United States Quartet Eying World Record Chase in NYRR Millrose Games’ Jack & Lewis Rudin Women’s 4x800m Relay

Ajee’ Wilson (left) and Charlene Lipsey will be running on the same team with eyes on breaking the women’s 4x800 world record in the 111th NYRR Millrose Games. Photo By Ross Dettman

The Jack and Lewis Rudin Women’s 4x800 Relay is expected to be one of the 111th NYRR Millrose Games’ signature events when the world’s greatest track & field stars take centerstage on February 3 at The Armory New Balance Track & Field Center in Washington Heights.

It’s anticipated a United States team will have a legitimate shot to surpass the world indoor record of 8:06.24 set in 2011 by Russia during the Russian Indoor Championships in Moscow. The talented USA quartet of Ajee’ Wilson, Charlene Lipsey, Raevyn Rogers and Chrishuna Williams, two of whom raced in the World Championships final in London last August, headline the 800-meter event.

“Never has the United States been so rich in its 800-meter depth of talent,’’ said NYRR Millrose Games Meet Director Ray Flynn. “This will be one of the great races of this 111th NYRR Millrose Games."

Derek Thompson will coach this super USA 4x800 women’s squad.

Wilson became the first U.S. woman to run under 1.56 seconds for 800m, setting the American record in Monaco. Lipsey last year finished runner-up to Wilson in the USATF Outdoor Women’s 800 championship.

"It would be great to challenge the world record now that women's 800m running is so strong in the United States,” Wilson added.

During the US Outdoor Track Championships in Sacramanto, both Wilson and Lipsey, who are training partners, finished first and second, respectively. Wilson won with a time 1:57.78 just edging Lipsey’s 1:58.01 time. Rogers and Williams finished 4th and 5th in that same race.

Rogers is beginning her professional career following success at the University of Oregon where she won both the NCAA 2017 indoor and outdoor championship in the 800 and set a collegiate record in the 800 with a 1.59.10.

A multiple All-American at the University of Arkansas and member of NCAA champion distance medley relay team, Williams qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics in the 800.

Expected to give Team USA a run for its money will be a very formidable Team Jamaica squad of Simoya Campbell; Kimarra McDonald, Natoya Goule and Fellan Ferguson as well as a strong New York/International All-Star team led by Lynsey Sharp from Scotland, Kendra Chambers, Ce’Aira Brown and Cecilia Barowski. Rounding out the 4x800 field will be top collegiate representatives from the University of Columbia, Iona College and University of Pennsylvania.

Both Goule and Campbell represented Jamaica in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Sharp is a two-time Olympian and turned in a personal best in the 800m of 1:57.69 during the finals of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The New York/International All-Star Team is coached by the legendary Frank Gagliano.

The event will be the second to last event of the day, followed by the NYRR Men’s Wanamaker Mile.

The Rudin Family is synonymous with supporting the sport of running and New York City.

“The Rudin Family is honored to continue our support of the New York Road Runners Millrose Games and this year’s Jack and Lewis Rudin Women’s 4x800 Relay” said Eric and Bill Rudin.  “Our fathers, Jack and Lewis, always wanted to bring the best to New York and we’re thrilled to see these world class athletes compete in our hometown.  There’s no better place for history to be made than New York City.”

Added Armory Foundation Co-President Rita Finkel: “The Armory is deeply appreciative of the continuing generosity of the Rudin Family to the NYRR Millrose Games. It is so exciting to have the next generation of one of New York City’s First Families of Running supporting the Jack and Lewis Rudin Women’s 4X 800 Relay, a race that promises to deliver as the women chase a world record.”

Two-Time Olympic Medalist Nick Willis, Defending Champion Eric Jenkins and Team USA World Championship Members Brenda Martinez and Sara Vaughn to Highlight NYRR Wanamaker Mile Fields

NYRR Wanamaker Mile Field to include 11 Olympians and two past champions racing at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armory

Two-time Olympic medalist Nick Willis will race for his first title in six attempts against defending event champion Eric Jenkins in the men’s field and Team USA World Championship members Brenda Martinez and Sara Vaughn will lead the women’s field at the NYRR Wanamaker Mile, the signature event of the NYRR Millrose Games, on Saturday, February 3 at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armory.

