NEW YORK -- 2011 World Outdoor Championships gold medalist Jason Richardson and Jamaica's Dwight Thomas have been added to the list of competitors for the 50-meter hurdles at the U.S. Open Track & Field slated for January 28 at Madison Square Garden. Monday's announcement by USA Track & Field sets up a matchup with previously announced outdoor American record holder David Oliver in a compelling competition on the Garden straightaway.
Previously announced stars committed to the U.S. Open include Dawn Harper, Kellie Wells, Tiffany Ofili Porter, Jesse Williams, Christian Cantwell, Adam Nelson, Ryan Whiting, Bernard Lagat, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Asafa Powell and Jenn Suhr.
The inaugural edition of the U.S. Open is the first event of USATF's Visa Championships Series and will be held in the newly renovated Garden. The first major professional meet in the United States to kick-off the 2012 Olympic year, it will be broadcast on Sunday, January 29, from 7-9 p.m. on ESPN2.
Hurdle showdown
Richardson placed his name among the elite in the world in men's hurdling with his gold medal at the recent World Outdoor Championships in Daegu, South Korea, and finished the 2011 season with the second fastest 110m hurdles time in the world. The 2008 NCAA Outdoor champion competing for the University of South Carolina, Richardson is a former USATF Youth Athlete of the Year and was a two-time World Youth Championships gold medalist.
Thomas is both a sprint and hurdle star for Jamaica. The 2008 Olympic 4x100m gold medalist and 2009 World Outdoor Championships 4x100m gold medalist, Thomas advanced to the 110m hurdle final in Daegu but cramped up in the race and did not finish. He ran the sixth fastest time in the world in 2011. He joins fellow Jamaican teammates Campbell-Brown and Powell at the Garden.
Tickets on sale
U.S. Open tickets start as low as $15 and are available at the MSG Box Office, Ticketmaster charge at 866-858-0008, all Ticketmaster outlets, and THEGARDEN.com. Annual MSG Track & Field subscribers can contact 212-465-6073. USATF proudly accepts only Visa.
Visit the official U.S. Open website at USOpen.USATF.org. For information on the Visa Championship Series, including the U.S. Open and TV information, visit VisaChampionshipSeries.com.
About USA Track & Field
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track & field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, the World's #1 Track & Field Team, the most-watched events at the Olympics, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport, and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States: USATF.org.
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