103rd Millrose Games athlete quotes

For Immediate Release
Friday, January 29, 2010

Contact:
Vicky Oddi
USA Track & Field
Communications Coordinator
317-713-4670; Vicky.Oddi@usatf.org


103rd Millrose Games athlete quotes

Bernard Lagat Men 1 Mile Run Wanamaker Winner

"When I came over here, Coach (James) Li told me, make sure you run smart and fast towards the end. I wasn't worried, I was feeling very comfortable."

"Last year it was different. Nick Wills took off very hard during the last three laps and it was really hard.

Andy (Baddely) is a guy who has speed, and if you remember last September, he passed me to win the road mile on 5th Avenue, so I was worried especially against the guy who has run 3:55.

It's just not speed that I've been working on. I knew exactly when to make a move and I increased the pace when I went through the two corners. By the time I looked back I knew the victory was mine and I was really happy with that. I looked back and there was no response from Kiprop, and I was free and clear.

To me it is like winning the Olympics today. I've been here since 2001 and today I'm signing autographs for kids who in 2001 were not even born and to me that's special."

Sara Hall - 2nd place - Women 1 Mile Run

"I was working with it as it came because it was my first race. The time I tried to use a different tactic. Last time I ran I took the lead and was taken off in the end."

"This is my fastest opener of the year, so that's a good sign."

Bershawn "Batman" Jackson - Men 600 Yard Run Winner

"My race felt great. My ultimate goal was to execute the race, whether I won or lost. It's very difficult to pass on this track, so once I started my position, I made it very hard to pass me."

"I'm trying to go undefeated this year. I don't want any setbacks this season. I've got to prove to the world I'm still #1. "

Sheree Francis - Women High Jump Winner

"Competing in the Millrose for the first time, I was a little nervous. I just went out there, did what I always do in practice and at the end of the day I did well."

Mark Hollis Men Pole Vault Winner

"It was a good competition. I just came in wanting to compete and try to really do my best and make as many bars as I could.

"I want to make the US National Team and go to my first Worlds (World Indoor Championships). I missed it by one place last year, and now I feel like I'm ready and want to give it a shot.

Hannah England - Women 1 Mile Run Winner

"I was able to make the move I hoped to make with only two laps to go. I managed to hold off Sarah."

"Jim Harvey, my coach in England who came up with my race plan, took a chance and some advice and it paid off."

"I came to the Garden at 3:30 and couldn't believe my eyes at how small the track was."

"I had flashbacks from 2008 running against Sarah and it wasn't a surprise to see her in the lead - she's a great athlete. I could hear her at the last bend and I thought she'd get me."

Christian Cantwell -Visa Men's shot put winner

"My goal is always hopefully to win the Indoor World Championship. No one's ever won 3 (world titles), so history is against me, but we'll see."

"I thought I was going to throw a little bit better. All my throws over 70, that's pretty sick. If this is any indicator of the season, watch out."

"I have trained at a high level for a long, long time. Every day I would wish there was another meet I could go to. My goal is the Indoor Championship. I'd also like to get closer to the World Record. The thing about this year is there's no world championship, no Olympics, so you can just pin your ears back and throw it as far as you can every time."

"I was killing it this week - and I thought I would do a little bit better. Maybe if I'd had 6 throws."

"It's 90 percent terrifying and 10% exhilarating. All these people watching on TV. It's fun to throw here, it's hard. It's not like our normal competitions. You have to jump in the ring and nail one early. I'm a sixth-round kind of guy, so I would have liked to see what happened after another round or two."

"In any sport, it's staying healthy that's the most important. Peyton Manning wouldn't be as good as he is if he wasn't on the field all the time."

"My worst thing is I have a herniated disk. They don't hurt all the time but when they do, I could be out for 2 weeks straight."

Lisa Barber - Women's 60 Meter Winner

"Training has been going great. I'm training with Speed Dynamics. This is my first race. I'm not too happy with the time, but I was up against the best in the world and I wanted to get a win."

"The last time I competed was Boston last year, at the U.S. National (Indoor) Championships. I had to take some time off to heal, had some great doctors and it healed. I was nervous this time about the Achilles tear. I know a lot of people have not been able to come back from that."

Ivory Williams - Men 60 Meter Winner

"My plans are to keep training hard, listen to my coach and stick with it. I'm my own competition."

Teresa Vaill - 2nd place - Women 1 Mile Race Walk USA Champs

"Went out conservative, tried to stay calm, waited for 5 laps to go decided to go for it"

"I'm training for the Indoor nationals then I'm going to work out for the 20K, there's a world cup in May so I'm going to try for that"

Rachel Seaman (CAN) - Women 1 Mile Race Walk Winner

"It's really hard doing a mile when you usually race 20K, planning on staying with whoever was leading, then at 2 ½ laps to go, made my move and tried to get around and away and pushed to the end."

