Posted: May 20, 2006

Athletics: USATF News and Notes, Volume 7, Number 38

New American Record for Kreiner

Kim Kreiner set a new American record in the javelin in placing third with her throw of 61.79 meters/ 202 feet 8 inches on Wednesday at the II GP Sul-Americano Caixa/Unifor de Atletismo in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. She faced fierce competition from four of the top ten throwers in the world including World and Olympic champion and World record holder Osleidys Menéndez of Cuba, #4 world ranked Cuban Sonia Bisset, #7 world ranked Zahra Bani of Italy and #10 world ranked Laverne Eve of the Bahamas.

Kreiner, who has been competing with borrowed equipment after the airline lost her javelins, bettered her previous record of 60.88m/199-9, which she set just a few weeks ago at the Woody Wilson Classic in Davis, Calif. on April 22. Her next competition will be the 22º Grande Prêmio Brazil Caixa de Atletismo on May 21.

Two times the track on TV this weekend

NBC will rebroadcast in its entirety the telecast of the 112th Penn Relays on Sunday, May 21 from 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time. NBC coverage features USA vs. The World events, held as part of the Penn Relays on Saturday, April 29. Two world-best performances were set during USA vs. The World's international team relay competition, with Olympic and World Championships medalists Justin Gatlin, Lauryn Williams, Sanya Richards, Shawn Crawford and Bernard Lagat taking on teams from Jamaica, Kenya, China, Great Britain, Russia, Bahamas, Finland, Germany, Canada and Trinidad & Tobago.

Also on Sunday, May 21, ESPN will broadcast the adidas Track Classic live from 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Jeremy Wariner, Sanya Richards, Bernard Lagat, Alan Webb, Lisa Barber, Wallace Spearmon, and Alan Webb are just a few of the U.S. and international stars expected to compete at the adidas Track Classic in Carson, California.

World champions to compete at Nike Prefontaine Classic

The two fastest men in the world, Justin Gatlin and Asafa Powell, will run in separate heats of the 100 meters at the Nike Prefontaine Classic on May 28. The races will be held consecutively during the track meet, and the results will be combined according to time to determine the overall winner.

Also in the field are Jamaica's Dwight Thomas, ranked #4 in the world by Track & Field News, the 2005 World 100m silver medalist Michael Frater, 2004 Olympic gold medalist at 200m, Shawn Crawford and 2006 World Indoor 60m champion Leonard Scott.

The third event of USA Track & Field's 2006 Outdoor Visa Championship Series, the Nike Prefontaine Classic will be televised live May 28 on ESPN2 from 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Also in Eugene, the men's pole vault will be a hotly contested event with four of the competitors ranked in the top ten in the world last year by Track & Field News. The 2006 World Indoor champion, 2005 World Outdoor silver medalist and ranked #1 in the world, Brad Walker will face stiff competition from #4 world ranked Giuseppe Gibilisco of Italy, #5 world ranked Derek Miles and #8 world ranked Toby Stevenson, the 2004 Olympic silver medalist. Also in the fray are 2004 Olympic gold medalist Tim Mack and 2000 Olympic gold medalist Nick Hysong.

The women's high jump will see the top two women in the world go head to head in Eugene. The 2005 World Outdoor champion, Sweden's Kajsa Bergqvist, will face off against Chaunte Howard, the 2005 World Outdoor silver medalist. Also in the mix is 2005 USA Outdoor champion Amy Acuff.

Tickets for the 2006 Nike Prefontaine Classic are still available in-person at the University of Oregon Athletic Department Ticket Office, by phone from 1-800-WEBFOOT, and online at www.goducks.com. For more information and frequent updates, visit the event website at www.preclassic.com.

Favor-Hamilton and Sua named most outstanding

The NCAA has announced that University of Wisconsin graduate Suzy Favor and UCLA graduate Seilala Sua have been named the NCAA Division I Most Outstanding Student-Athletes in track and field for their accomplishments in NCAA championship competition.

Favor Hamilton ended her collegiate career at Wisconsin with five NCAA titles, four consecutive titles in the 1,500m and an 800m crown. She was a 14 time All-American. Overall, Favor Hamilton won nine NCAA titles between cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field. Additionally, Favor Hamilton won the Big Ten Athlete of the Year award four consecutive times and was an NCAA Woman of the Year. She also is a three-time U.S. Olympian and is training to compete again in 2008.

Sua is the winningest athlete in NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships history with an amazing six NCAA outdoor track and field titles during her career at UCLA. Sua won the NCAA discus throw title four years in a row. She also won the NCAA shot put title two years in a row. Sua was a 14-time All-American and a two-time Pac-10 Women's Track and Field Athlete of the Year. She has is a two-time Olympian in the discus throw (2000, 2004), a four-time USATF national champion in the discus throw, a one-time USATF national champion in the shot put and a three-time world championships competitor.

The honor takes into account outstanding NCAA championship performances over the past 25 years and was bestowed as part of the NCAA's 25th Anniversary of Women's Championships celebration.

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