Saturday, September 11, 2010

Team USA ready for DecaNation in France

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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 http://www.athle.com/asp.net/main.html/html.aspx?htmlid=3608.

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: www.usatf.org.

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