INDIANAPOLS - David Oliver, Hyleas Fountain and Nick Symmonds will lead a talented Team USA squad on Saturday, September 11, at the 2010 DecaNation in Annecy, France.
Created and hosted by the French Athletics Federation in 2005, DecaNation is a team competition between nations from around the world where event specialists compete in 20 different competitions. The winner of each individual event earns nine points for his or her team, with seven points for second place, six for third and so on. Besides the U.S., competing nations this year will be France, Germany, China, Italy, Finland and Russia.
Team USA won the event for the second consecutive year in 2009, totaling 136 points. Germany was the runner-up nation with 105 points, followed by France (3rd-91 points), Russia (4th-83 points), Italy (5th-59 points) Spain (6th-54 points) and Finland (7th-51 points).
Oliver is in the midst of a season where he has set the American 110m hurdles record on two occasions, and he will look to continue his season-long dominance. After tying the American record (12.90) at the Nike Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore., on July 3, Oliver sliced one-hundredth of a second off that time in setting the record later that month of 12.89 at the Samsung IAAF Diamond League Meeting Areva in Paris.
Event winners from last year's DecaNation looking to defend their titles include Hyleas Fountain (women's long jump), Mike Rodgers (100m), Nick Symmonds (men's 800m), Will Leer (men's 1,500m), Dan Huling (men's steeplechase), Derek Miles (men's pole vault), Monica Hargrove (women's 400m), Maggie Vessey (women's 800m), Erin Donohue (women's 1,500m) and Damu Cherry (women's 100m hurdles).
Team USA Roster
Women
100m - Tianna Madison
400m - Monica Hargrove
800m - Maggie Vessey
1,500m - Erin Donohue
100m hurdles - Damu Cherry
Steeplechase - Lisa Aguilera
Long Jump - Hyleas Fountain
High Jump - Liz Patterson
Shot Put - Jill Camarena-Williams
Hammer throw - Amber Campbell
Men
100m -- Mike Rodgers
400m -- Greg Nixon
800m -- Nick Symmonds
1,500m -- Will Leer
110m hurdles -- David Oliver
Steeplechase -- Dan Huling
Long Jump -- Trevell Quinley
Pole Vault -- Derek Miles
Shot Put -- Corey Martin
Hammer throw - Kibwe Johnson
For more information on the 2010 DecaNation, visit Athle.com.
About USA Track & Field
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States.
For more information on USATF, visit USATF.org.
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