News and Notes, Volume 10, Number 11
Six women and six men will compete for Team USA at the 2010 International Association of Ultrarunners' 24-hour Run World Championship, to be held in Brive, France on May 13-14, 2010.
The women's squad will be led by 2009 World 24-Hour fourth-place finisher Jamie Donaldson (Littleton, Colo.), Sullivan Award winner Amy Palmiero-Winters (Hicksville, N.Y.), Sauzanna Bon (Sonoma, Calif.), Debra Horn (Cleveland, Ohio), Jill Perry (Malius, N.Y.), and Anna Piskorska (Blandon, Pa.).
The men's side features three-time USA 24-hour run champion John Geesler (St. Johnsville, N.Y.), Serge Arbona (Baltimore, Md.), Michael Henze (Neenah, Wisc.), Scott Jurek (Seattle, Wash.), Phil McCarthy (NYC, N.Y.), and Dan Rose (Washington, D.C.).
For more information, including live updates and complete results, visit www.24h-brive.fr.
New kicks: USATF to offer first limited-edition Nike shoe
By Tripp Mickle
USA Track & Field will launch a limited-edition Nike running shoe later this month, adding another new item to a merchandise line that has expanded from 12 items to 180 since 2002.
The special-edition Nike Lunar Fly features a classic look inspired by the colors and logo that USA Track & Field used for its first annual meeting in 1979. A USA Track & Field label is sewn on the shoe's tongue. It will be available later this month.
As part of its 2004 Nike ID program, the company issued a Nike Shox shoe that said "USA Track" on the side, but this is the first limited-edition USATF shoe it has issued. Approximately 800 pairs of the shoe will be available for $95 online and through USATF's three mobile merchandise vehicles.
USATF officials hope to release more limited-edition running shoes over the next one to two years.
"Our hope is to sell through (the Lunar Fly), and I feel we'll do that in the first four to six weeks," said Jed Cornforth, USATF's director of operations and merchandise. "Then, whether it's twice a year or once a year, we hope to develop more shoes."
The push into footwear is the latest example of USATF's effort to increase its merchandise revenue. The national governing body has focused on expanding its merchandising business over the last eight years.
It has broadened its line of Nike products from 12 items in 2002 to 180 items this year and increased its merchandise revenue from $30,000 in 2002 to $1 million in 2009 and a projected $2 million in 2010. By 2016, it expects to generate $10 million a year in merchandising revenue.
The increase in revenue follows the expansion of USATF's mobile sales fleet. The organization first put a sales truck on the road in 2008 and sent it around the nation to track and cross country meets, marathons and running expos, as well as club practices. It will add two more mobile sales vehicles this year.
Cornforth said this year 60 to 70 percent of USATF's merchandise revenue will come from the mobile effort; the other 30 to 40 percent will come from e-commerce.
Taken from Sports Business Journal, May 10, 2010
18 global champion, four Diamond League ambassadors added to adidas Grand Prix athlete field
Recently crowned world indoor champion Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica and American sprinter Allyson Felix are among the 18 Olympic and World champions and four IAAF Diamond League ambassadors added to the lineup of athletes slated to compete at the adidas Grand Prix on Saturday, June 12, organizers announced Wednesday. The adidas Grand Prix, held at Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island, will be the fifth stop on the inaugural 14-meet, international Diamond League circuit.
In addition to Felix in the women's 200 meters, other Diamond League ambassadors added to the field include Norway's Andreas Thorkildsen and Finland's Tero Pitkämäki in the men's javelin and Valerie Vili of New Zealand in the women's shot put. The other two ambassadors already announced for the New York meeting are Jamaican sprint sensation Usain Bolt and Australian pole vault king Steve Hooker. A total of 32 Olympians from 16 different countries have been announced.
Campbell-Brown and Felix will meet at 200m for the first time on U.S. soil. The two have raced eight times at the distance with Felix holding the 6-2 advantage. However, both of Campbell-Brown's victories came in Olympic finals.
A four-time Olympic medalist-including two individual golds in the 200m-and a seven-time World Championship medalist, Campbell-Brown made headlines recently with her victory in the women's 60m dash at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha in early March. It was her first World Indoor title and her first major championship title since earning gold at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Felix won Olympic gold in 2008 in the 4x400m and is the two-time Olympic 200m silver medalist to Campbell-Browns golds. She is the reigning three-time World champion at 200m. One of 14 official IAAF Diamond League ambassadors, Felix will open her Diamond League season in Doha on May 14.
Also lining up for the women's 200m are two-time World Outdoor 100m bronze medalist Carmelita Jeter and 2008 Olympic finalist Marshevet Myers (née Hooker). Jeter is known for her prowess at 100m; she is the second-fastest woman ever over 100m (10.64 seconds).