The prestigious indoor mile race has taken place every year on the men’s side since 1926 and on the women’s side since 1976. This year’s field will include 11 Olympians and two past champions, with the women’s and men’s NYRR Wanamaker Mile races starting at 5:27 p.m. and 5:50 p.m. (ET), respectively.

Willis, 34, of New Zealand, finished as runner-up at the NYRR Wanamaker Mile three times (2009, 2015, 2016) and was third twice (2008, 2014). Last September, he won a record-tying fourth men’s title at the 5th Avenue Mile in New York, adding to his previous victories from 2008, 2013, and 2015. As a four-time Olympian, Willis won the silver medal in the 1500 meters at the Beijing 2008 Games, carried New Zealand’s flag at the London 2012 Opening Ceremony and returned to the podium with a bronze medal in the 1500 meters at the Rio 2016 Games.

Jenkins, 26, of Portland, OR, won the NYRR Wanamaker Mile last year in a last-lap sprint against Olympic 800-meter bronze medalist Clayton Murphy. The 2017 World Championship team member also narrowly defeated Olympic 1500-meter champion Matthew Centrowitz at the 2016 New Balance 5th Avenue Mile, winning by one-tenth of a second in 3:49.4, the fastest time ever by an American at the event.

Martinez, 30, of Big Bear, CA, was a Rio 2016 Olympian who made her third consecutive IAAF World Championship team in the 800 meters last summer. In her World Championship debut in 2013, she became the first American woman in event history to medal in the 800 meters, and the year prior won the 5th Avenue Mile in New York, outlasting a field that included seven Olympians. 

Vaughn, 31, of Boulder, CO, made her first World Championship team last summer after finishing third over 1500 meters at the USATF Championships. She is a two-time U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier who has also competed for Team USA at the World Indoor Championships and earned All-American honors while racing for the University of Colorado-Boulder.

The NYRR Millrose Games will highlight the year-round partnership between The Armory Foundation, which oversees the premier indoor track and field center in America, and New York Road Runners, the world’s premiere community running organization. NYRR has been the title sponsor of the NYRR Millrose Games since 2014, and for the third consecutive year the next generation of stars will share the same track as Olympians at the event. Media can apply for credentials to cover the NYRR Millrose Games by filling out the respective form here before 12:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, January 28. Tickets to the NYRR Millrose Games are available for purchase here.

NYRR Wanamaker Mile – Top Professional Men & Women

 

Name  

Mile Personal Best 

Twitter Handle 

Nick Willis, NZL

3:49.83

@nickwillis

Will Leer, USA

3:51.82

@william_leer

Kyle Merber, USA 

3:52.22

@TheRealMerb 

Charlie Grice, GBR

3:52.64

@CharlieGrice1

Chris O’Hare, GBR

3:52.91 (i)

@Chrisohare1500

Ben Blankenship, USA

3:53.04

@benfblankenship

Robby Andrews, USA 

3:53.16 (i)

@RA_Andrews 

Eric Jenkins, USA 

3:53.23 (i)

@_EricJenkins 

Robert Domanic, USA

3:54.73

@robertdomanic

Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, CAN 

3:54.52

@Chuck_PT 

Josh Kerr, GBR

3:59.90 (i)

@joshk97

 

Name  

Mile Personal Best 

Twitter Handle 

Ciara Mageean, IRL

4:22.40

@ciaramageean

Brenda Martinez, USA

4:26.76

@bmartrun

Alexa Efraimson, USA

4:27.39

@AlexaEfraimson

Nicole Sifuentes, CAN

4:27.93 (i)

@ndsifuentes

Hannah Fields, USA

4:28.32

@runhannahfields

Kaela Edwards, USA

4:28.75 (i)

@kaelaAedwards

Gabriela Stafford, CAN

4:29.07 (i)

@gstafford13

Elinor Purrier, USA

4:29.44 (i)

@ellepurrier

Karisa Nelson, USA

4:31.24 (i)

@KaririNelson

Sara Vaughn, USA

4:34.29

@MomVaughn

Nikki Hiltz, USA

4:34.57 (i)

@Nikki_Hiltz

 

 

 

 

Olympic Medalists Stefanidi, Morris Renew Rivalry At 111th NYRR Millrose Games’ John and Margo Catsimatidis Women’s Pole Vault

The Rio Olympic gold medalist Katerina Stefanidi of Greece and USA’s silver medalist Sandi Morris will renew their rivalry in a who’s who of pole vaulters at the 111th NYRR Millrose Games at The Armory’s New Balance Track and Field Center in New York on February 3, 2018.

