champion" program of youth outreach.

Over the past decade, the Reebok Boston Indoor Games, produced by Boston-based Global Athletics & Marketing, Inc., has been the site of four world records and eight American records. With the addition of Defar and Richards, the event will host 17 medalists from the 2005 World Outdoor Championships.

Hart named Olympic Team alternate

2005 USA Outdoor Championships women's hammer throw runner-up Bethany Hart has been named an alternate for the USA Bobsled Team that will compete at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy.

Hart, who competed for Team USA at the 2005 World Outdoor Championships in Helsinki, Finland, ended last season ranked #2 in the U.S. in the women's hammer by Track & Field News.

Former track & field standout Vonetta Flowers also was named to the 2006 U.S. Olympic roster. In 2002, Flowers became the first black athlete to win a Winter Games gold medal when she and Jill Bakken drove USA-2 to victory in Salt Lake, ending the United States' 46-year medal drought in bobsled.

For more information visit: www.usbsf.com.

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