MEMO: February 21, 2003
TO: U.S. Athletics Media
FROM: Jill M. Geer
USATF Director of Communications
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
317-261-0500 x360
SUBJECT: USATF Press Conference
Olympic medalists, world record holders to appear at USA Indoor
Championships press conference
U.S. Olympic and World Championships medalists Regina Jacobs, Terrence
Trammell, Allen Johnson and Chryste Gaines will appear at a press
conference on Thursday, February 27 in Boston, Massachusetts.
The event, held in conjunction with the 2003 USA Indoor Track & Field
Championships at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center at Roxbury
Community College, March 1-2, will be held at Champions restaurant at
the Marriott Copley Place at 110 Huntington Avenue. The press conference
will begin at 11 a.m.
The USA Indoor Championships is the final stop on the 2003 Indoor Golden
Spike Tour and will be broadcast live from 6:00-7:30 p.m. on Saturday,
March 1 on ESPN2.
More than 600 of America's top athletes will compete, with the top two
finishers in each event being selected for Team USA - the World's #1
Track & Field Team - that will compete at the 2003 World Indoor
Championships March 14-16 in Birmingham, England.
REGINA JACOBS: A favorite of the Boston crowd, Jacobs will compete in
the first-ever women's 1,500 meters at the USA Indoor Championships. The
event replaces the mile, and Jacobs is the overwhelming favorite to win.
She is a 22-time national champion at various distances in indoor track,
outdoor track and cross country, and she set the new 1,500m world record
February 1 at the adidas Boston Indoor Games with a time of 3 minutes,
59.98 seconds. The Reggie Lewis Center track has been good to Jacobs
over the years. In addition to the 1,500m world record, she also set the
American 1,000m record at this track, as well as a world best for 2
miles. (Official "world records" are not kept for the 2-mile distance.)
TERRENCE TRAMMELL: The 2000 Olympic men's 110m hurdles silver medalist
and 2001 World Indoor gold medalist, Terrence Trammell is entered in the
60 meters and 60m hurdles, though he's expected to compete in just one
event in Boston. Trammell has already won the 60 meters sprint this year
at the Verizon Millrose Games and the Tyson Foods Invitational. The
defending U.S. champion, Trammell's 60m time of 6.46 seconds in
Fayetteville on February 15 is the fastest in the world this year, as is
his hurdles time of 7.42 in Fayetteville.
ALLEN JOHNSON: If Trammell chooses to compete in the 60m hurdles at
Boston, he'll face his training partner Allen Johnson, the 1996 Olympic
hurdles gold medalist and defending U.S. Indoor champion. A three-time
U.S. indoor champ, Johnson captured the World Indoor 60m hurdles title
in 1995. When he runs a clean race, Johnson is virtually impossible to
beat, and he is the most experienced hurdler in the field.
CHRYSTE GAINES: Two-time defending U.S. women's 60-meter indoor champion
Chryste Gaines is ready to defend her title after winning the 60 at the
Verizon Millrose Games on Feb. 7. The 2001 World Indoor bronze medalist,
Gaines owns a 1996 Olympic gold medal in the 4x100m relay, and she is
part of the American record-setting 4x100m relay that includes Inger
Miller, Marion Jones and Gail Devers.
For complete bios on Jacobs, Trammell, Johnson and Gaines, and
additional information on the 2003 USA Indoor Track & Field
Championships, visit www.usatf.org.
USATF PRESS CONFERENCE
WHO: Regina Jacobs, Terrence Trammell, Allen Johnson and Chryste Gaines
WHAT: USA Track & Field press conference
WHEN: 11 a.m., Thursday, February 27, 2003
WHERE: Champions Restaurant, Marriott Copley Place, 110 Huntington Ave.,
Boston
WHY: Promoting the 2003 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships
# # #