Four of the top seven vaulters in the world will be competing, in the John and Margo Catsimatidis Women’s Pole Vault with the inclusion of Katie Nageotte of the United States and Alysha Newman of Canada. Added in the mix is World indoor record holder and former Olympic champion Jenn Suhr.

Katerina Stefanidi and Sandi Morris were recently ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in the world for 2017 by Track & Field News, and have one of the strongest and most current rivalries in the sport.

Six months after Stefanidi narrowly defeated Morris at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the two great rivals were first and second in 2017 in both the NYRR Millrose Games and in the World Track and Field Championships in London. Stefanidi took the top spot in both events. They’ll return to the John and Margo Catsimatidis Women’s Pole Vault event at the 2018 NYRR Millrose Games.

The Greek national champion and Greek record-holder Stefanidi set her indoor personal best of 16-0 ¾ in 2016 at the NYRR Millrose Games, where she is now a three-time champion. "2018 will mark my fifth Millrose Games,” Stefanidi said. “I have won three consecutive years and can't wait to get back to New York City and The Armory runway."

She secured the gold at last summer’s World Championships in London with a 16-1 ¼ jump that means she’s in a tie for the fourth best performer in history.

Morris has jumped higher than her Greek rival, having cleared 16-4 ¾ (or 5.00m) outdoors as well as 16-2 ¾ indoors in 2016, and is the third best all time. 

“I am very excited to come back to NYC to compete at Millrose again,” Morris said. “I have yet to have the honor of winning the competition, and I hope to change that as 2018 is all about jumping high and winning meets. I am feeling strong and can’t wait to come to New York to put on a show with my fellow competitors!”

The U.S. outdoor record-holder and indoor and outdoor champion, Morris took silver ahead of Stefanidi’s bronze at the World Indoor Championships in 2016.

Katie Nageotte jumped 15-6 ¼ in 2017 after placing third at the NYRR Millrose Games and taking silver at the USATF Indoor Championships. She was ranked sixth among female pole vaulters by Track and Field News, and on Christmas Day (@ktnago13) tweeted “…BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER RANKED #6 IN THE WORLD!!!!”

Alysha Newman was ranked seventh for the year, in which she set a 15-7 personal best. The reigning Canadian champion and national record-holder represented her nation at the last Olympics and World Championships, and was fourth at the NYRR Millrose Games in 2017.

Jenn Suhr captured the 2012 London Olympic gold medal and also won the silver medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In 2016, Suhr established the indoor world record with a jump of 16-6 (5.03m).

“It is only fitting that the Upper Manhattan neighborhood near where the Catsimatidis family settled from Greece, would reach to new heights with this exciting competition,” said Margo Catsimatidis.

“Our family is so proud to support the historic NYRR Millrose Games and welcome world champions to NYC,” said John Catsimatidis.

Purchase tickets to the 111th NYRR Millrose Games on February 3, 2018 at tickets.nyrrmillrosegames.org

Asafa Powell Leads Strong Jamaican Contingent at NYRR Millrose Games

Asafa Powell is looking forward to Armory debut in NYRR Millrose Games.  Photo by Victah Sailer.

Rio Olympic relay gold medalist Asafa Powell leads a stellar Jamaican contingent that will race at the 111th NYRR Millrose Games at The Armory’s New Balance Track and Field Center in New York on February 3, 2018.

One of the all-time greatest sprinters in history, Powell will be joined by compatriots Natoya Goule, Simoya Campbell, Kimarra McDonald, Aisha Praught Leer, Kemoy Campbell and the previously-announced Omar McLeod, in addition to other athletes expected to be added to the lineup.