Intriguing match-ups are expected for each event in this year's edition of the adidas Grand Prix:
The men's javelin will pit Thorkildsen vs. Pitkämäki-two-time Olympic champion and 2009 World champion vs. Olympic bronze medalist and 2007 World champion-as both compete for the first time in the United States.
Olympic silver medalist Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago, will face off against Bolt, the reigning Olympic champion and world record holder, and his previously announced Caribbean training partners Yohan Blake (JAM) and Daniel Bailey (ANT) in the 100m, the marquee men's event.
In the men's 1500m, Ethiopian middle distance star Deresse Mekonnen, 22, the reigning two-time World Indoor champion and 2009 World Outdoor Championships silver medalist, will once again compete against previously announced American distance star Bernard Lagat.
Javier Culson, from Puerto Rico, will clash against American Olympic bronze medalist Bershawn Jackson in the men's 400m hurdles. Culson is on fire after running a world leading and national record time of 47.72 at the Ponce Grand Prix on May 8. Jackson owns the third-fastest time in the world this year (48.36). Both finished on the podium at the 2009 World Championships, with Culson claiming the silver medal and Jackson earning bronze. Jackson was the 2005 World champion in this event.
Brimin Kipruto and Paul Kipsiele Koech, both Kenyan Olympic medalists, will renew their rivalry in the 3000m steeplechase. Kipruto, 24, won Olympic gold in 2008 and the World title in 2007. Koech, 28, was the 2004 Olympic bronze medalist and was ranked No. 1 in the world from 2007-08. He was the 2008 Reebok Grand Prix champion in this event, winning in 8:01.85, the fastest time ever on U.S. soil.
In the men's triple jump, recent World Indoor champion Teddy Tamgho of France will compete against two-time world outdoor and world indoor medalist Walter Davis. Tamgho set a new world indoor record in winning his first World title in Doha in March.
South Africa's Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, 29, is the top entrant in the men's 800m. He is the reigning 2009 World champion and 2004 Olympic silver medalist at 800m.
The women's 1500m is stacked from top-to-bottom with all three medalists from the 2009 World Championships-reigning champion Maryam Yusuf Jamal of Bahrain, silver medalist Lisa Dobriskey of Great Britain and bronze medalist Shannon Rowbury of the United States-in addition to 2008 World Indoor champion Gelete Burka of Ethiopia and American Olympic finalist Anna Pierce (née Willard).
The women's 100m hurdles is packed with talent, as 2008 Olympic champion Dawn Harper will line up against Sweden's world indoor record holder Susanna Kallur and previously announced two-time World Indoor champion Lolo Jones and Jamaican Delloreen Ennis-London.
The women's field events will be a championship affair, with Vili, the Olympic and World champion, headlining the shot put; and Chelsea Johnson taking on previously announced Jenn Suhr (née Stuczynski) in the pole vault. Vili, 25, dominated the international scene as the No. 1-ranked shot putter from 2007-09 and is a three-time World champion. Johnson was the 2009 World Championship silver medalist.
Media interested in covering the event can access the accreditation application at www.adidasgrandprix.com. The deadline for applying is Friday, June 4. Updates, photos, and additional information can found at the adidas Grand Prix pages on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/adidasGrandPrix) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/adidasGrandPrix).
The adidas Grand Prix, in its sixth year, is one of the nation's premier outdoor track & field invitational meet. Tickets and transportation information is available now at www.adidasgrandprix.com or by calling 1-877-TIX-TRAC.
Deadline of May 15 approaching to apply for $220,000 in Excellence Challenge Grants
The deadline of May 15, 2010 is fast approaching but applications are still being accepted and considered for USATF's Excellence Challenge Grants. USA Track & Field will fund a total of $220,000 in Excellence Challenge Grants to support advancing performance excellence in five specific areas: Race Walking, Youth, Masters, Long Distance Running and Disabled Athlete Programs. The objective of these grants is to stimulate innovative proposals that will result in sustained improvement in competitive excellence across these disciplines, consistent with USATF's strategic plan.
"We believe that these grants will have an profound impact on the Youth, Masters, Race Walking, Long-Distance Running and Disabled disciplines of our sport and will revolutionize how programs are created and administered", USATF CEO Doug Logan said. "Groups that may in the past have felt overlooked, or at least under-funded, will each have between $20,000 and $50,000 in grant money earmarked for them."
Any member of USATF is eligible to apply for a grant, with the amounts ranging from $20,000-$50,000. Proposals must be for a one-time expenditure such as a capital expenditure, seed money for a subsequently self-sustaining endeavor, funding for a one-time event, etc. and applications must be submitted in electronic format only using the online application form.
The application deadline for the Excellence Challenge Grants is May 15, 2010 and the grant recipients will be announced June 28, 2010.
For more information and to apply online, visit http://www.usatf.org/about/programs/challengeGrants/index.asp.
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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