Trevor Barron - New High School Record Holder for the Men's 1 Mile Race Walk (record 6:02 - previous record 6:11)

"Owe a lot to Tim (Seaman), he started coaching me in '08 and I've really progressed since then. If it wasn't for him I probably wouldn't still be walking. I'm going to race in New Mexico, which is the trials for the World Cup."

Tim Seaman - Men's 1 Mile Race Walk Winner

"Feels great to win my 42nd national title. (Tying Henry Laskau for most national race walk titles.) Henry Laskau was a Holocaust survivor, and for me to tie him is an honor - he had such difficulties in his life and fought tremendous difficulties, so to tie him 50 years later is a real honor."

"I feel good, feel strong, after my hip surgery in 2007." "It means a lot to me that Trevor Barron won because the gentleman he took the record from I raced against and could not beat. We have a good relationship, a good camaraderie and it's a lot of fun."

Terrence Trammell - Men's 60 Meter Hurdle Winner

"I'm happy with the win. I did expect to run just a little bit faster. I guess just doing the first start of the year with the new rule, I guess the system hadn't really been worked out." (Referring to a call-back on the first start.)

"We had a clean race. I think the new rule (no false starts, DQ'd after the first false start) is good for the sake of expediting start time and time that we actually have a clean race. I'm definitely in favor."

"Through every level of track and field there's been no false starts (a no false start rule). So I think it's good to have continuation and conformity as far as track and field is concerned."

"I didn't feel as aggressive the second time around as I did the first start, but I know my strong point isn't going to the first hurdle, it's going through the first hurdle."

"Madison Square Garden and the Millrose Games are both historical places in the sport. The equivalent to indoor track and field's Rose Bowl. It's always an honor for me to compete."

"TrackStar Apparel - my new uniform, going pinstripes this year. Feel free to make that significant to help move sales and awareness. I'm looking to do some things in early Spring as far as selling to the public. There are a couple of high school teams and colleges in the south that I have outfitted. I'm looking to continue growth."

"When I retire, I'll play safety for the Chicago Bears."

Chelsea Johnson - Women Pole Vault Winner

I won at 4.51 (meters), then went to 4.65. I had two really good attempts at it, but I did feel a little rusty. However, the future is looking bright, still early in the season.

(On her first appearance at Millrose) It's a really nice place to vault, a great runway and the crowd was really enthusiastic. I'll definitely be coming back.

I felt good, really fast, strong and prepared to jump high, which honestly I've never felt indoors, so it's a good feeling.

Priscilla Lopes-Schliep - Women 60 Meter Hurdle Winner

"I love coming to Millrose, especially for my first big opener."

"A lot of girls are going out there gunning because it's a World Indoor year. Overall I had a great finish. I just need to get my start a little better than it was, but it will come in time."

"Coming out here, it's a fantastic field. My first year had an amazing start. Second year was ok, this one wasn't so great, but I'm hoping I can keep it going."

Super 60

Anthony Dorsett Jr., winner - "I'm stunned that it happened (that he won). I don't know when the last time any of us had really opened up and sprinted. It was fun. If you go back and read my resume from back in the day, I was a little faster, but if I keep doing things like that maybe I'll make my time. I'm fortunate to have some good genetics behind me. Everyone knows my dad is fast, but my mom is fast - my dad could never catch her.

The two sports can marry up. Most football players have some type of speed. There's a lot of speed out there in that football field, TV doesn't do it justice.

"If they bring me back next year, I'll definitely be back to win again."

Willie Gault, Super 60- I felt good once I started running. I had a little bit of a disappointing start, but it's my first 60 in about four years so it's great. And it's great to get a chance to run with these guys. Speed has helped the game of football last as long as it had. Bob Hayes Sam Graddy, James Jett and Renaldo Nehemiah, there have been lots of track athletes find success in football. There's always been a fascination with speed. You get the opportunity to see great people perform. It's a great, pure sport. You don't have to rely on a QB to throw the ball or a defense to block. It's pure.

I enjoy track and field. It keeps me young. I train with guys that are 20 years my junior. It keeps me young, keeps me in a sport I love dearly."

Ryan LaCasse, Super 60- "I got a call last Tuesday which said sure why not. But I think track and field might be out of the picture for the rest of my career."

Tim Dwight, Super 60 - "We had a lot of fun, we also compete, but it was a lot of fun. When you make that transition over to the track, it brings some excitement. Football is all about positioning and with track, you can really see how fast guys can be. It gets exciting out there."

Phillip Buchanon, Super 60- on whether he will switch sports and compete in track: "No, football pays too well. I've always loved track. I actually came out to see the actual track meet. Pretty much I came out just trying to have fun. I miss running the 60. It's definitely a compliment to Willie, he's in tremendous shape.

Terrence Trammell, men's hurdles champion, comment on Super 60: "One world class athlete to another, I think it's a great thing you guys have done coming out tonight. You made me proud, I cut off my press conference to see you guys run."

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 www.usatf.org

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