“It’s been a good few years since I’ve run at the NYRR Millrose Games,” Powell said. “This year will be my first with it being held at the Armory. I hear the Jamaican crowd there is amazing. I’m really looking forward to putting my mark down in a building with such history.”

Asafa Powell has represented Jamaica at the last four Olympic Games, taking 4x100m gold in 2016. He has earned outdoor World Championships medals in the individual 100m and 4x100m relay, including two relay gold medals.

He is the fourth-fastest male 100m athlete of all time, having run 9.72. He has run under 10 seconds 97 times; and under 9.90 a total of 43 times, more than any other athlete. His legendary fellow Jamaican Usain Bolt is second, with 35 sub-9.90 races.

At the NYRR Millrose Games, Powell will feature in a star-studded 60m, the distance over which he clocked a personal best of 6.44 at the Portland World Indoor Championships.

In New York, he will face Omar McLeod, the reigning gold medalist in the Olympic and World Championships 110m hurdles as well as the World Indoor Championships 60m hurdles. The former University of Arkansas standout McLeod has run 9.99 for 100m outdoors and 6.61 for the indoor 60m.

The two Jamaicans will also be challenged in the NYRR Millrose Games’ 60m by the previously-announced CJ Ujah of Great Britain, whose 4x100m team struck gold at the London 2017 World Championships.

For the first time at the NYRR Millrose Games, several Jamaican high schools will be sending their top runners to compete in multiple relays against some of America’s fastest high school relay teams.

Natoya Goule represented Jamaica in the 800m at the Rio 2016 Olympics and two indoor and three outdoor World Championships, including London 2017. She has an 800m personal record of 1:59.38 outdoors and 2:01.64 indoors.

Her fellow Rio Olympian Simoya Campbell, who has run 1:59.26 outdoors, will join her in the NYRR Millrose Games 4x800m.

Goule’s London World Championships teammate Kimarra McDonald, who ran 2:02:07 outdoors in 2017 and 2:04.72 indoors some years earlier, will also be part of that team.

The two women are no strangers to The Armory as both first raced there while in college. Goule ran for Louisiana State University and Clemson University in South Carolina, and McDonald for the University of Tennessee.

The Rio Olympic finalist Aisha Praught Leer is Jamaica’s 3000m steeplechase record-holder, having run 9:19.29 in 2017. That same season she ran 8:53.43 outdoors for the flat 3000m, for which she has run 9:03.23 indoors. The Illinois native and former Illinois State University athlete began representing her Jamaican father’s country starting with the 2015 World Championships.

She will compete in the 3000m at the NYRR Millrose Games, lining alongside training partner, the steeplechase World Champion and 9:02.58 American record-holder Emma Coburn of the United States, whose participation was previously announced.

Rio Olympian Kemoy Campbell was a finalist in the London 2017 World Championships 5000m and will run in the 3000m at the NYRR Millrose Games. The former University of Arkansas athlete’s 7:40.79 personal best for the distance indoors is his nation’s record, and was clocked at the 2016 Millrose Games.

For NYRR Millrsoe Games on February 3 tickets visit tickets.nyrrmillrosegames.org/tickets

Top International Athletes Target 111th NYRR Millrose Games

Lalonde Gordon, who in August won gold for Trinidad & Tobago in the World Championships, will compete in the 400m in February’s 111th NYRR Millrose Games. Photo by John Nepolitan.

After thrilling their compatriots at recent championships, several top international track and field stars will compete in the 111th NYRR Millrose Games at The Armory’s New Balance Track and Field Center on February 3, 2018.

In the global city of New York that is home to the renowned NYRR Millrose Games, the athletes’ countries are well-represented in the local population.

CJ Ujah ran the lead-off leg in the British 4x100m team that seized victory in front of an ecstatic home crowd at the London 2017 World Championships. “GOLD!! unbelievable feeling being on the podium, singing the national anthem in front of a packed crowd,” he tweeted (@Chijindu_Ujah). He capped his year with the IAAF Diamond League title, running 9.97 seconds for the 100m. He will run the NYRR Millrose Games 60m.

Lalonde Gordon anchored Trinidad & Tobago’s 4x400m team to World Championships gold in August 2017, and was a 2012 Olympic bronze medalist, individually over 400m and as part of the 4x400 relay team. Gordon lives and trains in New York City and holds the 300m record at The Armory, where he will run the 400m at the NYRR Millrose Games.

