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INDIANAPOLIS - The 2007 AT&T USA Outdoor Track& Field Championships last month in Indianapolis were among the most successful in recent history. The excitement of close finishes in the middle-distances, a packed house that provided loud encouragement to the athletes, and the fastest 100-200 double in history by Tyson Gay tell a compelling story. Television ratings, Website traffic and merchandise sales all saw significant rises over 2006. These were just a few of countless highlights.
In hard numbers, the meet measures up impressively:
0 - Number of stadium evacuations due to weather.
1 - The number of American records set (Breaux Greer, men's javelin, 91.29m/299-6).
2 - Number of Visa Champions crowned (Tyson Gay and Tiffany Williams)
4 - Number of national television broadcasts of the meet (2 on NBC, 2 on ESPN2). NBC's live coverage from 1-3 p.m. on Sunday, June 24, won its time slot and was the #2 sports program of the day on network television. In aggregate, TV ratings for the meet saw a 144 percent increase over 2006.
5 - Number of meet records broken (Tyson Gay in the men's 100 and 200; Breaux Greer in the men's javelin; Alan Webb in the men's 1,500m; Jennifer Barringer in the women's steeplechase).
6 - Number of 2007 world-leading performances (Tyson Gay in the men's 100 and 200; Dee Dee Trotter in the women's 400; Tiffany Williams in the women's 400 hurdles; James Carter in the men's 400 hurdles; Breaux Greer in the men's javelin).
10 - Number of stadium records set at the Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium at IUPUI (Tyson Gay in the men's 100 and 200; Breaux Greer in the men's javelin; Alan Webb in the men's 1,500m; Terrence Trammell in the men's 110m hurdles; Tom Pappas in the decathlon; Shalane Flanagan in the women's 5,000m; Jennifer Barringer in the women's steeplechase; Brittany Riley in the women's hammer throw; Shani Marks in the women's triple jump).
17 - Number of stories written by the Associated Press related to the meet, part of remarkable nationwide coverage. That included nearly three pages of coverage in USA Today, which devoted more than a full page of text and photos previewing the men's 200 meters and another full page of event previews, in addition to reports from the meet itself. Other major print media/wire services credentialed for the Championships included Sports Illustrated, Reuters, the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Philadelphia Inquirer, Detroit Free Press, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Portland Oregonian, Eugene Register-Guard, Cincinnati Post, Lexington Herald-Leader, Indianapolis Star and extensive Indianapolis television news coverage, among countless other media outlets.
21 - Percentage increase in USATF/Nike-logoed merchandise sales over the 2006 Championships.
22 - Number of photos of the meet on Sports Illustrated's Web site - http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0706/gallery.trackandfield/content.1.html
25 - Number of years that Steve Scott's meet record in the 1,500m had stood before Alan Webb broke it.
39 - Age of men's pole vault runner-up Jeff Hartwig.
50+ - Number of countries in which television coverage was broadcast.
76.1 - Percentage of athlete entries, ticket sales and merchandise sales conducted using VISA cards. All other transactions were via cash/ACH.
107 - Number of kids taking part in the Fastest Kid in the City event.
300+ - Number of credentialed media covering the meet, including reporters and photographers from the United States, France, Italy, Switzerland, Finland and Japan.
325+ - Number of photos from the meet available at the USATF Web site gallery, www.usatf.org/events/2007/USAOutdoorTFChampionships/photos/
800+ - Number of volunteers working at the event.
1,041 - Record number of entries for a non-Olympic Trials USA Championship. The Finish Line USA Junior Track & Field Championships also had a record number of entries, with 678.
2,000+ - Approximate number of autographs signed by 28 Team USA stars at the AT&T autograph booth
4,500 - Number of Tyson Food samples given out during the meet.
33,540 - Number of fans attending the meet.
50,000 - Number of bonus dollars awarded to the Visa Champions.
4.2 million - Number of page views of the USATF Web site during the meet, a 62 percent increase over 2006. The number of visitor sessions also rose by 70 percent over 2006.
For more information on the AT&T USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, visit USATF.org
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