Posted: March 29, 2006

Athletics: Gatlin, Felix Announced For Kansas Relays

By Bob Ramsak
© 2006 TRACK PROFILE Report, all rights reserved

Justin Gatlin, the world and Olympic 100 meter champion, tops a strong list of domestic sprint talent announced for the 79th Kansas Relays in Lawrence, Kansas, on Saturday, April 22.

Racing in the 4x100 meter relay, Gatlin, along with Sprint Capitol training partners Shawn Crawford and Dwight Thomas, will square off against Leonard Scott, John Capel and Maurice Greene, who will compete for the Los Angeles-based HSI group. Earlier this month, Scott captured the world indoor title in the 60 meters. Gatlin and Greene will run the anchor legs while the fourth members of each squad have yet to be finalized.

Making the initial announcement, meet director Tim Weaver said that this year's three-hour afternoon program, dubbed "GoldZone II," is "all about matchups."

"Not just in the two events we announced today," said Weaver in a press release, "but carried throughout GOLDZONE II. Each of our featured events will have at least two champions competing for the Relays crown - and the attention of our fans."

A third team, Hobson's Choice, a Kansas City squad directed by Greene's first coach, Al Hobson, was also announced. It includes Mark Jelks, Mardy Scales and Rae Edwards, all members of the U.S. 400 meter relay pool at last summer's world championships.

Also announced were the headliners in the women's 100, another of the 13 invitational events on the program. Topping the bill are Allyson Felix and Rachelle Boone-Smith, the reigning gold and silver world championships medallists in the 200 meters. The field also includes Muna Lee, who was seventh in Helsinki last summer in the short dash, and Ashley Owens, the 2004 world junior 100 meter champion. Earlier this month, Owens was the 60 meters runner-up at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Additional announcements are expected in the next few weeks.

Last year's reported attendance was 24,619, the second largest in the event's 78 year history. 33 Olympians and an additional 42 world or national championships competed in the inaugural Goldzone. Last December, Weaver was named 2005 Meet Director of the Year by the United States Meet Director's Association, for his efforts in reviving the meet over the past several years.

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