Xie Zhenye had a breakthrough 2017 season when he became the Chinese double national champion, lowering his own national 200m record after defeating the Asian champion Su Bingtian in a 10.04 personal best over 100m. A two-time Olympian, Xie will run the 60m in the NYRR Millrose Games. He was fourth with a 6.53 in the 60m at the 2016 World Indoor Championships in Portland, Ore.

Omar McLeod of Jamaica was the 2016 Olympic and 2017 World Championships gold medalist in the 110-meter hurdles and will be returning to the NYRR Millrose Games. The former three-time NCAA individual champion is the World Indoor 60m hurdles gold medalist.

Shaunae Miller-Uibo won 400m gold at Rio 2016 in dramatic fashion, diving across the finish line ahead of Allyson Felix. A two-time Olympian and native of the Bahamas, Miller-Uibo became her nation’s first world-record holder when she broke Felix’s straight 200-meter record in 2017. She was also a bronze medalist at the 2017 World Championships. At the NYRR Millrose Games, Miller-Uibo will run the 300m in which she holds the record at The Armory.

Justyn Knight became Canada’s second NCAA men’s cross country champion, and the first in over a decade, when he lifted the title for Syracuse University on November 18. An eight-time All-American at Syracuse, he was also a finalist in the 2017 London World Championships 5000m.

Emmanuel Korir made Kenya’s 2017 World Championships 800m team while a student at the University of Texas El Paso, after running 1:14.97 to set a world indoor 600m record in Albuquerque on January 20, 2017. He was also the 2017 NCAA indoor and outdoor 800m champion.

The international athletes confirmed to compete at the NYRR Millrose Games so far also include:

Ednah Kurgat of Kenya, who just won the NCAA Cross Country Championship individual women’s title with a new championship record and led her University of New Mexico team to victory.

Wesley Vasquez, who competed in the 800m at the last two Olympic Games representing Puerto Rico, and was also eighth at the 2014 Continental Cup.

Erika Kinsey, who represented Sweden in the high jump at the 2016 Olympics, the 2015 and 2017 World Championships, and the 2016 World Indoor Championships. She is also a former NCAA Division II indoor and outdoor high jump champion.

For NYRR Millrsoe Games on February 3 tickets visit tickets.nyrrmillrosegames.org/tickets

USA and International Gold Medalists Commit to 111th NYRR Millrose Games

Gold medalists Emma Coburn, Omar McLeod and Shaunae Miller-Uibo have announced they will compete at the 111th  NYRR Millrose Games at The Armory’s New Balance Track & Field Center on February 3, 2018.

The NYRR Millrose Games has taken place in front of enthusiastic, sold-out crowds at The Armory during each of the past three years, as fans welcome the world's greatest athletes to New York City.

 “The NYRR Millrose Games has clearly reignited the excitement and traditions from its storied history”, said Meet Director, Ray Flynn.  “The best athletes are all asking to be included in this world famous track meet at The Armory.” 

Today’s announcement already assures three of the world’s top track & field athletes are coming to the 111th NYRR Millrose Games with many more to follow:

Coburn recently won Gold at the London World Championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase en route to breaking the American Record.  Coburn is the only American woman in history to win a Gold Medal at the Olympics or World Championships in steeplechase.  She will be competing in the 3,000 meters at the NYRR Millrose Games.

McLeod, of Jamaica, was the Gold Medalist at the 2017 London World Championships and the 2016 Rio Olympics in the 110-meter hurdles.  McLeod is a 3-time NCAA champion and will compete in the NYRR Millrose Games.

Miller-Uibo won the 2016 Gold Medal at the Rio Olympics in 400 meters in dramatic fashion as she dove across the finish line 0.07 seconds ahead of Allyson Felix.  A native of the Bahamas, Miller-Uibo became her nation’s first world record holder when she broke Felix’s straight 200-meter record on June 4, 2017.  Miller-Uibo will run in the 300-meter event in the NYRR Millrose Games.

For NYRR Millrsoe Games on February 3 tickets visit tickets.nyrrmillrosegames.org